YOU TUBE VIDEOS: Comox Valley Joint Staff Workshop generated an abundance of ideas for "continuing the conversation", reports Alexandra Hitchcock

Note to Reader:

Inspired by the work of the Bowker Creek Initiative in the Capital Regional District, “A Guide to Water-Wise Land Development in the Comox Valley” was initiated in 2012, showcased in 2014 and completed in 2015. A Joint Staff Workshop hosted by the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) in December 2015 commenced the formal rollout of this guidance document by the Comox Valley-CAVI Regional Team (CAVI is the acronym for ‘Convening for Action on Vancouver Island’).

Comox-Valley_end of workshop

Continuing the Conversation & Moving Forward Collaboratively

Kris LaRose_Dec-2015_120p“The Joint Staff Workshop is intended to begin an ongoing dialogue/collaboration between local government staff, facilitated by the Comox Valley-CAVI team, to more effectively move all four local governments forward towards healthy, resilient local natural infrastructure,” stated Kris La Rose, Workshop Chair, in setting the stage at the start of the workshop.

Process & Outcomes

“The workshop concluded with a group activity which provided everyone with the chance to brainstorm about what they had learned from a series of presentations by members of the Comox Valley-CAVI regional team,” explains Alexandra Hitchcock, CVRD Engineering Analyst. Alexandra-Hitchcock_120p

“This has enabled the regional team to solicit ideas and input from other staff representatives on how best to continue the internal conversations within each jurisdiction so that all staff can “share and learn” about how to achieve watershed health and water conservation goals in the Comox Valley.”

“Participants broke into four smaller groups to discuss what knowledge they had gained at the workshop and relay what they would like to learn more about. Out of this process came a selection of ideas and suggestions to implement ‘collaboration communication’ sessions. The groups identified two types – inter-jurisdictional (such as ‘lunch & learn’ meetings on specific topics); and external (such as neighbourhood watershed meetings.”

To Learn More:

To download a copy of the ideas and suggestions that the group had for “continuing the conversation”, click on WORKSHOP SUMMARY. To view each of the four groups report out, click on the YouTube Videos below.