LIVING WATER SMART IN THE COMOX VALLEY: “The City of Courtenay saw hosting the Learning Lunch Seminar Series as an exciting opportunity to further advance a regional team approach,” stated Kevin Lagan, Director of Operational Services (2008)
Note to Reader:
In 2008, the Vancouver Island community-of-interest had not yet been created. Thus, online resources related to the ground-breaking 2008 Comox Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series are dispersed across the waterbucket.ca website. A long-term task is to replicate and update those resources on this community-of-interest. Below is one of those resources.
Below, Kevin Lagan and Derek Richmond explained what the City of Courtenay hoped to accomplish through involvement in the pilot program for implementing Beyond the Guidebook: The New Business As Usual through a precedent-setting approach to continuing education for local government practitioners, namely the Learning Lunch Seminar Series. This provincial initiative built on the foundation provided by Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, published in 2002, and incorporated lessons learned over the previous six years.
2008 Comox Valley Learning Lunch Series
The City of Courtenay had taken the initiative in bringing together an ad hoc group of mid- and north-Island municipalities to share their experiences and learn from each other.
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We call ourselves the Municipalities Group,” explained Derek Richmond, Manager of Engineering for the City of Courtenay. “In addition to the four local governments from the Comox Valley, we have participation from Campbell River, Powell River, Qualicum Beach and Parksville to name a few. The membership of the Municipalities Group crosses multiple regional district boundaries.”
To Learn More:
Download a copy of the Summary Report on 2008 Comox Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series. This document consolidates under one cover a selection of seven definitive stories describing the key learning outcomes for each seminar.
Living Water Smart context
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The City of Courtenay decided to host the inaugural series because we saw it as an exciting opportunity to further advance a regional team approach. Also, the June 2008 release of Living Water Smart provided a timely provincial frame-of-reference for the Learning Lunch Series,” added Kevin Lagan, Director of Operational Services.
“The City collaborated with the CAVI team to explore a bottom-up approach that would inform implementation of Living Water Smart,” concluded Kevin Lagan. “Our goal was to demonstrate how we can all do business differently and thereby make green choices that create liveable communities and protect stream health.”
About the Vancouver Island Pilot Program
The Learning Lunch Seminar Series promoted a consistent provincial approach to rainwater management and green infrastructure. In 2008, participating Vancouver Island local governments represented some 250,000 people.
- The Cowichan Valley series was hosted by the Cowichan Valley Regional District and comprised a set of three sessions during the June – July 2008 period.
- The Comox Valley series was hosted by the City of Courtenay and comprised a set of three sessions during the September – November 2008 period.
The Learning Lunch Seminar Series was part of the implementation program for Beyond the Guidebook: The New Business As Usual, This provincial initiative builds on the foundation provided by Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, published in 2002, and adds depth to the Living Water Smart initiative.
