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.