Strong Towns Nanaimo

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

In the first instalment, I looked at specific actions that the City and Park Board were engaged in relating to blueways and greenways.¹ In this part, I will offer an assessment of these activities. The people I interviewed are employees of either the Engineering Department or the semi-autonomous Vancouver Park Board. They were the primary source of the information enumerated in Part 1, further elaborated on here.

A Multi-dimensional Assessment of the City’s Programs

Vancouver’s city programs represent a sustainable approach to urban environmental planning. First, they take a long-term perspective that seeks to partially undo more than a century and half of deforestation, land clearing, burying of streams, destruction of habitat, and paving of the urban landscape. Related to this, they take a ‘more-than-human’ perspective, considering the needs of other species of plants, animals, birds, and insects and their habitat requirements and beneficial interactions. They not only consider the needs of other life-forms but also pay attention to abiotic conditions such as water and soil, previously disregarded.

Secondly, these initiatives are conducted in ways that are holistic. For example, the Richards Street blue-green system increases the city’s tree cover, adds permeability, filters stormwater, and creates protected space for cyclists and ‘rollers’ of all kinds. In the case of the St. George Rainway, it pedestrianizes most of a four-block long space, and creates community gathering spaces featuring indigenous plantings, community art and interpretative signs. This interconnected series of gardens – celebrating a portion of the old course of St. George Creek – also increases permeability for rainwater and reduces the risk of flooding, having already proven its worth in a recent ‘atmospheric river’ event.²

In addition, these initiatives are occurring in the context of a robust, overlapping set of policies, such as the Rain City Strategy (and overlapping Healthy Waters Initiative), the Biodiversity Strategy, which in turn is linked to the City’s Bird Strategy, and an emerging Ecological Network plan.³ These policies and strategies involve a variety of actors – City and Park Board staff, residents, non-profits and businesses, as well as adjacent municipalities and Metro Vancouver. The City’s work employs different tools such as “regulation, advocacy, partnerships, and investments.”⁴

One example is the Rain City Strategy, first formulated in 2019 and which reflects a shift in paradigm and procedure with respect to how water is viewed and treated. The over-arching goal is to create a “water-sensitive city” with “different values, behaviours, and design principles.” The Strategy involves “using more natural ‘green infrastructure’ (GI) – natural systems, as well as engineered systems that mimic natural processes.” Instead of relying exclusively on underground stormwater pipes, the Strategy aims to introduce more “rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs, permeable pavement, engineered wetlands, and absorbent landscapes,” all of these being examples of green infrastructure.⁵

Figure 1: The ‘Water-Sensitive City’ [courtesy of the City of Vancouver]

A positive feature of the Strategy is an emphasis on iterative planning/ adaptive management. Instead of going full-bore in a potentially wrong direction, it involves ‘learning by doing,’ and correcting mistakes as one goes along.⁶ There is also a strong focus on risk reduction and enhancing resilience, as described by McManus and de Hoog in relation to the Rain City Strategy:

For Vancouver, a changing climate means more intense rainstorms, overwhelming aging combined sewer and drainage systems, sending raw effluent into surrounding water bodies. Meeting sewer and drainage needs requires forward thinking, innovation, and collaboration to mobilize action. Vancouver’s Rain City Strategy is a long-term roadmap for holistic rainwater management – integrating green infrastructure solutions into land-use decisions, infrastructure upgrades, community plans, and urban design.

Equity is also considered. As these authors note…

The City is… looking at how GI co-benefits can be used to support and reinforce equity. Vulnerable populations including the elderly, infants, people of lower socio-economic status, and those experiencing homelessness are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards and service deficits.

