PARKSVILLE 2019 SYMPOSIUM ON IMPROVING WHERE WE LIVE: March 1st is the last day for Early Bird Registration / Don’t Delay / Register Today (Announcement #6, February 2019)
Note to Reader:
Join delegates from the east coast of Vancouver Island and beyond, and attend a ‘watershed moment’ in the City of Parksville on April 2-3-4 for a field day followed by the 2-day symposium. The bridge between the two symposium days is a free public lecture by Storm Cunningham, author of The Restoration Economy. Storm’s lecture is titled “Nature Is Regenerative: We should be too”.
Storm Cunningham is one of three prominent headline speakers from the United States who are part of the Parksville 2019 presentation team. Along with Dr. Chris May (changes in hydrology & stream health) and Dave Derrick (stream restoration), he connects us with a larger body of experience. Storm will also provide Closing Reflections on what he heard throughout the 2-day symposium.
Restorative Land Development Results in Sustainable Stream Restoration
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 on Vancouver Island that are ‘getting it right’ and are moving along pathways that lead to restorative land development. Follow these leaders!
Each day, there is a dedicated town-hall session. A different 5-person panel will prime the audience each day. Use of the Ignite format will ensure that slide presentations are streamlined, fast-paced and fun. Presentations are limited to 5 minutes and up to 20 slides, forcing speakers to get to the point, fast.
On Day One, the “Watershed Health and You” town-hall features the Englishman River integrated system, to demonstrate that what happens on the land in a watershed (and in its tributary creeksheds) matters to streams. On Day Two, the “Improving Where We Live” town-hall features five Vancouver Island initiatives, to demonstrate what is possible through a Whole-System Approach.
Day One will also include a “mini-workshop within the symposium” conducted by a team from the provincial government. The theme for knowledge-transfer on surface and groundwater interaction and monitoring is “Closing the Data Gap: Water Stewards, the Key to the Future”.
PANEL & TOWN-HALL: Watershed Health & You
The Englishman River ‘big picture’ story (endangered river, regional water source, Shelly Creek restoration) provides the backdrop for developing a shared understanding of what a Whole-System approach looks like, and what it would mean to reconnect hydrology and ecology.
What happens on the land in a watershed (and in its tributary creeksheds) matters to streams, especially when the changing climate is altering the seasonal water balance. The Englishman River storyline provides local context for the Whole-System Approach to protection of hydrologic function under current and future conditions.
To Learn More:
For more about the Day One Panel, click on: Watershed Health & You
PANEL & TOWN-HALL: 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.
The panel will prime the audience with 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.
To Learn More:
For more about the Day Two Panel, click on: Improving Where We Live
MINI-WORKSHOP: Closing the Data Gap: Water Stewards, the Key to the Future
“Understanding the complex interactions of whole-system, water balance processes that lead to water availability in and on the ground, and all the values that depend on it, is critical to effective water resource allocation. The provincial government leads the way with collection, storage and dissemination of surface and groundwater data. A federal agreement provides for large scale data collection on major sources (rivers and lakes). However, there is a gap at the local level,” explains Neil Goeller.
Bridging the Gap:
“
Stewardship groups have local knowledge about local water resources; and are the most invested and most connected to the land base. Participation in streamflow data collection is a way to educate them about creekshed hydrology, in particular correct data collection techniques and their importance for refining the water balance and understanding what the numbers mean.
“This would create understanding that would enhance their effectiveness as champions for reconnecting hydrology and ecology. It would also fill a gap at the creekshed micro-scale where flow data are sparse to non-existent. A provincial government initiative on Vancouver Island is mobilizing stewardship groups and community volunteers to collect such data.”
TO LEARN MORE:
FOR THE COMPLETE STORYLINE, DOWNLOAD THE PARKSVILLE 2019 BROCHURE.
ALSO DOWNLOAD PARKSVILLE SYMPOSIUM AGENDA
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO REGISTER: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2019/Parksville-Water-Stewardship-Symposium JOIN US IN PARKSVILLE ON APRIL 2-3-4
VISIT THE SYMPOSIUM HOMEPAGE: http://waterbucket.ca/viw/category/convening-for-action-in-2019/parksville-water-stewardship-symposium/
