Comox Valley Nature

CVN Press Release

Comox Valley Nature Holds 1 Day Island Conference on Courtenay’s Urban Forest Plan and Its Implications for Climate Change and Biodiversity

Comox Valley Nature 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 the upcoming 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 implement or further its goals can be considered.

Nature is increasingly recognized for its numerous physical and mental health effects. Conventional planning is however also become notorious for its adverse social and mental effects. Which are known as “the Glasgow effect”. Decades of misguided hard-urban engineering have taken a toll on our local ecology.  CVN is bringing together some of the best local expertise to discuss local problems and solutions that may guide considerations in the next iteration of the OCP.  Participants include: Nancy Gothard  (Courtenay Town 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 (Ecological engineer) “Urban Avian Ecology”.

The conference will be held October 26th, 9am to 6pm 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 October 23 to allow for in-person registration at the door, if space remains.  Registration payment is by PayPal (Donation “other”) at: https://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/contact-us, or cash or cheque at the door.  Email inquiries can be directed at: .

Comox Valley Nature is a non-profit society affiliated to BC Nature consisting only of unpaid volunteers. CVN fulfills its educational mandate by hosting monthly lectures, organizing free weekly guided hikes for members, and a free monthly walk open to the public.  Comox Valley Nature also supports specialized groups ( Birding, Botany, Garry Oak Restoration, Wetland Restoration, Photography and Young Naturalists Club) which have separate monthly activities.  Membership in BC Nature and Comox Valley Nature is $30.

Founded in 1966, it is one of the oldest environmental societies on the North Island.  Meetings and lectures of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society are held on the third Sunday of most months at the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton, Courtenay.  Meetings and guided walks are open to the public, including children and youth.  Lecture is free, though a $4 contribution from non-members is appreciated. New memberships are always welcomed.

Anyone interested in this lecture or participating in CVNS activities can also contact us at the website http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/   or Loys Maingon

Urban Forests and Sustainable Cities Conference Program Schedule

The Conference is  October 26^th, from 9 am to 6 pm, at the Filberg Center 411 Anderton Avenue, Courtenay. The goal of this conference is to have an open forum for discussions and recommendations based on current knowledge of urban design and ecology. We are asking that all interested parties pre-register at . The cost is $30 per person, cash or cheque (payable to Comox Valley Nature) at the door on October 26^th. A light lunch is included.

The program schedule is as follows.

8:00       Doors open for sign in and payment, cash or cheque only, (no cards)

9:00       Welcome from CVN and thank you to attendees (Jim Boulter)

9:05       Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells; Welcome from City of Courtenay and CVRD

9:15       Nancy Gothard “Courtenay Urban Forest Plan”

Nancy Gothard has been with the City of Courtenay since 2010, hired as the organization’s first Environmental Planner in which she worked on development applications and monitoring. Her current title of Policy Planner is within the newly formed Community and Sustainability Planning Division at the City and includes longer range policy work including the review of the City’s Official Community Plan.

10:10    Loys Maingon “A New Understanding of Forest Ecology”

Loys Maingon (MA, PhD, MSc) is registered professional Biologist, webinar host for the Canadian Society of Environmental Biologists and Secretary for the Association of Professional Biologists of BC. He currently serves as Research Director for the Strathcona Wilderness Institute.

11:05    Will Marsh “Adaptive Design”

William M. Marsh is University of Michigan professor emeritus of physical geography and Adjunct Professor of Landscape Architecture, UBC. He is author of several books on environment and land planning, including Landscape Planning: Environmental Applications (2010. John Wiley, NY).

12:00 to 12:45 Light lunch of Soup and sandwiches included in registration fee

12:45 Thomas Dishlevoy: “The Comox Valley Living City Challenge”.

Tom is a registered architect and urbanist with over 20 years of practice in the Comox Valley. He is a LEED certified professional and the Ambassador for the Living Building Challenge on Vancouver Island.

1:40 Alison Mewett: “Urban Trees”

Alison M. Mewett is a BC Landscape Architect who lives in the Comox Valley. She has practiced landscape planning and design in the private and public sectors for 35 years, including a stint with the CVRD as manager of parks and environment.

2: 35 Royann Petrell: “Urban Avian Ecology”

Royann Petrell (PhD, MSc) is a professor emerita from UBC, and has developed research tools to
monitor wild aquatic species, establish a better understanding of sustainable aquaculture as well as remove heavy metals from storm water using waste materials. She considers herself to be an ecological engineer, and always begins an engineering design with needs of the organism within its environment.

3: 30 Round table and discussions with Q&A

4:30 to 6:00 Informal social and discussion time

6:00 Conference closes.

Comox Valley Nature
(Comox Valley Naturalists Society)
PO Box 3222, Courtenay BC, V9N 5N4,

Invitation to the “Urban Forests and Sustainable Cities” Conference, October 26^th, 2019

Hello;

Comox Valley Nature is hosting a one day conference on the importance of urban forests to our cities, and the best science to support a sustainable forest within them. We hope that, by bringing together a wide range of knowledge and experience in urban design and ecology, the presentations and discussions planned will help to inform Courtenay Staff when they amend the municipality’s Official Community Plan in 2020.

The goal of this conference is to have an open forum for discussions and recommendations based on current knowledge, not on past standards. We enter a new world daily and need to look to 2100, and beyond, in the months and years ahead. CVN believes the expansion of urban forests is a step in the right direction. Although the focus is Courtenay, the topics and information provided will be of wide interest to all with concerns about the space they live, and can be widely applied.

Careful urban design will be more important in the future, and we must learn from past errors and provide our cities, and our citizens, with a healthy living environment. To do this we need to understand that the trees we plant today will live for decades or longer and bring nature to our cities and our citizens. They do more than grace our doorsteps and downtowns.

Trees absorb carbon and emit oxygen, but that is just the tip of service to us. City trees can remove certain types of environmental pollutants and toxins, helping keep our lungs clean and healthy. Trees keep the space around them cooler, not just by shading the sun but through the evaporation of water from their leaves. A mature tree can cool as much as 10 air-condition units running 20 hours a day.  Their roots channel rain and run-off below ground, helping to reduce flooding due to storms: their crowns provide shade for us and a roost for the birds. And much more we are just learning about.

We hope that you will take away a greater appreciation and concern for urban trees, their benefits to us and our futures. Trees grow where their seed falls unless we provide them with suitable conditions and locations beneficial to both us and the trees, and that too is part of the broader topic likely to be spoken too.

The day’s program has yet to be finalized, but we are pleased to announce the following six speakers have agreed to make presentations to us, and may participate in a round table Q&A that closes the conference:

Tom Dishlevoy                            Architect, Comox                                                              “Urban Design”

Nancy Gothard                            Planner, Courtenay                                                “Courtenay Urban Forest Plan”

Loys Maingon                         Ecologist, Comox Valley                                                “A New Understanding of Forest Ecology”

Will Marsh                            Geomorphologist, Comox                                                   “Adaptive Design”

Alison Mewett                     Landscape Architect, Comox                                                    “Urban Trees”

Royann Petrell                     Ecological Engineer, Comox Valley                                   “Urban Avian Ecology”

The conference will run from 09:00 to 18:00 October 26^th in Courtenay, at the Evergreen Lounge in the Filberg Centre in Courtenay. Registration cost is yet to be determined, but will not exceed $30. RSVP is appreciated. If you would like to be kept appraised of developments, my email address is below. Thank you for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Boulter, President Comox Valley Nature