These service deficits also include less access to parkland and green space in poorer neighbourhoods than in more affluent ones. The Park Board’s VanPlay policy seeks to optimize recreation opportunities for all segments of the population.⁷

A final strength of the City’s approach is a strong emphasis on citizen participation and public awareness-building. The St. George Rainway began from a Master’s project in Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia by a student who lived in the neighbourhood. The idea was picked up by his neighbours, was incorporated into the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood Plan, and eventually became reality.⁸

Figure 2: Activities accompanying citizen participation in the Beaconsfield Park wetland project. Photo by Carmen Rosen, courtesy of Still Moon Arts Society

In Beaconsfield Park, a wet area prone to flooding was transformed into a wetland to provide habitat and serve as a stormwater reservoir. An initiative called Artists in Residence in Schools (AIRS) worked with elementary students to create artistic representations of the nature that had previously existed in the area and in nearby Gibby’s Field. A Squamish First Nations botanist taught the kids about plants, cameras were brought to enable them to peer into the stormwater pipes underground, and Still Moon Arts organized a ceremonial launch when the wetland was finally ready.⁹ These are just two examples of the City and its partners involving the community in environmentally beneficial actions.

Figure 3: More activities accompanying citizen participation in the Beaconsfield Park wetland project. Photo on the right by Yoko Tomita, courtesy of Still Moon Arts Society.

Conclusion

Vancouver’s approach to deployment of green infrastructure, management of blueways and greenways, and enhancement of habitat and biodiversity, show strong evidence of future-oriented thinking, holistic approaches where each intervention fulfills a variety of goals, and strong overlapping policy frameworks. The work also emphasizes collaboration between City departments, the Park Board, residents, the private sector, and Metro Vancouver.

A potential vulnerability lies in lack of adequate funding for maintaining existing programs that were often launched with considerable capital investment, but without an accompanying commitment of resources for their maintenance. Another is the issue of changing political winds at City Hall. While current Council and Park Board leadership is more conservative than in past years, they appear to be willing to maintain existing programs. However, at present there is some doubt as to whether an independent Park Board will continue to be allowed to exist.¹⁰ Moreover, Council’s recent endorsement of a supposed ‘0% increase in property tax’ budget spells potential trouble for the staff and programs described above.¹¹

The author is indebted to discussions he had with Vancouver staff – Jo Fitzgibbons, Julie McManus, Shannon Mendes, Marie Pudlas, and Jack Tupper.

‘Blueways’ refers to the work of rehabilitating, creating, and connecting watercourses. ‘Greenways’ refers to the work of enhancing and connecting natural and naturalized terrestrial spaces in an urban context. ↩
Rainway vs. atmospheric river. The Tyee, 2024. ↩
Rain City Strategy; Healthy Waters Plan; Biodiversity; Vancouver Bird Strategy; Ecological Network. ↩
“Transforming Vancouver into a Water-Sensitive City by 2050” by Julie McManus and Wendy de Hoog, Plan Canada, Summer 2020, pp. 28–31 [available from author]. ↩
Rain City Strategy. City of Vancouver. ↩
Rain City Strategy. City of Vancouver. ↩
VanPlay – Vancouver’s Parks and Recreation Strategy. ↩
Rainways could restore Raincouver. The Tyee, 2023. ↩
Presentation by Jo Fitzgibbons, Vancouver Park Board planner at “Next Chapter” annual conference of the Planning Institute of B.C., Vancouver, June 11, 2025; Still Moon Arts – Wetlands. ↩
Fumano, D. “Abolition of Vancouver park board will need to go to referendum.” Vancouver Sun, 9 November 2025. ↩
Vancouver passes budget that promises no tax increases, cuts millions. The Globe and Mail. ↩

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with some staff members at the City of Vancouver, and its affiliated Park Board, and feel strongly that their work is an excellent example of enhancing the health of hydrological and terrestrial systems. It embodies sustainable approaches to addressing aspects of the environmental crisis as they present themselves in an urban context, and seeks to reduce risk and strengthen resilience in the face of climate turbulence and uncertainty. Finally, it uses overarching strategies and programs for facilitating greater sustainability and promoting an interdisciplinary approach with some interjurisdictional collaboration.

The Work on the Ground

The people I interviewed are employees either of the Engineering Department at the City or of the semi-autonomous Vancouver Park Board. Most are not planners, but are trained in landscape architecture or horticulture, and exhibit a strong interest in and knowledge of ecology at both the micro and macro scales.

