James and Angeline Street of Brambles Market talk to hanspetermeyer about food and sustainability in the Comox Valley.
This is part of the ongoing series of conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley that was sparked in the Fall of 2009 by David Stapley, Meg Cursons, and hans peter meyer (and seeded with funding by hblanarc.com) as a parallel to the Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy. For more information visit CV2050.com
Maps are fascinating things. I've been working my GoogleMap skills up, and decided to practice by adding a feature to the #CV2050 map.
What's the feature? One of my favourite "legacies of logging" – the Comox Logging & Railway Co's right of way that once stretched from north of Campbell River to the log dump and booming ground at Royston.
I've marked it in brown here (I'm not sure where it went north after what used to be called "Camp 3 Road" (but is now known as Endall Road, in Black Creek). Part of it has been turned into the "One-Spot Trail," thanks to the work of some horse folks. That part is marked in green. One day I hope to see a walking, cycling, equestrian trail from Royston all the way past Echo Lake (that's by the old Camp 8 sight north of Campbell River), and eventually connecting to old rail grades from Merrill & Lynch, and the big Bloedel Steward & Welch camps in the McCreight Lake and Sayward Valleys. Perhaps by 2050?
I've also included a couple of landmarks in red: the Centre of the Known Universe (the roundabout at Cumberland and Willemar), and the constellation of 3 dance venues (Florence Filberg Centre, Courtenay Legion Hall, and Native Sons' Hall) that are one of the centres of activity and fun for me.
What and where are your special places in the Comox Valley?
What kinds of trails and public spaces are you dreaming about?
I recently posted the "ALR / ours to preserve!" button as my Facebook profile. Within a day, a friend posted on my "wall" about it, and a conversation took off. Here's what it looks like:
I love your button, too bad CVEDS isn't applying this concept to the Duck's unlimited lands aka ALR land where they want to build the $5 to $6 million palace of a farmer's market. Pave paradise and put up a parking lot....booooo
Tom Dishlevoy I tend to agree with you Wendy on this point. ALthough I am totally in support of the concept of a farmer's market facility, I cannot support the use of a known, historical flood plain as a site for a new building, sensitive estuary lands aside! We need to be much better with our VISIONING!
Paul Hansen What is the environmental impact of planting a farmers market in that space? Where can we provide a space to honor our agricultural based providers & entreprenuers. Any links for me to see more of this convo?
Tom Dishlevoy For me we might want to think about taking the produce to the people rather than bringingthem all by car to the center of the farmland. How about the Comox Mall, or the Driftwood Mall where we already have a sea of parking?
I'm not against a farmer's market, but I am against paving ALR and estuary floodplain for it. They're talking about using a huge area (several hectares of land) for the buildings and parking. Also why use taxpayers' dollars and go through CVEDS why not form a society and let it pay for itself through membership and the market itself. Let's find a more sustainable location for the infrastructure portion which is the market itself (buildings and parking lot) and grow crops on this prime ALR land instead. Remember it's not that long ago that the land the Superstore sits on including the parking lot was part of this ALR land and was estuary as well. That was also a very bad deal. I don't want to see history repeat itself, would rather learn from it.
We could design a building on this land that would have little impact, but why. Flooding will happen, needs to happen to keep land fertile and this will be very inconvenient. We could build on stilts, or a floatable building. We could build for easy relocation to higher ground when sea level rises as we suggested to other river side owners. But inviting thousands of people in their cars to this spot and elsewhere in the estuary is not wise or visionary.
this is the quote from Phillip Round that concerns me regarding the vastness of the plan and the amount of ALR land that will be lost to paving/concrete/buildings:
In addition to offering space for existing vendors at the proposed building, CVEDS suggests the complex might include agriculture-related educational facilities for North Island College; a permanent shellfish sales centre; a butcher's shop preparing locally-grown meats; a produce distribution centre; a conservation interpretive centre; and offices, meeting rooms and exhibition space.
Tom I LOVE your idea of creating the farmer's markets in the existing malls, they need to fill the empty spaces there, it brings it to the people and the parking exists, this is so simple and yet sustainable, great idea. One market on Wednesday, one on Saturday, perfect. Think of what it would mean to all the Comox residents who could walk or bike to the mall or a change (me included) instead of driving our cars to the market. Ditto for Courtenay. If they want to expand they can take another day in Cumberland in the Recreation Centre...growth and sustainability.
Philip Round, just the reporter, quoting John Watson I would presume. John has some big ideas, as do many others in the Valley. How do we get the process more collaborative so that the ultimate decisions are made with all the cards on the table, yours, mine and all of ours?
Remember that the various strategy documents were not by/for the politicians and staff, just the public that created them
I think the mall parking lot idea is indeed quite brilliantly simple. Double dipping on the use of that concrete and space. I also really like the farmers market idea (in the right location) if it can be a blessing to everyone. Thanks wendy for the info you forwarded me :)
.... and may this continue, here, on the CV2050 page on Facebook but somewhere in our community where we can extend the conversation on what sustainability looks like in the Comox Valley, and how we get there.
