RESTORATIVE LAND DEVELOPMENT: Parksville 2019 Symposium organizing committee releases the Detailed Agenda for Day Two (April 4) – “Getting It Right by Making Better Land Use Decisions”
Note to Reader:
Click on PARKSVILLE SYMPOSIUM AGENDA to download a package that elaborates on the presentation topics in each of the four modules that comprise the program on each symposium day. Parksville 2019 is a call to action. Read together, the set of abstracts create a seamless storyline that is designed to inform delegates so that they will know what to expect on April 3-4 when they convene in Parksville.
Yes, We Can Decrease our Destructive Footprint While at the Same Time Increasing our Restorative Footprint!
“Sustainable is attainable. Make where we live better. Create an ‘actionable vision’. Chart a new course to a sustainable water future. Celebrate Vancouver Island success stories. Follow the leaders!,” states John Finnie, Chair of the Parksville 2019 Symposium Organizing Committee.
“These success stories are inspirational in nature, creekshed in scale, and precedent-setting in scope and outcome. “Get it right” and proceed along a restorative development pathway.”
MODULE A: “Getting It Right”: Make Better Land Use Decisions
Module A comprises two presentations. The first, by Kim Stephens, sets the stage for Day Two. The second, by Julie Pisani, is the feature presentation.
Value the ‘Water Balance Services’ Provided by Nature
“The worth of a creekshed is a package of ecological services made possible by the hydrology. Looking through the ‘worth lens’ leads to a fundamental shift in philosophy regarding how to value natural assets. Focus on the investment of resources (time and money) as well as aspirations of motivated stakeholders for maintenance and management of ecological (water balance) services,” states Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.
Creating an Actionable Vision for the next 10 Years of Drinking Water and Watershed Protection
“Ten years ago, the RDN embarked on delivering a service never before established by a Regional District in BC. The Drinking Water and Watershed Protection (DWWP) function, approved by elector assent in 2008, has provided water-related education and outreach, water data collection, science and monitoring, and water policy advocacy and planning support, for the past decade with marked accomplishments and certain challenges,” states Julie Pisani, DWWP Coordinator, Regional District of Nanaimo.
“In 2019, the RDN is updating our Action Plan for DWWP to incorporate learnings from the implementation thus far, and integrate elements that will be the focus of an actionable vision for the next decade and more. Parksville 2019 is a ‘sharing & learning’ opportunity that will help inform the DWWP Action Plan update.
“The first decade of the Plan (2009-2018) built a strong foundation of public outreach and science. The focus moving into the next operational period is using awareness and data to inform water policy and planning. The desired outcome: get it right and make better land use decisions!”
To Learn More:
MODULE B: Panel & Town-Hall Session: Improving Where We Live
“A vision for restorative land development could be guided by the mantra: Sustainable is attainable. We can make where we live better. While communities cannot restore lost biodiversity, they can halt its decline and consciously direct efforts into bending the trend-line in an upwards direction. ‘Getting it right’ is a process that requires long-term commitment, patience and perseverance by champions,” states Kim Stephens.
“A 5-person team will prime the audience with 5-minute vignettes about long-term and emerging initiatives in regional districts on the east coast of Vancouver Island.
“Inspirational in scope, these demonstrate what is achievable when there is a restoration imperative. The town-hall segment will focus on how the lessons learned to date might inform the RDN’s DWWP Action Plan update.”
To Learn More:
To read a stand-alone article about the themes that the panel will address, click on MODULE B – DAY TWO – PARKSVILLE 2019 SYMPOSIUM: A Panel & Town-Hall Session on “Improving Where We Live” features five Vancouver Island initiatives to demonstrate what is possible through a Whole-System Approach.
MODULE C: Moving Towards Restorative Land Development
Module C comprises a set of three presentations. The first, by Kim Stephens, introduces two Vancouver Island success stories in order to provide relevant context. The program allows one hour for the telling of each success story, with one-third of the time allocated for town-hall interaction.