While the work reviewed here can be broadly broken into water-related or terrestrial ecosystem-related, they are very much interconnected. On the water side, the City and Park Board are conducting a number of parallel initiatives. One involves Still Creek¹, a tributary of the Brunette River, that has its headwaters in Vancouver and flows through Burnaby into the Fraser River via the Brunette. It is currently located in a largely industrial area with 55% impervious land cover and only 7% tree cover.

Preliminary design of the St. George Rainway (City of Vancouver)

City staff have been working on several fronts. They have been using trees and shrubs to revegetate the stream corridor, removing concrete and naturalizing banks, and have a long- term plan to ‘daylight’ portions of the creek not already above ground through land acquisition as opportunities arise and resources permit. They have also been conducting a campaign of public education though interpretative signage, enhancing recreation opportunities, and working with an environmental arts organization to promote a sense of stewardship of the Creek. Indeed, a Still Creek Streamkeepers² group has been established. One positive outcome of these efforts is that chum salmon have come back to spawn for the first time in over 80 years. This has led Still Moon Arts Society³ to organize a Fish Fest every year to celebrate the spawning event.

Preliminary design of the St. George Rainway (City of Vancouver)

A second water-related initiative involves lessening flood risk by increasing the permeability of portions of parks and restoring wetlands and seasonal streams and ponds. They have also worked on enhancing and restoring streams in parks, such as the creek in

Preliminary design of the St. George Rainway (City of Vancouver)

Tatlow Creek Park in Kitsilano. A remnant stream in parts of the park already exists, but the Park Board recently re-created a new naturalized section⁴ near English Bay that filters stormwater before discharging it into the ocean. A particularly interesting hydrological initiative are the blue-green systems and rainways created in various parts of the city. Two of the ones I saw firsthand were notable in different ways. The eight block-long Richards Street blue-green system⁵ downtown features trees planted at regular intervals to separate motorized vehicles from a bike lane. The trees are connected by a ‘tree trench’ that enables stormwater to infiltrate, be absorbed by trees, or purified by soil before being released into the Burrard Inlet. The St. George Rainway⁶ in the Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood is four blocks long and runs along a part of the course of the now-submerged St. George Creek. It features a winding interconnected series of gardens featuring indigenous plants, places for community members to gather, community art, and interpretative signage. It is also car-free for most of its length and will be extended by another two blocks in the coming years.

Terrestrial Ecosystems

The work that the City and the Park Board are doing on terrestrial systems and green space is also diverse. What’s discussed here is merely a sampling of that work. One area involves the naturalization of portions of parks. One form this takes is the creation of pollinator meadows⁷ in 25 parks and Park Board-owned golf courses. These have been shown to attract bees, butterflies, bats, and birds, including rare species. They also improve habitat for plants and animals, fungi and microbes, lower ambient temperatures, and retain moisture in the soil which benefits trees during dry periods. Because they require less maintenance than grass, they produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. One side-benefit of this is that it has contributed to the public being more accepting of less manicured park landscapes, and they also provide inviting places for picnicking and leisurely strolls. Pollinator meadows⁸ are now being extended to major boulevards in various parts of the city.

Approved design of the St. George Rainway in Vancouver, British Columbia (City of Vancouver)

All of this is occurring against the backdrop of the Park Board’s Biodiversity Strategy⁹ formulated in 2016, which seeks to “[i]ncrease the amount and ecological quality of Vancouver’s natural areas to support biodiversity and enhance access to nature.” The Park Board, in addition to naturalizing parts of parks and seeking to enhance biodiversity, is partially switching from annuals to perennials to reduce the need for resource inputs. It also has its own nursery to make accessing indigenous plants easier and also uses the nursery to produce food for food-insecure residents¹⁰. One additional interesting experiment is the creation of two micro-forests¹¹ on park land inspired by the ‘tiny forest’ Miyawaki forest model originating in Japan.

