Inspiration from Chief Clarence Louie

Last night, the Pacific Northwest Economic Development Conference kicked off with a Welcome at the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Center in Osoyoos. The organizers had asked Chief Clarence Louie to do a welcome to the delegates and I think I speak for all of us in saying that it was a big hit.  I found his comments refreshing, open, honest, and at times humorous. He sat on the front stage and casually addressed the group clarifying his position and approach as the leader of the Osoyoos Indian Band. He admits that his message isn't shared by everyone but he says if leaders try to please everyone, they end up accomplishing little. His focus as leader is to provide jobs and economic prosperity to not only the members of the band, but to area workers. He believes that economic salvation is the only way forward for First Nations communities and with it, opportunities to fund social programs and environmental causes will be available without continuing the dependent relationship with the federal government.

I found many of his comments validated the entrepreneurial spirit that I was brought up with at home and was further en cultured in being raised in Alberta.  And, his messages also validated reading in sustainability where we now recognize that to be sustainable means we cannot view profit as a dirty word or economic health as secondary to environmental and social health. Economic gains do not have to come at the loss of other forms of prosperity and indeed, we are often in a better position to foster sustainability efforts when our communities are not in poverty. He commented for example, that investments in cultural and environmental programs are the norm at Nk'Mip. He said it is one of the things he likes the best about making money for the band, it helps them to invest back into these sorts of initiatives.

If you get the opportunity to read some of his talks, watch a YouTube speech or see him in person - I think you will learn from his messages and experience and even if you don't agree fully - he may challenge your thinking (which is healthy for us). If all else fails and you don't agree with his message - I think he would say "that's democracy"!  Thanks for sharing your messages Chief Louie.

Innovation in wastewater as a resource

This week I had the opportunity to travel to the beautiful southern portion of the province for the BC Rural Summit in Grand Forks and Christina Lake. I always welcome the opportunity to head into this region and the organizers couldn't have chosen a better location for the theme of this year's conference on sustainability.

The first night there was a welcome hosted at the Christina Lake Arts Center. What an impressive facility for the community on so many levels. The center is another example of an innovative combination of a visitor information center which serves multiple purposes as an Art Center and an education facility on the local ecology. Green design is at the core of the facility - with a quote from their site "Green Building is the approach of the new Centre, with technologies such as super-insulation, heat recycling, passive solar, a Solar Aquatics System for waste water processing, geothermal heating and cooling, and environmentally based design that is sensitive to the surroundings. The buildings will become a destination in themselves, as people look for energy saving construction techniques to save $ and our planet."

I was lucky enough to get a tour of the Solar Aquatics System at the facility.  This system is integrated into the Center to turn human waste into a resource. It treats raw sewage and other wastewater with biological methods using plant and bacteria life- producing no odour, no chemicals and treating both liquids and solids.  The venue is impressive and I can see visitors remembering it fondly - and I do think it must create a positive impression of the innovation in the region and the care taken to protect the environment while doing business. As my tour guide said - they are probably one of the few venues that encourages visitors and locals to come by and use their facilities to keep bacteria levels in the system going!

Stop by for a visit when you are in the area, and borrow their ideas for those considering a new visitor center.

Developing good tourism policy

Last week I was invited to speak at the Tourism Industry Association of BC to provide an overview of the Federal and Provincial Tourism Strategies with John Willow.  When Dave Petryk first asked I thought, how thrilling could that be - but to be honest, taking time to review and analyse both strategies was good for me. It reminded me of the broader 30,000 foot level that government often takes to support tourism. And, I enjoyed the discussions in preparation for the Summit that I had with John Willow who has been heavily engaged in federal and provincial tourism policy discussions in his career.

I thought I would provide the presentation and a few of my critical comments for those that couldn't attend. If you haven't reviewed the strategies - here are the links for you as well - Canada's federal tourism strategy "Welcoming the World"  and BC's tourism strategy "Gaining the Edge".

There should always be a few take aways from a presentation and the three that I wanted to leave folks with were: 1) there has to be some form of commitment and structure in place to achieve results in a good strategy; 2) government has to play a key role in developing policy for tourism and influencing policy that impacts tourism, and 3) policy has to incorporate how the industry is going to give back or protect the resources it depends on (sustainability concepts).  I don't know if I was able, in my 10 minutes - to get all these across so the lovely thing about social media is that I can do that better here!

First - the Federal tourism strategy is unique in that it clearly indicates what structures it will erect to ensure that the strategy moves forward AND it will not only ask for accountability but it will monitor its own by developing an annual report on the results gained. It embeds industry and specific government departments within the strategy which may also enable clarity and movement on the items identified.  The BC strategy falls a bit short in this respect and while it talks about collaboration, there is little commitment or clear indication of the structures that will be used to achieve results.

Second, there are two types of tourism policy - policy for tourism and policy that impacts tourism. Most recognize that one of the real issues for tourism development is that it requires many layers and different jurisdictions within government to coordinate on their own initiatives.  This point is both recognized and addressed in the Federal strategy as well - they are planning to take a "whole of government" approach to tourism using a cross jurisdictional approach.  While it talks about collaboration, the BC plan does not indicate which entities it will work with within government.

Third, both strategies fall short in "giving back" to the resources that tourism depends upon. The strategies are growth centric vs. balancing the promotion of our amenities for economic development with the protection of resources for social and environmental well being.  The "strange silence" that has fallen across the country with respect to sustainability is quite evident in both of these strategies and one cannot miss questioning its strange absence. But... that is another blog post.

Enjoy the strategies and use them to keep us all moving ahead and to fill in the gaps that exist.

Just ducky to be back at work

As I transition back to work, I decided to take my new textbooks for the MA in Leisure and Sustainability with me on the long weekend. I have to decide what reading these new students will be exposed to, which is always a challenge. Not only are there lots of books out there nowadays, but they vary greatly in their ability to get ideas and content across to audiences. Academics, as wise as they can be, are often terrible at getting their wisdom across to the very people that can most benefit from it. This often leaves important knowledge out of touch and inaccessible for people, including students. I am a real advocate for selecting reading that stimulates thinking and discussion and encourages students to see things from opposing sides (not what they necessarily want to hear).

So, in the end, I chose a couple of great ones that I hope will do just that. The first is by Cecile Andrews - called "Slow is Beautiful: new visions of community, leisure and joie de vivre".
I chose this one so that students could see the link between consumption, the pace of society and our quest for status and overall sustainability. While they are not likely to agree with everything, or to digest some of her messages easily, it will inspire good discussion. We are skyping Cecile in on the first day so she can discuss the background of the book with them as well. I always find that meeting the authors can help one situate their work a bit better.

I also chose Andres Edwards "Sustainability Revolution: Evolution of a Paradigm Shift" as a way to bring students onto the same page with sustainability concepts. He packs a lot of background and initiatives into this little book and covers off a variety of principles that various groups have developed to try and move sustainability from and idea into reality. I think that the duck on the beach at Walnut Beach Resort in Osoyoos enjoyed this book too, as he and his buddies were hanging around me while I read it (taking any opportunity to nibble at the food I had with me).

After this, the students will get lots and lots of readings from Dr. Tobias Luthe, our visiting scholar and lots of independent studies as well. I hope it inspires great dialogue and reflection, the goal of all teaching.