PARKSVILLE 2019 SYMPOSIUM: Make Where We Live Better through Restorative Development – How will communities ‘get it right’ through collaboration as land develops and redevelops? (April 2-3-4, 2019) (Registration Open)
Note to Reader:
The “Parksville 2019 Symposium” is an outreach and professional development event, held under the umbrella of the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative, and is designed to foster a conversation in communities along the east coast of Vancouver Island and in the Metro Vancouver region about “Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management”.
For pricing, registration and location, VISIT: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2019/Parksville-Water-Stewardship-Symposium
Restorative Land Development results in
Sustainable Stream Restoration
Join delegates from the east coast of Vancouver Island and beyond, and attend a ‘watershed moment’ in Parksville. At the Parksville 2019 Symposium, you will learn why and how local government partnerships with stewardship groups can be transformational and ‘make where we live better’.
Parksville 2019 is a collaborative effort of three organizations: the Partnership for Water Sustainability, Nanaimo & Area Land Trust, and Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society. They have joined forces to host a field day on April 2, followed by a 2-day symposium on Water Stewardship in a Changing Climate on April 3rd and 4th. The daily symposium themes are Sustainable Stream Restoration and Restorative Land Development, respectively.
“At Parksville 2019, delegates will learn how communities can apply science-based understanding to increase their restorative footprint and at the same time decrease their destructive footprint. Delegates will also learn about local government initiatives that are ‘getting it right’ and are moving along pathways that lead to restorative development. Follow these leaders!,” states Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.
Reconnect Hydrology and Ecology
The major driver of economic growth in the twenty-first century will be redeveloping our nations, revitalizing our cities and towns, and rehabilitating and expanding our ecosystems. This is not some wistful vision of the future: it’s already happening.
“Restoration comprises the largest new economic growth cycle since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Development has arrived at the ends of the Earth. Progress has nowhere to turn, except to revisit and restore what we’ve already wrought,” states Storm Cunningham, author and global thought leader. He is one of three prominent headline speakers from the United States who are part of the Parksville 2019 presentation team. Storm Cunningham, Dr. Chris May and Dave Derrick connect us with a larger body of experience.
The working definition for restorative development, as crafted by Storm Cunningham, follows:
“A mode of economic activity that returns property, structures, or objects to an earlier condition, transforms them into a healthier and/or more functional condition, or replaces an unsalvageable structure without consuming more land.”
“Guided by a whole-system, water balance approach, restorative land development would reconnect hydrology and ecology, and this would: reduce stream erosion, flooding and the associated infrastructure liability; increase the dry weather baseflow in streams; and stem the loss of aquatic habitat and fish. Connecting dots, then, a key message is that restorative land development results in sustainable stream restoration,” states Peter Law, President, Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society.
To Learn More:
How will communities ‘get it right’ as land develops and redevelops?
The Parksville 2019 Symposium is a milestone event on a multi-year ‘convening for action’ journey that commenced in 2004 with release of the Water Sustainability Action Plan. Parksville 2019 builds on the 2018 Vancouver Island Symposium on Water Stewardship in a Changing Climate, held in the City of Nanaimo.
“Nanaimo 2018 was a ‘call to action’. The theme? Build on the good outcomes that flow from local government and stewardship sector collaboration! Nanaimo 2018 introduced a vision for ‘restorative land development’ that would re-establish creekshed function,” states Paul Chapman, Executive Director, Nanaimo & Area Land Trust. “And it energized the audience with this challenge: How will communities ‘get it right’ through collaboration as land develops and redevelops?”
“A decade of effort on Vancouver Island, by partnerships of local governments and community stewards, is demonstrating success on the ground where it matters. They are on a pathway to reconnect hydrology and ecology. Parksville 2019 will celebrate success stories that are characterized by three attributes: commitment, collaboration and the ‘hard work of hope’,” continues John Finnie, Chair, Parksville 2019 Organizing Committee.
“A takeaway for Parksville 2019 is that the essential ingredients for restorative development encompass: vision, strategy to deliver the vision, and commitment to implement an ongoing program. Vancouver Island success stories are beacons of hope. They demonstrate how a good strategy is the path to success,” concludes Kim Stephens.
To Learn More:
For the complete storyline, download the PARKSVILLE 2019 BROCHURE. This is a comprehensive package that maps out the field day plus 2-day symposium.
To register, visit: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2019/Parksville-Water-Stewardship-Symposium