Construction of the St. George Rainway in Vancouver (City of Vancouver)

An initiative involving the City is the promotion of naturalized greenways¹² though different neighbourhoods of the city. As the greenway website states, “[n]eighbourhood greenways are small-scale, local connections for pedestrians and cyclists linking parks, natural areas, historic sites, amenities, and commercial streets.” There are nine in total in the city. A more comprehensive approach is also underway in the form of an ecological network¹³ for habitat enhancement. A draft document was released in August 2024 that offered an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of existing habitat, its type and location, and how existing green links could be welded over time into a robust network of ecological ‘nodes’ and ‘corridors’.

Finishing touches on the St. George Rainway underway. (City of Vancouver)

Another initiative is the Green Streets¹⁴ program involving plantings on street corners and traffic circles for aesthetic and habitat value. These gardens serve numerous purposes. They bring neighbours together (the gardeners are all volunteers), beautify streets, increase permeability, and provide habitat for pollinators, and arguably have a traffic calming effect. Volunteer gardeners are provided with free compost, advice from master gardeners, advance notice of available plants, and more. A final component is the City and Park Board’s Community Garden program¹⁵. Where it occurs on public land, it is driven by non-profit organizations who manage the gardens through agreements to use public lands, with similar agreements in place to use private lands. The

Completed St. George Rainway, complete with actual rain. (City of Vancouver)

latter often occur on a temporary basis on properties awaiting development. This is advantageous for landowners as they are eligible for reduced property taxes under this arrangement. There are currently 25 gardens on city lands, 61 on Park Board land, and 79 on private land. In contrast with Green Streets, these are mainly – but not exclusively – used to grow food.

Conclusion

Overall, the work that City and Park Board staff are doing is quite exemplary, In the next instalment, I will offer an assessment of this work from various angles. There are some storm clouds on the horizon. The ABC Party, first elected in late 2022, has made it its mission to dismantle the Park Board¹⁶. The argument for abolishing it is allegedly to improve efficiency, but – if implemented – how many of the people doing the work will lose their jobs along with the programs? Only the future will tell.

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Join Strong Towns Nanaimo and the developers for Soundworks: Behind The Build – an exclusive first look at Nanaimo’s newest creative and commercial hub.

Click Here To RSVP On Eventbrite

This event introduces Soundworks to the community, bringing together local business owners, real estate professionals, and supporters of downtown revitalization. Experience the transformation of the former A&B Sound building and discover how Soundworks is reimagining the space for culture, creativity, and connection.

Date: November 20th, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: 1 Commercial Street
Price: Free

Guests will enjoy guided tours, light refreshments, and a chance to connect with the team behind the project. You’ll get to talk to the developers behind the project and explore the new space early!

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Strong Towns Nanaimo is proud to host Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear from The War On Cars podcast as they tour the continent to celebrate the release of their new book: Life After Cars! Come learn about the beauty of a life without an automobile and join your two favourite authors & podcasters for a moderated roundtable discussion on transportation, sustainability, and mobility in the urban context.

📅 Date: Sunday, November 9, 2025
⌚ Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM PST (Doors open at 12:45 PM)
📌 Location: Vancouver Island Conference Centre
⌛ Duration: 2 hours
🎫 Admission: All ages welcome

Register on Eventbrite

Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author who has covered cities and transportation for publications such as Grist, CityLab, and Streetsblog. Doug Gordon is a TV producer and writer who is also a neighborhood safe streets advocate, better known online as Brooklyn Spoke. Aaron Naparstek is the founding editor of Streetsblog, a news site that launched in 2006 and is dedicated to what was then called New York’s “livable streets” renaissance. They came together to create The War on Cars podcast in 2018 out of a sense that no one was covering the subject of cars and what they do to culture, society, and the planet in the way they felt it deserved. Doug and Sarah continue to host the podcast and have now authored their first book together.

Please explore car-free options to get to this event!