Beacons of Hope: Bowker & Brooklyn Restoration Success Stories are Inspirational
“Bowker and Brooklyn are provincially significant precedents. Each has a long history,” states Kim Stephens. “Each demonstrates how local government partnerships with stewardship groups can be transformational and ‘improve where we live’. These precedents represent a range of situations: Bowker in the urban heart of the Capital Region; Brooklyn in the suburban Comox Valley. They are beacons of hope,” stated Kim Stephens.
Bringing Bowker Creek Back to Life in the Capital Region: Community Buy-In is Key
“The Bowker Creek Urban Watershed Renewal Initiative serves as a ‘how-to-guide’ for a ‘top-down and bottom-up’ approach that connects with the community and gets the vision right,” states Jody Watson, Supervisor, Environmental Planning & Initiatives, Capital Regional District. Jody has also served as Chair of the Bowker Creek Initiative.
“Degraded over generations, and buried for much of its length, Bowker restoration demonstrates how a good strategy is the path to success. The Blueprint and 100-year Action Plan resulted from a unique multi-jurisdictional effort.
“Outreach proved to be a powerful tool for building community and political support for action. Success begets success. Implementation is approaching the second decade.”
A Tale of Two Creeksheds in the Town of Comox: Base Decision-Making on “Worth”
The 3-person presentation team comprises Allan Fraser (Superintendent of Parks & Property Manager) and Marvin Kamenz (Municipal Planner) with the Town of Comox, and Robert Deane, President of the Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society.
The lower Brooklyn Creek Corridor is a regional amenity destination. It is a working example of applying the Ecological Accounting Process (EAP) to value the worth of a creekshed, its hydrology, and ecological systems. Lessons learned are informing implementation of a whole-system, water balance strategy for development.
In an adjacent watershed, the North East Comox SWMP uses the water balance methodology to address downstream watercourse capacity, fish habit, agriculture and sensitive ecosystem concerns.
Work is now underway to apply the lessons learned from both areas to create a neighbourhood plan that protects and enhances the package of ecological services of the middle Brooklyn Corridor (environmental protection, recreation and stormwater drainage) for future neighbourhood residents, while protecting those same values in the lower Brooklyn Corridor.
A desired outcome for the Comox presentation is that symposium delegates will understand the relevance of looking through the “worth lens”.
MODULE D: We Can Create the Future We Want
Storm Cunningham is a global thought leader. In The Restoration Economy, 2002, he showed how “restorative development” would drive economies in the 21st century.
In the concluding module, Storm Cunningham will reflect on what he heard throughout the 2-day symposium. He will connect dots when he relates Vancouver Island initiatives to this perspective on the complete solution:
“Visionaries, designers, planners, policy makers, and project managers abound. Strategists are rare. As a result, resilience and revitalization efforts often fail due to 1) bad strategy, and 2) no strategy. Strategies are our path to success. They become our primary interface with the world. Thus, what we restore, restores us. What we revitalize, revitalizes us,” states Storm Cunningham.
At the conclusion of Storm Cunningham’s concluding observations, it is hoped that delegates will understand that essential ingredients for restorative land development encompass: vision, strategy to deliver the vision, and commitment to implement an ongoing program.
To Learn More:
Download PARKSVILLE SYMPOSIUM AGENDA, or click on the image below.
In addition, click on the links listed below. In the build-up to Parksville 2019, the Partnership for Water Sustainability published a series of announcements that featured program elements:
- Backgrounder #1 – Professional Reliance Review & Restorative Development Vision Set the Stage
- Backgrounder #2 – Decrease Destructive Footprint While Increasing Restorative Footprint
- Backgrounder #3 – Local Government Partnerships with Stewardship Sector Can Be Transformational
- Backgrounder #4 – Root Causes of Degraded Urban and Rural Streams
- Backgrounder #5 – Next Decade of Drinking Water & Watershed Protection in the Nanaimo Region
- Backgrounder #6 – Restorative Land Development Results in Sustainable Stream Restoration
- Backgrounder #7 – Closing the Data Gap: Water Stewards, the Key to the Future
- Backgrounder #8 – Beacons of Hope on Vancouver Island
Designed to paint a picture of the field day and 2-day symposium, the series delves into the details of the cascading program to inform, educate and establish expectations for delegates and prospective delegates.
