2015 Joint Staff Workshop

Workshop initiates educational process for communicating design-with-nature expectations
in urban watersheds

Inspired by the work of the Bowker Creek Initiative in the Capital Regional District, the Comox Valley-CAVI regional team embarked upon an educational process in 2012 that has resulted in “A Guide to Water-Wise Land Development in the Comox Valley”.

Establishing expectations, this document was first showcased in June 2014 to an inter-regional audience. Formal rollout of the Guide commenced with a joint staff training workshop that was hosted by the Comox Valley Regional District on December 10, 2015.
 


Joint Staff Workshop

The Joint Staff Workshop held in December 2015 had three desired outcomes:

  1. Commence the internal rollout of the Guide to Water-Wise Land Development, with emphasis on how the strategies and tools presented in the Guide can be applied by each of the partner jurisdictions.
     
  2. Showcase application of the Water Balance Model Express for Landowners, an online tool developed by an inter-governmental partnership to enable local governments and property owners to fulfill provincial expectations and objectives established in Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan.
     
  3. Solicit ideas and input from staff representatives on how best to continue the internal conversations within each jurisdiction so that all staff can “share and learn” about how to achieve watershed health and water conservation goals in the Comox Valley.


Workshop resources


“All four Comox Valley local governments, the Ministry of Transportation and
Infrastructure, and the stewardship sector participated in the workshop,” states
Kim Stephens, workshop facilitator and Executive Director, Partnership for
Water Sustainability in BC"