Can local forests contribute to he wellbeing of local communities, and if so, how?
That’s the question organizers plan to explore on Sept. 29 when the Canadian Institute of Forestry, Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Reserve, and Vancouver Island University sponsor a community dialogue session for local residents in Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum Beach.
The purpose of the session is to discuss and document community perspectives on the roles of local forests in contributing to the wellbeing of local communities.
The session will be held at VIU Nanaimo Campus, Building 356, Room 111, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Organizers hope to attract input from a range of forest users on questions such as:
• What kinds of goods and services does our community need from local forests for our social, cultural, and economic wellbeing?
• What do we perceive as the major obstacles that stand in the way of realizing these needs?
• What specific actions could we take to overcome these obstacles?
• What key messages do we want to send to decision makers?
• Similar sessions have been held in six BC communities to date, and many others are planned for the fall. All are contributing to the Healthy Forests-Healthy Communities initiative, a non-partisan, volunteer-supported effort to inform decision-making on B.C.’s forest lands.
With a view to providing the most up-to-date knowledge on the state of British Columbia’s natural resources, B.C. leaders have prepared background briefs on a range of forest values and uses. These and summaries from the community dialogue sessions, are available at http://bcforestconversation.com.