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

MLA George Anderson has proposed Bill M 216 and we’re pretty excited about it. The bill does something elegantly simple: it lets local governments accept certified technical work from provincially regulated professionals, such as engineers, architects, technologists, so staff can focus on planning outcomes instead of re-doing work.

If a submission is certified by a professional regulated under the Professional Governance Act (PGA), the local government must accept it, unless it’s incomplete or there’s a formal complaint. That trims duplicative reviews without lowering standards. Municipalities still have a path forward to resolve disputes, however. If cities disagree with a report, it goes to the PGA superintendent to decide on whether the work should be re-done. Municipalities can’t require peer reviews of certified submissions unless the superintendent authorizes it, which eliminates a common source of delay and cost. The certifying professional is liable for damages tied to their certification which means that cities are protected when relying on provided reports. Zoning, OCPs, DPs, and the Province’s building codes are untouched; this reform targets process, not community vision.

Current Process Overview

Under the current system, municipalities often duplicate technical reviews that professionals have already completed. When a certified professional submits their work, municipal staff may request peer reviews or additional revisions, creating feedback loops that can cycle multiple times before approval. This duplicative process adds months of delay and thousands of dollars in costs without necessarily improving outcomes.

flowchart TD
    A[Professional Submits<br/>Certified Work] --> B{Municipality<br/>Review}
    B -->|Often duplicates work| C[Staff Technical Review]
    C --> D{Issues<br/>Found?}
    D -->|Yes| E[Request Peer Review]
    E --> F[Peer Reviewer<br/>Analysis]
    F --> G[Resubmission<br/>Required]
    G --> A
    D -->|Minor Issues| H[Request Revisions]
    H --> I[Professional<br/>Resubmits]
    I --> B
    D -->|No| J[Accept & Approve]
    
    style A fill:#e1f5ff
    style C fill:#fff4e1
    style E fill:#ffe1e1
    style F fill:#ffe1e1
    style G fill:#ffe1e1
    style H fill:#fff4e1
    style J fill:#e1ffe1

Proposed New Process (Bill M 216)

Bill M 216 introduces a streamlined path: municipalities must accept PGA-certified work unless it’s incomplete or subject to a formal complaint. If a municipality disagrees with certified work, the dispute escalates to the PGA superintendent for resolution, rather than triggering automatic peer reviews or revision cycles. This creates a clear, efficient path to approval while maintaining accountability through professional liability and superintendent oversight.

flowchart TD
    A[Professional Submits<br/>PGA-Certified Work] --> B{Complete &<br/>No Complaint?}
    B -->|No| C[Reject or Request<br/>Completion]
    C --> A
    B -->|Yes| D[Municipality<br/>Must Accept]
    D --> E{Municipality<br/>Disagrees?}
    E -->|No| F[Approve]
    E -->|Yes| G[Escalate to<br/>PGA Superintendent]
    G --> H{Superintendent<br/>Decision}
    H -->|Accept| F
    H -->|Require Re-do| I[Professional<br/>Revises Work]
    I --> A
    H -->|Authorize Peer Review| J[Peer Review<br/>Authorized]
    J --> K{Peer Review<br/>Result}
    K -->|Accept| F
    K -->|Revisions Needed| I
    
    style A fill:#e1f5ff
    style D fill:#e1ffe1
    style F fill:#e1ffe1
    style G fill:#fff4e1
    style J fill:#fff4e1

So who are these professionals? The PGA covers bodies like Engineers and Geoscientists BC, the Architectural Institute of BC, Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC, among others.

Developments can be delayed due to slow, duplicative approvals. Streamlining the technical review process lets municipalities focus on more pressing matters while reducing the time and cost associated with duplicating provided work. Every extra review cycle means new drawings, new consultant hours, and more carrying costs. Cutting duplicative peer reviews can shave months and thousands of dollars from projects. Moreover, the introduction of clear acceptance rules and a defined escalation path means fewer stalls and resubmissions.

