Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Podcast: Why The BC Grasslands Conservation Council Is Important....

I've been impressed with the work of the BC Grasslands Conservation Council (GCC). The GCC is based in Kamloops and, over the past years, they have worked cooperatively with governments and citizens to preserve what I now know to be quite a valuable resource.

 

At the 2010 Kamloops Energy Fair, as part of my podcast booth, I had the great opportunity to speak with Tasha Sargent, stewardship planner with the GCC, to find out more about the work of the GCC and its value to the province. The audio runs about 11 minutes and, I think, provides a good primer on the importance of the GCC.

Audio Map

 00:08 - what is the Grasslands Conservation Council and why grasslands are important    

01:50 - working closely with ranching industry, created monitoring manual for ranchers
 02:10 - how the GCC is funded, offer opportunity for membership
 03:16 - working with different levels of government (eg. City of Kamloops)
 04:13 - why should we care if species ( eg.that depend on grasslands) die out?
 06:14 - current grasslands conservation philosophy
 07:30 - how can people help conserve grasslands when using them for recreational purposes
 10:14 - pocket book for motorized users
www.bcgrasslands.org

Interesting Reads to Start the Week?

Honestly, I am still getting back into community blogging after submitting a (successful!) MA thesis proposal and attending the Northern Voice conference this weekend. In the meantime, I've found these articles, posts, and conference sessions quite interesting:

 - Mel Rothenburger: Why Politicians and Journalists are the Same

 - Jeremy Deutsch: From Farms to 2000 Homes: Transforming Tranquille

 - Arjun Singh: My Attempt at Live Blogging: Northern Voice Gov 2.0 Session

Committed North Shore Volunteers Need Your Help...

I am a huge admirer of Tom Hammer, Shannon Hammer, and Betty Nelson. They have all played such significant roles in the health of North Kamloops. We shouldn't burn these people out. Kamloops This Week has the story here. I hope they will get some back up support.

BANANA to NIMBY to YIMBY...

Was just reminded of these wonderful acronyms while talking to a friend about community building and particularly the building of stuff people sometimes don't like:

BANANA = Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody

NIMBY = Not In My Back Yard

YIMBY = Yes In My Back Yard

These might be helpful next time you are conversing with a community planning expert - either to understand him/her or to impress him/her.

Short Recap of the City Sustainability Plan Public Forum on Saturday

Promises to be a very busy next couple of weeks. My father just had knee replacement surgery and I've got a MA thesis proposal to write (a couple of weeks earlier than I had thought due to my own error). Spent a lot of today by a hospital bed, studying.

So, short and snappy posts here will featured for the next while.

How was the City Sustainability Plan Public Forum?

In my view, not was as well attended as I had hoped. This, however, allowed people who did attend a real chance to give feedback. Meeting did allow a lot of time for discussion. I commented that I hope all the feedback will be made public and that some response will be made for the various ideas offered - we did this, we could'nt do this/ didn't do this because...

As is now often the case, my friends on Facebook had a great discussion - this time, about the attendance / lack of attendance at the forum. Hans Peter Meyer even wrote a blog post.

Full page of Sustainable Kamloops Information Packages...

It is becoming pretty clear to me (crystal clear, in fact) that I am not going to be able to summarize all the Sustainable Kamloops information packages before Saturday's forum. Lot's of stuff going on - if you know anybody who is looking for a good apartment, for example, my paying job might help.

I will keep beavering away on summarizing the info packages but, just to make the information as web accessible as possible, here are all the information packages grouped together and displayed in handy dandy viewers.

More Info on the Sustainable Kamloops Forum Agenda...

When I posted the draft agenda for the Sustainable Kamloops forum this weekend, I also wondered how much time there would be allotted for feedback and discussion. Over on facebook, Dylan Houlihan, who is one of the key consultants on the Sustainable Kamloops plan, responded:

Arjun, there's going to be tons of time for discussion and feedback. Each one hour block will be about 10 minutes of presentation and 30 - 40 minutes of discussion with time for some wiggle room logistics. Each person will have the opportunity to go to focus group tables and discuss the topic at hand in-depth - they'll get a chance for 5 topics areas given the format of the day ... if they can't make it to a focus group table then     they can provide comments in one of a bunch of other ways.

My Summary of the Sustainable Kamloops Energy Info Package...

In another in a series of posts leading up to the public forum on the Sustainable Kamloops plan, here is my attempt to meaningfully summarize the energy use information package that has been created to support the planning process. I am also posting the full document in a viewer below so that folks can see the whole document, summarize it for yourselves, and assess my summary

Summary: The twin motivations behind this information package seem to be reducing greenhouse gas emissions and securing stable, reliable sources of energy. The Provincial government is planning a diverse range of measures towards these two goals.

Comparing Kamloops to other BC communities, we are towards the high end in our energy use - both in heating buildings and in transportation. 40% of city hall energy usage goes towards water pumping and treatment, and community recreation facilities account for 60% of natural gas use. Natural gas generates more greenhouse gas emissions than electricity.

By 2035, city hall hopes to use energy in city facilities that generate no greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, city staff hope to generate 10% of facility energy through green energy (solar, wind, geothermal, etc) by 2020. They also hope to reduce the use of fossil fuels by 25% in power city vehicles (by 2020).

Also by 2020, the goal is to increase the use of alternative transportation (walking, biking, carpooling, transit) by 30%. By 2050, the goal is to increase the density of new development by 25% and to reduce summer time water consumption by 50% (to reduce water pumping energy use).

Full Document:

Sustainable Kamloops Plan - Energy Info Package

My Summary of the Sustainable Kamloops Air Quality Info Package...

In another in a series of posts leading up to the public forum on the Sustainable Kamloops plan, here is my attempt to meaningfully summarize the air quality information package that has been created to support the planning process. I am also posting the full document in a viewer below so that folks can see the whole document, summarize it for yourselves, and assess my summary.

Summary - Our air quality in Kamloops is generally good when compared to provincial and national standards and when compared to other BC communities. However, when it comes to a high profile component of air pollution (smoke or PM 2.5), experts say that there are no safe levels and any reduction in this component will lead to an increase in the health of the community. Additionally, long terms effects from consistent exposure to air pollution has ten times more impact than short term impacts. Children, the elderly, and people with existing repiratory and cardiac issues are more at risk from air pollution.

Good air quality is a component in fostering a strong business community and economy.

The primary goal is to develop an airshed management plan by 2012.  The development of this plan would involve setting air quality targets, soliciting further public input and engagement, gathering and assessing air quality data, and examining the measures government, businesses, organizations and citizens could take to improve air quality.

Full Document:

Sustainable Kamloops Plan - Air Quality Info Package

Draft Detailed Agenda for the Sustainable Kamloop Plan Public Forum, April 17th 2010

Here is the draft agenda for the forum - in the Scribd viewer below.

My main question right now which I will ask this week: How much time will there be for questions and discussion? Is this more a presentation format type of forum?

Sustainable Kamloops Forum Draft Agenda - April 17th 2010