Vancouver Island Water

“The report is great. All forums/seminars should provide a similar recap, as it provides attendees the ability to easily share what they learned with others, and may possibly save the same attendees hours of report writing time if they are required to prepare summary reports for their senior managers or Committee/Councils,” stated Bryan Shoji.

“The Forum was designed to start a conversation that will lead to a region-wide dialogue about Why, Where and How development should occur on Vancouver Island,” stated Mary Miller.

“The CAVI role is to provide venues which create opportunities to start conversations that will ultimately lead to action. CAVI is facilitating the move from awareness (interest) to action(practice) in changing where and how land is developed, how water is used, and how water runs off the land,” stated John Finnie.

“A Positive Settlement Strategy means benefits exceed liabilities. Settlement and ecology are equal values, and they must be as much in balance as possible for the wellbeing of human and natural systems. We are convening for action so that we can provide practitioners with the tools and experience to implement Design with Nature policies and practices,” stated Tim Pringle.

Water sustainability on Vancouver Island will be achieved through implementation of green infrastructure policies, practices and standards.“If we are to control our destiny, then we need to challenge Vancouver Islanders to visualize what they want this place to look like in 50 years and get on with creating our future,” stated Rod Sherrell, AVICC President (2007).

“Through careful planning and strong local political support, Ucluelet has successfully implemented ‘smart growth’ sustainable planning tools. Ucluelet’s planning principles can be implemented and transferred to larger cities or other rural communities experiencing development pressures,” concluded Felice Mazzoni.

“Courtenay is taking a proactive integrated approach to how it does business. Our Strategic Plan, Official Community Plan and other related documents are being drafted or amended to ensure that sustainability, livability and reducing our environmental footprint is achieved,” stated Kevin Lagan.

“There are a lot of good things happening in communities throughout Vancouver Island. Through many one-on-one conversations, we found those stories: and then we pulled together a partnership to host a series of one-day events,” reports Kim Stephens.

To promote a new way-of-thinking related to infrastructure policies and practices, CAVI organized “Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation on Vancouver Island: The 2007 Series.” Events were held in the Nanaimo region, Cowichan Valley and Comox Valley. Rob Lawrance led development of the City of Nanaimo part of the program.

Building on the theme of limitations and planning for the future, Cowichan Valley Chair Jon Lefebure noted there is an engine of development. “We have to think about how to operate that engine differently, We must focus on preserving what we have that provides our qualtiy of life. Moving foward from today, I would like the political leadership of Vancouver Island to be more proactive.”