The fun part is that this doesn’t weaken planning or public input at the municipal level. Council still sets zoning, creates Official Community Plans (OCPs), and Development Permit (DP) guidelines. And, projects still have to fit the community vision, they just won’t be re-engineered by City Hall when a professional has already stamped the work.

Guess what? The City of Vancouver and The City of Surrey have already established Certified Professional programs. Not only that, The City of Coquitlam has recently proposed their own program as well.

Cities like Nanaimo need thousands of small, incremental projects to meet the rising demand for housing. That means we need to make it easy to do the next small thing. This bill tries to cut down on friction without manipulating municipal rules and community plans, which is exactly the kind of low-drama, high-impact reform that helps this province mature. While Bill M 216 has yet to be adopted, Strong Towns Nanaimo is excited to see that streamlining development is still on the minds of our MLA.

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A group of Nanaimo residents and activists were fortunate enough to learn that Ryan Smolar of Placemaking US was going to be conducting a tour of the Pacific Northwest to learn about local experiences with food security, housing, intentional community-building, animating public space, and more. In addition to stopping in at locations in Oregon and Washington, he was also coming to Vancouver Island. Initially, his only stops were Victoria and Courtenay, but having learned about his tour, we persuaded him to make a stop in Nanaimo while en route on September 5th. The event was held at the Public Library downtown, with the library’s sponsorship and strong support from Casey Stepaniuk and Sarah Van Mook, in particular.

Based on his experiences in many parts of the world, Ryan made a number of excellent points, citing examples and practices from North America and elsewhere. For instance, Marshfield and a number of other towns in Vermont were hit by a particularly nasty hurricane a few years ago. As a result, the people of Marshfield resolved to invest in resilient infrastructure – in this case a park in an area that was subject to flooding. When a similar bad hurricane occurred the following year, the park was temporarily under water, but there was no permanent damage. When a similarly devastating hurricane happened in Asheville, North Carolina (while Ryan was there), he was able to hook local residents up with the Vermont folks to learn from their experience.

Simulated Public Space in Harewood ‘Gateway’

Another lesson that came out of Asheville was the importance of “resilience hubs” – churches, libraries, community centres, even local businesses. As Ryan noted, people in Asheville had largely abandoned the downtown to tourists and had few places to gather to strategize and distribute essential supplies when the storm hit. They wound up meeting in a big box parking lot where there was no place to sit. In some instances – in Asheville and elsewhere – people with access to potential hubs (i.e., having keys) simply opened up the facilities without waiting for authorization. This underscores the importance of having focal points where people can mobilize their responses to disasters of whatever sort.

Another issue close to Ryan’s heart is local food security. He lamented the fact that many community gardens he has observed are walled off from the community – what he calls “maximum (food) security,” but also cited examples where the boundaries are more porous. He also decried a case where a thriving popular farmers’ market – in his home community of Long Beach, California – had the adjacent lawn removed where people would congregate, ostensibly because of a complaint from a nearby marina. Seating in general is big issue in public space, especially in parks and plazas, and even commercial areas. One older participant noted that she is reluctant to venture downtown as there few places to sit. At the downtown shopping centre (Port Place), all benches outside have been removed as have the benches in the author’s own neighbourhood, ostensibly because they might be used by homeless people.

Community Members Putting People Over Parking

On the subject of homeless people, Ryan noted that dense public activity – for instance, night markets – tended to be avoided by the homeless. What they really want and need are spaces they can gather, feel safe, and have access to water and other needed resources – hubs, in a word. In some instances, homeless people have successfully been turned into the stewards of public spaces.

Ryan is a big fan of maps and calendars as placemaking tools. In Long Beach, he helped create a “healthy food map,” showing a trail linking several community gardens and restaurants and stores serving local and healthy food. This might be appropriate for Nanaimo to consider. He also sees the value of people mapping their neighbourhoods in terms of who has what and who needs what.

