Green Infrastructure

According to Marcy Sangret, Sunstone Community at Delsom in Delta will be a mixed use, pedestrian friendly community which will include, a neighbourhood commercial centre, park areas and a pathway system. This development illustrates how the Sustainable Template for Development has been applied through a collaborative process to achieve a ‘design with nature' outcome.

Located at an elementary school opposite Cougar Canyon Environmental Reserve in the Corporation of Delta, this site has a direct impact on the quality of Delta's primary salmon-bearing stream. The entire school population was involved in the creation of the Cougar Canyon Rain Garden, which infiltrates rainwater runoff from the school parking lot.

About 1/3 of the urban landscape is typically covered by road rights-of-way. This creates opportunities to capture rain where it falls and restore it to natural hydrologic pathways. Delta is planting an urban forest to mitigate climate change. Delta has set a goal to plant 20,100 trees by the year 2010.

Green infrastructure is associated with the management of water that runs off the land. Green infrastructure is also associated with how water is used.

The Convening for Action on Vancouver Island Partnership is collaborating with three regional districts and their member municipalities to present 'Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation on Vancouver Island: The 2007 Series'. The purpose of the Showcasing Innovation Series is to promote networking and sharing of on-the-ground experience. The series enables local governments to 'tell their stories' in a way that no other forum currently provides.

In 2002, the Regional District of Nanaimo and the City of Nanaimo joined the Partners for Climate Change Program. This innovative program to address climate change at the local level is led by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives-Local Governments for Sustainability.

Completed in 2006, the award-winning Kenworth Inland project in the City of Nanaimo applied a unique approach to site development that combined function and design in first capturing and then absorbing rainwater on-site. The project won a City environmental award and is currently a candidate for a design award.

Pressure to build on hillside lands was the catalyst for the City of Nanaimo adopting the steep slope development permit area and zoning bylaws. Cottle Creek Estates provides an early example of how these bylaws, and Nanaimo's approach to green infrastructure, are being implemented.

The City of Nanaimo's Green Building Policy requires all new public buildings over 500 square metres to meet the LEED Silver standard. This is part of the City's commitment to develop climate change and energy plans.

Malls and nature do not seem to go together, but in Seattle the Westfield Southcenter's huge expansion aims to embrace the local environment.