City of Victoria showcases green infrastructure demonstration project: Trent Street Rain Gardens
In February 2010, the Bowker Creek Forum celebrated the major breakthrough that has been achieved with completion of the Bowker Creek Blueprint. This is a 100-Year Action Plan to improve Bowker Creek and its watershed.
Bowker Creek is located in the urban heartland of British Columbia’s Capital Regional District. Three municipalities share the watershed: City of Victoria, City of Oak Bay and District of Saanich.
At the Forum, Steven Fifield explained why and how the City of Victoria has emerged as a ‘rain garden champion’. To download a copy of his PowerPoint presentation, click on Trent Street Rain Gardens (4.9MB PDF).
City brands the Bowker Creek Blueprint as the ‘Greenprint’ in Victoria
“Within the City of Victoria, we are branding the Bowker Creek Blueprint as the GREENPRINT. We are doing this to emphasize that the road to watershed restoration will be green. In 100 years, Victoria will be much greener,” stated Steven Fifield, Manager of Underground Utilities with the City of Victoria.
“You have to be committed and you have to think long-term. I believe the City of Victoria is forward thinking in terms of environmental responsibility. As soon as we heard about rain gardens, we felt that they were the way to go. So we had to find an opportunity to build one and be successful.”
“We looked and we thought, and then a situation presented itself. This was on Trent Street, a small cul-de-sac in an institutional area. Bowker Creek is nearby. So location-wise, this was a great opportunity.”
Links to YouTube Video Clips
To view Steven Fifield tell his story, click on the links below:
- An introduction to Steve Fifield(0:40)
- The Challlenge of Change(3:18)
- The Right Thing & Community Buy-In(2:42)
- Dealing with Practical Challenges(0:56)
- Building the Rain Gardens(2:34)
- The Finished Rain Gardens(2:22)
- Project Costs(0:45)
- Full Speed Ahead (1:46)
Posted March 2010