Wedlidi Speck talks to hanspetermeyer about sustainability and social well-being as part of the #3x2x8 project. Wedlidi is the Executive Director of the Wachiay Friendship Centre in Courtenay, and a long-time resident of the Comox Valley with a reputation for successfully bringing together diverse cultures and points of view. He talks to hanspetermeyer as part of a series of "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/CV2050.
It's starting to happen. The online chatter about CV2050 – what sustainability looks like from different points of view inside and outside the Comox Valley.
You'll see comments on some of the video posts on Facebook (go to www.facebook.com/CV2050). We've also had a few folks send tweets about the #3x2x8 work. Sometimes I'm able to corral someone into an interview. Which is what this is meant to do: spread the #3x2x8 beyond the 16 folks that David, Meaghan, and I wanted to start the convo with.
One of those found via Twitter is Jackie Connelly. You can hear my interview with her here as an audio blog post. (We did this over the telephone and I used gabcast.com to turn it into a podcast – super simple tech folks; I encourage you to try it.)
Jackie's a Valley girl gone to Vancouver, keeping busy as foodie photographer. Her connection to this place is pretty strong – she does work for at least one local restaurant and visits here often. She also did the photo work for the North Island Chefs' recent cookbook, Island Inspirations. I mention that because both of my #3x2x8 interviews on the "food security/sustainability" topic emphasized the need to buy and eat local food. Yup. Some message from an ag economist and a gourmet chef.
Gary Rolston is pretty close to the ground on the producer side of this issue. He said that buying local food, even if it was more expensive in the short term, is probably the single most important thing to do for long term sustainable food production. Chef Ronald St. Pierre made the same point – and then held up Island Inspirations as part of the solution: learning about what's available locally, buying local, and learning how to cook local product so it tastes delish.
So, I was happy to have Jackie play along with #3x2x8. She's got "local food" creds, and she's got a bit of distance on the local scene. Like so many of us, getting away really helps to make this place even more magical.
Thanks for playing along with the #3x2x8 project Jackie. Thanks for making our local food look so delicious with your photos!
hpm
ps. If you're looking for a copy of Island Inspirations, Beyond the Kitchen Door in downtown Courtenay just received a fresh box load at $25 each.
Andrew Gower is a civil engineer with Wedler Engineering in the Comox Valley. He talks to hanspetermeyer about "infrastructure" and the need for more aggressive targets as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project.
Vivian Dean is a business and development consultant in the Comox Valley. In this 2nd conversation about sustainability in the Comox Valley, Vivian talks about "getting socialer" - using social media to create fun, real-time/real-space interactions that celebrate life and living in this beautiful place, the Comox Valley.
She challenges Todd Butler to a 30 words from 30 people format. It's a light-hearted, but heartfelt, approach to an often difficult topic. Watch it and laugh along with Vivian and hanspetermeyer!
(apologies for the too-bright background)
In this, the 2nd of hanspetemeyer's conversations with sustainability practioner Mark Holland, Mark responds to the 3 questions that are at the heart of the #3x2x8 project.
Mark Holland is a principal with the HBLanarc sustainability planning firm (Vancouver/Nanaimo). Mark and his company are currently working with local governments, community organizations, and residents on the Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy. He talks to hanspetermeyer about sustainability planning and community strategies for meeting the future. In this interview Mark answers the #3x2x8 series of questions that are part of the CV2050 "all about sustainability and the Comox Valley" project initiated by hanspetermeyer, David Stapley, and Meaghan Cursons.
Betty-Anne Juba is a housing and food activist in the Comox Valley, and one of the founders of the Comox Valley Affordable Housing Society. She talks to hanspetermeyer about housing and sustainability as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project.
I'm a pretty loose-lips kind of guy around some things – things that I make assumptions about, or think should be common knowledge. This give me lots of opportunity to pull my foot out of my mouth. Or, as I prefer to think about it, to create conversations that get a little deeper (and sometimes more uncomfortable) than I'd intended. Good stuff in my books.
So, thanks for your email Anya Mac: you made the point that there are some questions about $, CV2050, the Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy, and the #3x2x8 "convos about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. Questions raised by my loose references to "cash" related to the CVSS.
Here's how it looks to me: I saw an opportunity to do what I do (stimulate convos about sustainability in my town) because there was a sustainability project happening; with some collaborators a small proposal was put to the CVSS consultant, HBLanarc – and they liked it.
In the end, it turns out they liked it so much they were willing to go into their own pockets (not the CVSS budget) and give us some seed $. Most of the energy for CV2050 and the #3x2x8 convos comes from the commitment of the folks – like me – who've been working on this "conversation about sustainability in the Comox Valley" for lotsa years, and others – like you – who are relative newcomers but already appreciate what a special place this is.
