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How Green
Was My Valley
» Thursday 24 April 2008 | 4:30 pm
» Hanna's Lounge, 1392 Water Street
An informal afternoon hour showcasing the people and ideas featured in Okanagan Home. Join us as artist, analyst and journalist Don Elzer advocates that the Okanagan needs to understand - and make a commitment to- sustainability.
» This is a free event. Refreshments will be available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE
Sponsored by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Books, UBCO-FCCS, and in support of Project Literacy Kelowna
Insider Examines the Okanagan's Rocky Road to Prosperity
From corporate boardrooms to council chambers, backroom talks have paved the road to the Okanagan's growing population and prosperity almost since the outset.
Cultural ecologist Don Elzer makes this argument this coming week at the Okanagan Institute at the presentation How Green Was My Valley? The talk takes place Thursday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. at Hanna's Lounge in Kelowna.
"Short-term profiteering has plagued the Okanagan," Elzer says, pointing to the early days when the CPR promoted the southern BC Interior as a rich area filled with ideal fruit-growing potential, when clearly some parts were not arable at all.
Today, the conflicting agendas that surface in the Okanagan Valley tend to come in pairs: rural vs. urban, development vs. ecology, private vs. public. According to Elzer,these conflicts reveal the underlying differences in the way individuals perceive the present and the future of the region. One is a naïve optimism fueled by economic prosperity, the other is grounded in the landscape and a sense of environmental stewardship that he describes as ecological conservatism.
"These are philosophical positions that allow individuals to explain and justify their motivations, cultures, interests and moral values."
In the process of examining the journey that has brought the valley to the present day, he also advocates that individuals, groups and communities need to understand - and make a commitment to - sustainability. He proposes a roadmap that presents a number of ways that can be achieved, and examines the roadblocks that could stall the process.
Don Elzer has been on the inside of the regional decision-making system looking out, and he has also been on the outside looking in. As a journalist and activist, he has observed and been directly involved in valley-wide issues for the past 25 years and presently works as a researcher and policy analyst examining trends related to bubble economies and the impacts they have on people, communities, culture and the environment. He's presently compiling a book Arid Colas, Desert Cities.
How Green Was My Valley? is a free event, and takes place at Hanna's Lounge. It's presented by the Okanagan Institute in association with Wheat King Publishing.
Express is sponsored by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Books, UBCO Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, and supports the work of Project Literacy Kelowna.
Okanagan Insitute at Hanna's Lounge A hearty feast of lectures, presentations, workshops and showcases celebrating our culture and community. Produced by the Okanagan institute in association with Wheat King Publishing magazines: Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Home.
Expresss is a cultural tonic that refreshes the mind. Join us at Hanna's Lounge after work on Thursdays for a free hour of stimulation that will get your synapses tingling with new ideas and fresh images. Designed for inquiring minds looking for, among other things, the wild blue yonder.
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