What is Colwood

To continue with our sustainability and community relations class we received a presentation from Mayor Dave Saunders and Councillor Judith Cullington from the Town Of Colwood. The presentation that was shown to us was very informative and enlightened me about Colwood and what it is trying to do not just to become a transition town but a pioneer in order to influence other surrounding municipalities.

Colwood is quite unique as it has many distinctive components that allow it to “stand out in a crowd”. Culturally the town is very distinct as it has present on it the oldest First Nations property on the entire Vancouver Island. The region also home to a large abundance of the garry oak which is an endangered tree in North America. There is also a population of the sharp tailed snake which is also endangered present here. The municipality is also home to 3 historical sites which include Fort Rodd Hill, Fisgaard Lighthouse and Hatley Park. Personally, I expect all towns to have somewhat of a cultural and unique background but Colwood really impressed me with the diversity it contains. Not just by the above mentioned reasons but also the contributors in the community today. As I live right on Sooke road, I drive every day past the Westshore Teaching Center. Just from passing by and occasionally glancing at it, I assumed that this center was an ordinary training center where people could upgrade and take classes. Little did I know that it implements so much more than that for students. The center provides services for underprivileged learners by teaching them valuable life lessons and positive morals. They allow the students to plant a garden, harvest and sell the produce. This teaches them real-life business decisions and skills in the carpentry trade as they build greenhouses and flower boxes. I now look at this center a lot different now. Its not as if I looked negatively at it in the first place, but really you never can judge a book by its cover and I think a lot of these instances exist in Colwood. There is a lot more than meets the eye!

Dave and Judith also shared their vision for Colwood and where they see it heading. Due to the large residential base that it holds (92%), this makes funding for such projects very difficult but at the same time rewarding because of the hard work and effort that has to be put in to make the projects a reality. There plans include for Colwood to become the first green city and making it a leader in promoting sustainability. Many new and exciting developments are occurring in the municipality that embraces the environment. They are in progress of trying to incorporate such technology as geothermal heat, solar panels and water saving devices within the community. Colwood is known as a green learning city and it creates a large opportunity for individual groups within the municipality. This vision is creating active job opportunities for residents and supporting businesses. The businesses are encouraged to share and demonstrate their technologies with others which increases tourism into the area by attracting possible clientele. Colwood has extensive collaboration with Royal Roads University which is equally beneficial for both parties. The students use Colwood as a real life project as it has saved 60,000 to 120,000 dollars for the municipality. The community benefits because it is saving money by applying these scenarios for students to solve which gives them consultant quality results at a non-existent price. The campus also benefits because it is a real life learning situation. The project is not just based out of a fictional scenario from a book. Its outcome will be actively looked at and possibly put into action by Colwood and that creates a much greater sense of accomplishment for the students.

One thing that left a great impression on me was the mayor’s opinion on sewage. Considering our team last semester did a research project on Victoria and the sewage treatment hurdles that it is facing, I can say that there are many opinions on it and it seems like a never ending battle. Dave Saunders views sewage as if it is money. We are actively pumping it out into the ocean when it could be harnessed and the energy that could be generated for it could be used as a power source. A great example of this was the Boydel test that is a sustainable technology that the mayor wishes to incorporate. Sewage is electrified and the coagulation creates methane gas which can be harnessed and used as a prospective energy source. The biosolids that collect can be then further compressed which then gives it the characteristics of coal with a much reduced pollutant generation. These biosolid bricks can be used by consumers as a fuel source in cement kilns as well as in greenhouses. This example exemplifies sustainability to the fullest and I think if it can be actively implemented in Colwood, well then I truly believe that this municipality can become exactly what the council hopes. This optimism is to become a true green city and an influence for other municipalities in the area to admire.

Community Engagement and Research

To continue on with our sustainability and community relations class, we were introduced to two other concepts for getting the community aware and also recognizing what the community needs with regards to sustainability. The two concepts discussed were community engagement and community research, which pretty much go hand in hand. One program for the engagement of the community was the CRD Climate Action Program. Sarah Webb, who was a representative for the CRD introduced our class to the Climate Action Program that exists in the Victoria area and its overall goals. The CRD works with all facets such as local government, non-profit organizations, public/private sector and citizens in order to reduce climate change. The main goals of the organization include supporting the government in developing climate action plans and increasing public awareness of climate change. This is implemented through the “Engage, Reduce, and Prepare” outline. There must be an ongoing engagement with groups as well as large scale and coordinated reductions. This makes sense, because in order for the project to be successful everyone must become involved. The engagement can occur on many levels such as public meetings, surveys, workshops, events and one of my favorite is a “green drinks” concept where representatives of various entities in the environmental field chew the fat and discuss anything that comes to mind over a couple of “beverages”. The third concept, which is prepare involves assessing the risks associated with climate change and preparing for a cultural shift in the way society thinks. It may be that we are too far ahead with climate change and irreversibility is not possible. Therefore, prepare and assessing the possible risks is essential.

