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CIT E·Newsletter    Volume 1: Number 2 · May 2006

Welcome to the Communities in Transition’s (CIT) E-newsletter. It provides info on the latest library resources and recent articles; highlights conferences and events; and offers news about projects as well as partners' activities and research on a monthly basis. If you have news that you would like us to include or if you have comments about the newsletter, contact Sara Muir Owen, Manager of Secretariat Services at info@communitytransition.org. For more information about CIT, including partners and projects underway, visit our website at www.communitytransition.org.

Latest Library Resources and Recent Articles

Visit the CIT website to review the latest resources and recent articles, including:

In addition to our latest resources, check out our archived resources at CIT Archives or keyword search our entire Web library.

New CIT Projects

In March 2005, the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia awarded three grants for CIT projects to organizations:

  • University of Northern BC – $8,400 for the research project, "Sustainable Mountain Community Development: Managing Growth and Change in Western Canadian Resort Communities."
  • Organic Farming Institute – $35,000 to assist with course development associated with start-up of the Institute in the Similkameen Valley.
  • Okanagan Partnership Society – $40,000 in support of the "Okanagan Regional Planning Framework" initiative.

Visit the CIT Projects page for more information about CIT projects underway and completed.

Partner News

British Columbia Real Estate Association — Housing Options Needed
Despite the healthy economy and government budget surpluses, BC continues to be the least affordable province in which to purchase a home. REALTORS® from across the province met with MLAs to present three recommendations to help address housing needs. For an overview of recommendations visit: www.bcrea.bc.ca/news_room/2006-04-25GLDays.pdf or check out the BCREA’s April 2006 Bulletin.

BC Society of Landscape Architects — Super Saturday
Three urban planning and design professions — Planning, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture — have come together as city-building professionals to offer a unique day of professional inter-disciplinary sessions, networking opportunities and social activities. For more information visit the BCSLA website at www.bcsla.org.

BC Treaty Commission — Update
The latest edition of BC Treaty Commission’s Update is now available on line. Visit the BC Treaty Commissions website to download a copy and read about the new minister's address to the summit, the Treaty Commission's latest community consultation, the status of negotiations. . . more.

BC Wilderness Tourism Association — Strategy Session Highlights
The WTA believes that wilderness tourism is a viable and sustainable economic enterprise, and that BC's wilderness tourism operators must have a strong voice in determining how the lands upon which they depend are planned and developed. To learn more about WTA’s recent activities and to review 2006 Conference Strategy Session Highlights visit their website at www.wilderness-tourism.bc.ca.

BC Water and Waste Association — Province Supports Okanagan Water Study
The Province and the Okanagan Basin Water Board are joining in a $550,000 partnership to complete the second phase of a water supply and demand study for the Okanagan Basin. . . more.

Real Estate Foundation — Staff & CIT Advisory Attend Mountain Towns Summit
CIT Advisory Committee member, Tracy Wall and Real Estate Foundation staff attended the Mountain Towns and Resort Planners Summit April 2006 in Whistler, BC to learn more about the planning challenges facing mountain towns in BC and the western US. Funding support was also provided by CIT to assist Regional District of East Kootenay planners to attend the summit. As a result of the summit, a new online discussion forum, "Mountain Town Planners" has been established to enable planners in Canada and the US share information and expertise. More information about the summit and forum to come...www.mountaintownplanners.com.

Smart Growth BC — Awards and New Reports
Smart Growth BC announces award winners . . . more. Also, Smart Growth’s new report entitled Promoting Public Health Through Smart Growth is now available at http://www.smartgrowth.bc.ca/index.cfm.

Other News

The Canadian Agricultural Skills Services Program
This program helps BC producers and their spouses access training to improve farm practices, build new agricultural enterprises, create new business ventures, or obtain employment income. Individual farmers may be eligible for up to $16,000 in support. To find out more about the program, call 1-800-622-6232 or contact your local Service Canada office. More information is available at: www.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/cass/cassbc.html and www.agr.gc.ca/renewal.

The Miistakis Institute — Cost of Community Service Study
The Miistakis Institute is pleased to announce the completion of "Cost of Community Services Study for Red Deer County." This is the first such study conducted in Canada designed to promote sustainable land use by helping rural municipalities connect their land use decisions with the fiscal implications of those decisions. View project reports at www.rockies.ca/programs/cocs.htm.

Centre for Community Enterprise — Building Community Wealth
Building Community Wealth is a free quarterly newsletter created by the Social Economy Project Team. Its first edition is now available (in English and French) and filled with reports, links, and contacts important to your work in social enterprise . . . more.

Orton Family Foundation — New Sustainability Initiative
Orton Family Foundation and David and Lucile Packard Foundation team up to help coastal communities plan and develop sustainably in a post-Katrina world . . . more.

Headwaters News — Western Perspective Insight and Analysis

Check out Headwaters News, and the article by Courtney White (2006) about Kirk Gadzia, “a biologist has worked the rangelands of the Southwest, and cultivated the caregivers of that land in the process” for the last 30 years . . . more

Upcoming Events

Visit the Events Calendar on the CIT website for more information about upcoming events including:

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