This kind of bits-and-pieces approach, with official processes providing a context for interesting and experimental convos, isn't new. I've been here before: cobbling together volunteer passion and diverse bits of $ to make convos happen. It's very much like what I did in the 90s, when I and a different crew of collabs initiated the Communities Institute (it died a premature death several years before things like today's SmartGrowthBC and the Communities in Transition program institutionalized and stabilized some of the kinds of things we were doing on a shoestring).
I was reminded of the cool things we did through CI just this morning when I replied to a CV2050 post by Alison Mewett. I met her in '94 at my first taste of what a "design charette" might look like. Very fun. (I wish I had the drawings from that day. Eight different, exciting visions of what Courtenay could look like if it embraced density, mixed-uses, walkability. Way ahead of its time.) AM was part of that. Within a couple of years, she and Judy Walker had become the brains behind something we called the "Land Use Café." Today's #3x2x8 convos, and the whole CV2050 experiment owes its genesis to what JW & AM helped cook up in the mid-90s, and to Judy's comment this past summer that, "We need another Land Use Café, but this time online."
Thanks Judy. Here it is. Only we're calling it CV2050. Just like that earlier effort at stimulating and informing the "convo about sustainability in the Comox Valley," this takes advantage of opportunities and challenges (ie. CVSS), engages a bunch of diverse folks (see the list of folks who've participated in the #3x2x8 convos so far), and draws on bits of $ and volunteer energy wherever they are to be found.
So, thanks to all who are playing along. And thanks to HBLanarc for seeding the convo outside of or alongside of the CVSS process. I laud their contribution (and not just because it'll keep my cats in kibbles and kitty litter for a few months), because the "convo about sustainability in the Comox Valley" doesn't end with the adoption of the CVSS. The CVSS sets targets. It tells us where we think we need to be in 2015 and 2050. Ultimately, it's up to us – the citizens and taxpayers in this place I love – to make choices for sustainability. This includes who we elect, the way we travel, where we buy, how we deal with garbage, what we eat, etc etc etc. Big choices. Little choices. All of them adding up ways to ensure that in 10, 20, and 40 years the Comox Valley still is a beautiful (in all senses of the word) place to call home. We're hoping that the #3x2x8 convos sustain thinking action to meet this goal.
Thanks Anya for sparking this. Yes, I do have other things to do than tend to CV2050, the #3x2x8 convos, and pulling my foot out of my mouth. But you've given me yet another opportunity to perhaps clarify something that wasn't clear, and to write about something I'm passionate about: a thriving, sustainability Comox Valley.
Tom Dishlevoy is an architect with offices in the Town of Comox in the Comox Valley. He talks to hanspetermeyer as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.
Judy Walker is the Planner with the Village of Cumberland in the Comox Valley and a long-time Valley resident who also operates a vineyard on the Comox Peninsula. Judy talks to hanspetermeyer as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.
Right now it's the brainchild of three people – David Stapley, Meaghan Cursons, and Hans Peter Meyer. We sat down one evening in the summer of 2009 to mull over things like "sustainability," the "Comox Valley" (the place we've been calling home for quite a few years).
David is recently involved with the 2009 Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy on a professional basis. Meaghan and Hans are long-time participants and observers of "things sustainability" in the Comox Valley and elsewhere.
Our little chat quickly grew past the CVSS process to wondering: OK, so we get a sustainability strategy. Then what?
We're a pretty passionate trio. We love the Comox Valley. We liked (very, very much) that local government is sponsoring the CVSS. We also thought that the "sustainability conversation" needed to get way past what was happening through CVSS.
Our dream with CV2050 is that it picks up and stimulates the local sustainability conversation. This needs to be more than a policy-related, local government strategic planning convo. Whatever "sustainability" means to anyone of us here in the Comox Valley, it does mean change. Talking about it is a step towards making positive change happen more quickly.
So here's the idea: We're just 3 independent citizens. We'll use whatever resources we've got to stimulate the convo. Thanks to the CVSS process, there's a little bit of cash to pay for sparking the first efforts: the 3x2x8 project (see the blog post on it). The bulk of our resources right now, however, are our volunteer time and or passion about this place.
Given our resources, we want to create a buzz about the sustainability convo here in the Comox Valley. We hope that others – people like you, and others who care about life in the Comox Valley – will find ways to pick it up, make it real in your real-time convos with family, friends, co-workers, etc. Our focus is on using "social media" – videos on YouTube and VIMEO, Facebook, Twitter posts, and this blog, for example. We encourage you to comment on these postings. We hope you'll pick up a camera or a recorder or keyboard and create your own posts (and please, please, please tag everything #CV2050 – this helps keep track of the convo on the internet). I'm hoping someone (or a bunch of someones) does the Google Maps thing and starts to annotate the "special places" of this landscape.
So that's it. CV2050. 3 passionate citizens of the Comox Valley, wanting to stimulate and deepen the conversation about sustainability in our community and region. Want to play?
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