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Smarter Growth
THE OKANAGAN CHALLENGE
» Thursday 7 February 2008 | 4:30 pm
» New! - BeanScene North, 1289 Ellis Street
An informal afternoon hour showcasing the people and ideas featured in Okanagan Home. Join us as James Baker, Lake Country mayor, and Douglas Macleod, executive director of the Canadian Design Research Network, explore the challenges we face in creating a common future.
» 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
FRESH SEEDS FOR SMARTER GROWTH
Pick up on just about any conversation and it doesn't take long before the trend shifts towards growth, development and what we're going to do about it.
Whether worrying about global warming or the unfettered Okanagan building boom, we're all wondering what can be done. Sustainability has become the new buzz word to deal with these problems. But just what truly is sustainable? And how can we continue to grow without choking off our own resources - cultural and otherwise.
This week, February 7 at 4:30 pm, Okanagan Institute presents Smarter Growth: The Okanagan Challenge. The event takes place at the Okanagan Institute's new venue located at BeanScene North on Ellis. The informal hour features Lake Country mayor James Baker, along with Douglas Macleod, executive director of the Canadian Design Research Network.
James Baker has a unique perspective on current levels of growth leaving next door to the behemoth Kelowna. In the midst of shaping his community into a town with a resort character, he expressed concern that his community lacked input into larger regional issues.
"Because Lake Country, in the Okanagan is largely an agricultural community, it is a place people from all over the world want to enjoy. We need to think carefully about how we plan for the future."
Baker's perspective is uniquely informed by his academic area of expertise as a professor of both archaeology and anthropology. He was named Professor Emeritus in Anthropology at OUC and is now the Associate Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at UBCO. He's also past president of the Lake Country Heritage and Cultural Society.
Douglas MacLeod comes to sustainability from a different viewpoint - that of research and design. A registered architect and contributing editor to Canadian Architect magazine, MacLeod has spent the last 15 years leading innovative research projects across the country. Currently he is the director of the Canadian Design Research Network at Simon Fraser University a member of the Networks of Centres for Excellence of Canada, an innovative research iniative.
He says while planning for the future isn't something North Americans are noted for, Canada has an opportunity to be at the forefront of what will become a huge economic engine if it commits to sustainable design.
"We believe that with high-quality design we can solve a lot of problems we're facing, from global warming to productivity, and we could jumpstart the Canadian economy by doing it," he said. "Right now our buildings account for one-third of Canada's greenhouse gases, but with today's technology we could cut that by half, if we did things differently."
MacLeod says what's needed to truly push change is commitment from the consumer right on up to government. Sustainability is just as much an individual choice as it is a government choice - in terms of supporting research and design.
"These events help foster discussion and the Okanagan Institute has established itself as a meeting place for inquiring minds of all kinds," says BeanScene owner Cathy Backmeyer.
Smarter Growth: The Okanagan Challenge is a free event, and takes place at BeanScene North. It's presented by the Okanagan Institute in association with Wheat King Publishing magazines: Okanagan Arts, Okanagan Home, and Okanagan Q.
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 BeanScene North 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, Okanagan Home, and Okanagan Q.
Expresss is a cultural tonic that refreshes the mind. Join us at Mosaic Books 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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