Comox Valley Nature (CVN) is opening its annual Fall Vancouver Island Regional BC Nature conference to the public to initiate a public conversation on the implementation of Courtenay’s Urban Forest Plan within upcoming the Official Community Plan Review.
After much hard work and public consultation, Courtenay council has approved a remarkable and far-seeing urban forest plan that deserves to be supported for successful implementation by all concerned. The goal of the conference is to initiate an open forum where the many benefits of bringing nature into our cities may be discussed, and the means to do so implemented.
Nature is increasingly recognized for its numerous physical and mental health effects. However, decades of misguided hard-urban engineering have taken a toll on our local ecology. CVN is bringing together some of the best local experts to discuss local problems and solutions that may guide considerations in the next iteration of the OCP.
Participants include: Nancy Gothard (Courtenay city planner) who will present the “Courtenay Urban Forest Plan;” Loys Maingon (registered biologist and environmental historian) “Re-thinking the Urban Forest Plan in an Age of Climate Emergency”; Will Marsh (geomorphologist), “Adaptive Design;” Thomas Dishlevoy (registered architect, “The Comox Valley Living City Challenge;” Alison Mewett (BC landscape architect) “Urban Trees;” and Royann Petrell “Urban Avian Ecology.”
The conference will be held Oct. 26, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and includes lunch. Registration for the conference is limited to 90 which is the capacity of The Green Room at The Filberg Centre. Pre-Registration is $30 and will be cut-off Oct. 23 to allow for in-person registration at the door, if space remains. Registration ($30) is by email at , or cash at the door.
