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Three-day water symposium coming to Parksville this April

Event will feature workshops and field trips based on water stewardship in a changing climate
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A three-day symposium on water stewardship in a changing climate is coming to Parksville in April.

During this second annual event, held last year in Nanaimo, delegates will have the opportunity to learn how communities can apply science-based understanding to increase their restorative footprint through workshops and field trips.

During day one of the event, on April 2, attendees can choose between a tour of the new Englishman River Water Treatment Plant or a workshop with Dave Derrick on stream restoration training at Shelly Creek.

Day two’s theme, on April 3, will be sustainable stream restoration and will take place at the Parksville Community Conference Centre from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

On the evening of April 3, a free public session in the conference centre will feature a lecture by U.S. economist and author Storm Cunningham titled “The Challenge: Design with Nature.”

For the final day of the symposium, on April 4, held at the Parksville Community Conference Centre, the theme will be restorative land development and will begin at 8:30 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. Both day two and three will include a catered lunch.

Peter Law, with the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society and John Finnie, with the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC, asked Parksville city council during a regular meeting on Jan. 21 to be sponsors for the event and provide a donation.

“We have a budget for this event of $50,000 and we’ve secured about half of that so far,” Finnie said. “For last year’s symposium, the City of Nanaimo contributed $2,600 to the event. We don’t want Parksville to be constrained or controlled by what the City of Nanaimo did, any amount would be very welcomed to the group putting this on.”

For more information or to register for the event, visit www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2019/parksville-water-stewardship-symposium.