During the discussion period, many participants spoke up about the issues they were passionate about. These ranged from guerilla gardening to safe cycling and walking to making Diana Krall Plaza more vibrant, to having more block parties (possibly with municipal assistance) to get to know their neighbours. One particularly interesting proposal is to create a ‘Gateway’ public space for the Harewood neighbourhood (see mock-up below). A point that Ryan consistently emphasized was to try to work with local officials but, if need be, to take pre-emptive action – to “just do it.” This point was seconded by the one city councillor in attendance. Many interventions are not expensive, and culture – especially, music – can be a catalyst for making public spaces more successful.

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Join Nanaimo’s annual Fall GoByBike Week from September 27-October 3, 2025! This community event encourages residents to cycle for transportation, recreation, and fun while tracking their kilometers for a chance to win bike-related prizes.

Event Details

Kickoff Event: September 26th, 3:00pm - 5:00pm at Maffeo Sutton Park
Main Event: September 27-October 3, 2025
Registration: Register online to track your kilometers
Cost: Free

As the City of Nanaimo states: “Getting around without a car is still the biggest way you can reduce your environmental impact and CO2 emissions.” Cycling is one of several alternatives to driving in Nanaimo, and this event celebrates and encourages this sustainable transportation choice.

How to Get Involved

Register at gobybikebc.ca
Track your kilometers during the week (September 27-October 3)
Attend the kickoff at Maffeo Sutton Park on September 26th
Visit celebration stations throughout the week
Join the BikeTag game for additional fun and prizes

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for Park(ing) Day 2025 in downtown Nanaimo! We’re participating in this global movement to temporarily repurpose curbside parking spaces and convert them into public parks and social spaces, advocating for safer, greener, and more equitable streets for people.

Date: Friday, September 19th, 2025
Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm
Location: Commercial Street, Downtown Nanaimo
Cost: Free

Park(ing) Day is a global, public, participatory project where people across the world temporarily repurpose curbside parking spaces and convert them into public parks and social spaces to advocate for safer, greener, and more equitable streets for people.

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We are excited to share information about Nanaimo Climate Connections 2025 — Nanaimo’s inaugural FREE community climate event, taking place at Wellington Hall in Nanaimo, September 12th and 13th, 2025!

This year’s theme is: Local Actions in a Global Crisis. Together, we will explore how we can collectively make a significant impact on the climate emergency.

Event Schedule

Friday, September 12th

5:00 - 6:00pm - Registration and Community Fair Opens
6:00 - 9:30pm - Pre-Summit Climate Café with musical guest Elise Boulanger

Saturday, September 13th

8:00 - 9:00am - Registration and Community Fair
9:00 - 12:15pm - NCC25 Opening Plenary, Featuring:
- Geraldine Manson (Guest of Honour)
- Seth Klein (Keynote)
- Andrew Gage (Featured Speaker)
- Community Action Panel, Moderated by Heather Baitz, Vice-Chair, NCAH
12:15 - 1:30pm - Lunch Break (optional Connect the Dots session for those who sign up)
1:30 - 2:15pm - Breakout Sessions
2:30 - 3:15pm - Breakout Sessions
3:30 - 5:00pm - Final Plenary Session
- Laura Lynch (Closing Keynote)
- Climate Champion Awards
- Final Thoughts
5:00 - 6:30pm - (Dry) Happy Hour Closing Reception

Featured Speakers

Seth Klein, Opening Keynote

Seth is the Team Lead and Director of Strategy with the Climate Emergency Unit. Prior to that, he served for 22 years as the founding director of the British Columbia office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a social justice think tank. He is now a freelance policy consultant, speaker, researcher and writer, and author of A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency.

Laura Lynch, Closing Keynote

Laura Lynch is an award-winning journalist and is the host of CBC’s What On Earth. In the course of her career, she has reported from across Canada and around the world, covering everything from the Supreme Court of Canada to Parliament Hill to international conflicts. After many years abroad, Laura is back in Vancouver using her years of experience to tell Canadians what they need to know about climate change, its challenges and solutions.

