Of the over 50 community forests in British Columbia, only one — in tiny Harrop-Procter, located on the rugged eastern shore of Kootenay Lake’s West Arm — has its own mill. With its emphasis on creating local employment and its commitment to ecosystem-based forestry, Harrop-Procter Community Forest stands as one of Canada’s most interesting — Continue reading
Harrop-Procter Community Forest, located on the rugged eastern shore of Kootenay Lake’s West Arm, is one of Canada’s most innovative — and intriguing — community forest operations. Harrop-Procter Community Forest’s 11,300 ha community forest tenure comprises 100-year-old mixed forests, domestic watersheds, and steep, sensitive terrain. The HPCF takes an ecosystem-based approach to management which is based Continue reading
Public participation — without it, democracy simply can’t function. The International Public Participation Association (IAP2) was established in the 1990s to help foster public participation. The organization’s British Columbia chapter partners with other organizations to provide training for the public, zeroing in on issues such as Dealing with Opposition & Outrage, and Public Participation for Decision Continue reading
Innovation in rural BC — its importance, and how it can be deployed to help with everything from boosting local economies to coping with a changing climate — is an enormously important issue. We highlight this in three wide-ranging interviews with BC rural tech leaders — Salmon Arm’s Lana Fitt, Revelstoke’s Jean-Marc La Flamme, and Trail’s Continue reading
This report on Community Land Trusts, land leases & shared equity approaches to creating affordable rural housing was written by Gordon Borgstrom, Executive Director of the BC Rural Centre. The report is based on research completed by Borgstrom, as well as consultants retained by the BC Rural Centre to work on the project. This report Continue reading
Rochelle and Jean-Michel Longval are typical young urbanites. Or are they? Both are professionals. They have no children, an extremely cute dog named Geo, and a nice home in a leafy Calgary neighbourhood. Life for the Longvals would seem to be idyllic. There’s only one catch: they long to escape the city! With some help Continue reading
It’s like a law of physics — you know, for every action an equal reaction. As our major centres grow ever larger and more congested, attracting young people from rural areas with the promise of jobs and, well, glitter and glamour, an increasing number of youngish city folk are starting to look longingly at BC’s Continue reading
Christina Lake is a beautiful community in southern British Columbia. Locals Grace McGregor & Donna Wilchynski fill listeners in on the local scene in this lively, informative podcast!
While many rural communities in BC have fought for their schools over the years, it’s doubtful any community has fought more fiercely than the citizens of the tiny town of Wells (population around 220), located in the Cariboo Mountains, 80 kilometres east of Quesnel, 8 km from historical Barkerville. Wells, named after a hard Continue reading
What kind of provincial policies and tools would help us with rural development in BC? This is an issue the BC Rural Centre/SIBAC has spent a lot of time and effort researching. We have developed a brief document (see below) that provides a summary discussion of the top five recommendations the BC Rural Centre would Continue reading
