FLASHBACK TO 2007: "Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series" provided springboard to success for "CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island"
Series of three events attracted local governments and other stakeholders from Campbell River south to Victoria
The continuing and projected growth of Vancouver Island and resulting cumulative impacts are drivers for reassessing where and how land is developed, and water is used. To promote a new way-of-thinking related to infrastructure policies and practices, CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island organized Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation on Vancouver Island: The 2007 Series.
The series comprised three all-day events held monthly during the September through November 2007 period.
A Unique Format
Each event in the series was co-hosted by a regional district and one or more of its member muncipalites. Each event comprised presentations in the morning and a tour of project sites in the afternoon. Each event was unique.
“The goal in showcasing innovation and celebrating successes was to promote networking, build regional capacity, and move ‘from awareness to action’ – through sharing of green infrastructure approaches, tools, experiences and lessons learned as an outcome of designing with nature,” explains John Finnie. Formerly with the Regional District of Nanaimo), he was CAVI Chair from 2006-2011.
“A Showcasing Innovation event was not a conference. Neither was it a workshop nor seminar in the conventional sense. Rather the purpose of the presentations was to whet the appetites of participants for the site tour that follows. The quality one-on-one conversations took place on the bus and when we went for a walkabout,” continues Kim Stephens, Series organizer and event Moderator.
Catalyst for Sharing and Learning
“In 2007, there were a lot of good things happening in communities throughout Vancouver Island, but those stories had not been getting out,” recalls Kim Stephens. “Through many one-on-one conversations, we found those stories; and then we pulled together a partnership of three regional districts and their member municipalities.”
“The Showcasing Innovation Series enabled local governments to tell their stories and share their experiences in a way that no other forum (currently) provides,” concludes John Finnie. “The success of the 2007 series was the catalyst for Island-wide networking and relationship-building that, in turn, generated enthusiasm for implementing the Learning Lunch concept in 2008. The rest is history, as they say.”
To Learn More:
To access the homepage for the series, click on Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation on Vancouver Island: The 2007 Series.
To download a copy of a summary document that elaborates on what was showcased at each event, click on Summary Report on Green Infrastructure Innovation on Vancouver Island: The 2007 Series
Showcasing Innovation in the Comox Valley