We were also introduced to Colwoods reduction goals for emissions by Jordan Webb, an independent environmental consultant. The goal is to cut Colwoods emissions in half in ten years, which Is 2/3rds responsible from transportation. Jordan further explained the process in realizing the sources and mitigating them. Such transportation initiatives that can be done is working with employers to perhaps invest in carpooling employees, promoting the population to ride the bus, encourage walking and encourage people to buy smaller efficient vehicles. The other 1/3 is from building emissions which can be reduced greatly from retrofitting buildings to put into practice energy efficient components. Land use planning is also a major cause that should be looked at more closely. Even though the city is ultimately responsible for the development of land, individuals can encourage sustainable land use planning. Plots of land should be designed to reduce the need for cars and built to incorporate this with the surrounding properties. The previous explained methods for reducing the carbon emissions in Colwood can be incorporated into Sarah’s “Engage, Reduce, and Prepare” concept. The examples explained by Jordan can be introduced to the public via Sarahs engagement examples which were explained earlier. The two are very dependent on one another for the overall goal, which is to tackle climate change.

Community based research is another intertwining concept that relates to community engagement and the overall goal of reducing emissions. Maeve Lydon introduced us to the research that was being compiled at the University of Victoria which was is being used to develop methods that would work effectively in engaging and ultimately creating sustainable communities. The research is fairly thorough and is conducted at all levels including local knowledge, community groups, and aboriginal consultation. In order to create a community-university relationship, there must be collaboration between the university and all aspects of the community, such as umbrella groups. This research can then become applied to create such products as green maps, which are a concept that shows green living, nature and cultural resources that exist within a community. Hopefully this can eventually be applied to Colwood as we further analyze and do our own research in community engagement. A green map could become a valuable component of the recommendations that we will have for Colwood in becoming a sustainable community. To wrap up this blog, community based research and engagement are very dependent on one another and two key components on how and why sustainable communities should be created.

Transition Towns and Cittaslow

Transition Towns and Cittaslow Movement

Today in class I was first introduced to the Transition Town and Slow Movement concepts. In a way they are adaptable and tightly interwound with sustainability in mind. The first speaker was Michelle Colussi from the Victoria Region Transition Initiative. In her presentation, Michelle spoke to us about the transition town concept and how it is being spread around the Victoria area. The transition town concept works to engage communities on not being dependant on fossil fuels and being resilient to the readily changing world that exists before us. There are 3 evident situations occurring including economic instability and inequity, extreme resource depletion and global warming. The economic instability and inequity is creating more debt, costs and poverty to society. The inhumane resource depletion is producing a decline in the forest/fishery sectors and increasing fuel prices with the peak oil concept. Global warming is creating ever evolving impacts on food production, water resources, infrastructure and transportation. The image that stood out the most in my mind was the slide showing how people adapted to change 65 years ago and what is expected 65 years from now. The early settlers were very self sufficient and made resources last. And now today, we see a doom and gloom scenario where everything is directed towards disaster and we are waiting for it to occur before we do anything about it. I think the transition town movement can be a success if there is a constant effort put forward and a continual exposure to the general population of the concept. I think the main problem is that society is not educated enough and I think there main exposure method which is holding public seminars and conferences is the best way to put it in the face of the population and get the ball rolling.

The next presenter was Mara Jernigan, a chef whom introduced the Cittaslow movement to the Victoria Area. The Cittaslow movement operates based on the concepts of Europe and how the town centers were built to last and constructed for pedestrians which create interaction and community well being. These market squares are ran by locals and sell local ingredients and supplies to the community. This is far different from the western world where we have multiple corporate box stores which line the roads and provide unlimited amounts of parking for consumers to get in and get out quickly. The nearby community of Cowichan is promoting the idea of Cittaslow within their own businesses and has put through an application to Italy with the hopes of becoming Canada’s first Cittaslow. The local bakery in Cowichan has been converted to produce local goods with slow food such as red fife wheat. The front entrance of the store has been also transformed to encourage pedestrian interaction by altering the parking pattern and installing bike racks and larger sidewalks. They are keeping their values traditional and not allowing developers to establish quick money schemes by opening another Tim Hortons or Mcdonalds in their community. I feel that the Cittaslow movement is very unique and keeps communities “at home” with their culture and surroundings. Hopefully this trend is contagious and becomes an evident reality and disperses outward in Vancouver Island. As with the transition town concept, I feel like people need to be educated on Cittaslow as well. I have never heard of slow movement before but I definitely think it could become reality if people were exposed to it and explained on how it could benefit their own community and increase social capital within it.