Additional Presenters

Geraldine Manson - Guest of Honour, VIU Elder-in-Residence and member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation
Andrew Gage - Featured Speaker, environmental lawyer and project lead for West Coast’s Climate Change program
Crystal Starr Lewis - Breakout Session Speaker, Indigenous youth advocate and policy developer
Chloë Fraser - Breakout Session Speaker, storyteller and communications strategist at Pacific Salmon Foundation
Kevin Good - Breakout Session Speaker, member of Snuneymuxw and Tseshaht First Nations
David Quigg - Breakout Session Speaker, Organizer at Sierra Club B.C.

Event Details

Cost: FREE (registration required)
Location: Wellington Hall, Nanaimo
Dates: September 12-13, 2025
Registration: Required - visit Nanaimo Climate Action Hub to register

What to Expect

Community Fair with exhibitors and organizations
Breakout Sessions on various climate action topics
Climate Champion Awards recognizing local climate leaders
Free refreshments throughout the day
Lunch available for purchase (pre-purchase at discounted rate during registration)
Musical entertainment by Elise Boulanger on Friday evening

Registration

Registration is NOW OPEN! This event is FREE, but registration is required to attend. Separate registration is required for each person in your group.

For better mobile experience or if your desktop browser has trouble with the embedded form, you can follow the link to access the form on their registration platform Lu.ma.

About the Organizers

Nanaimo Climate Connections 2025 is possible thanks to generous support from the City of Nanaimo’s Environmental Sustainability Community Project Grant and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions.

This event is organized by the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub, bringing together community members, organizations, and leaders to address the climate emergency through local action and community connection.

This event is organized by the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub. Strong Towns Nanaimo is sharing this information to support our community’s climate action efforts and encourage participation in this important local event.

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ryan Smolar, coordinator for Placemaking U.S. — part of an international network of placemaking groups, and affiliated with the leaders of the Project for Public Spaces — is on a tour of the Pacific Northwest, and is also briefly coming to Vancouver Island on the 4th and 5th of September.

About Ryan Smolar

Ryan Smolar is the coordinator for Placemaking U.S., which is part of an international network of placemaking groups affiliated with the leaders of the Project for Public Spaces. He’s currently on a tour of the Pacific Northwest, meeting with place activists in Victoria and Courtenay, and may have time to meet with folks in Nanaimo around noon on Friday the 5th.

Event Details

Date: Friday, September 5th, 2025
Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Location: VIRL Harbourfront, Downtown Nanaimo
Cost: Free

About the Pacific Northwest Tour

Communities everywhere are preparing for climate, political, and economic shocks. The answers aren’t coming from the top down — they’re emerging locally, through reconnection, interdependence, and new pathways rooted in place.

Along the way, Ryan will be learning from:

🥦 Local food systems leaders
🏘️ Placemaking networks & village builders
🌱 Land-based learning initiatives
🏡 Regenerative developers & intentional communities
🛠️ Locally-sourced entrepreneurs
👐🏾 Trauma-informed communicators
🚴 Health & transportation advocates

About Placemaking U.S.

Placemaking U.S. is part of an international network of placemaking groups affiliated with the Project for Public Spaces. They focus on creating vibrant public spaces that bring people together and strengthen communities through local, place-based solutions.

About Project for Public Spaces

The Project for Public Spaces is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces that build stronger communities. They are the central hub of the global placemaking movement, connecting people to ideas, resources, expertise, and partners they need to create change in their communities.

Strong Towns Nanaimo

Introduction

A Multi-dimensional Assessment of the City’s Programs

Conclusion

The Work on the Ground

Water-Related Work

Terrestrial Ecosystems

Conclusion

Current Process Overview

Proposed New Process (Bill M 216)

Event Details

How to Get Involved

Event Schedule

Friday, September 12th

Saturday, September 13th

Featured Speakers

Seth Klein, Opening Keynote

Laura Lynch, Closing Keynote

Additional Presenters

Event Details

What to Expect

Registration

About the Organizers

About Ryan Smolar

Event Details

About the Pacific Northwest Tour

About Placemaking U.S.

About Project for Public Spaces