Archive for November 2017
Arts and Rural Renewal
Sarah Calhoun of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, and John Davis of Lanesboro, Minnesota discussed their respective experiences in helping bring positive change to small, remote communities. Sarah Calhoun Sarah has been called a “revolutionary figure in rural business today,” and a “powerhouse of inspiration for women in business.” Her dynamic style and inspiring…
Read MoreNew Denver/Silverton Report Summary Released
New Denver/Silverton were recently the unsuspecting hosts for a contingent of “secret visitors” from Kaslo, who spent an October day checking out everything from the highway entrances to the two villages, to their take on the local economy. The project, called First Impressions, was carried out under the auspices of the BC Rural Centre with…
Read MoreBC Rural Dividend Program Announces Fourth Intake
Applications for funding in the fourth intake of the BC Rural Dividend program will be accepted Nov. 15 to Dec. 15, 2017, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Doug Donaldson announced today. “I encourage local governments, not-for-profit organizations and First Nations to get their applications submitted,” said Donaldson. “We’re committed to…
Read MoreOntario’s Rural Broadband Challenge
Ontario’s rural broadband challenge is highlighted in this article by Dave Reevely, originally published in the Ottawa Citizen. Running subsidized Internet lines to rural Ontario has an important thing in common with the provincial government’s plan to pay for new natural-gas pipes to the same places: There’s private money to be made. We can’t…
Read MoreDo-It-Yourself Rural Internet?
Do-it-yourself rural Internet? Ramona Pringle penned this interesting opinion piece on rural communities who have stepped up to provide their residents with high-speed Internet for CBC News. If you live in rural areas of Canada, chances are you’ve developed a coping ritual for waiting for email attachments to load. Maybe you hit “download” and…
Read MoreBC Forestry Trade Mission to Asia Launches
The BC Forestry trade mission to Asia is British Columbia’s largest-ever forest sector delegation to China and Japan, according to Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Minister Doug Donaldson. The mission, from Nov. 12 to 17, sees Minister Donaldson joined by over 30 senior executives from B.C. forest companies and associations. “We need to…
Read MoreUrban-Rural Divide Widens in Sweden
The urban-rural divide is as real in Sweden today as it is in British Columbia, and North America generally. The Nordic country’s cities continue to grow and develop, while rural communities shrink and unravel. “Young people are moving away, and that carries with it disastrous consequences,” says Charlotte Mellander, professor of national economy at the…
Read MoreCreston Picks Its Future
Creston Picks a Fresh Approach It’s hard to know if you’re winning without a strategy. And a strategy is precisely what had been missing in Creston, BC, for years. When it was decided it was time to create a new Official Community Plan (OCP) for Creston, the first question was how to inspire enthusiastic resident…
Read MoreFreshly Picked Future
Freshly Picked Future — Creston’s OCP Challenge was an experiment in community planning and in rural placemaking. The process used a mobile app, a website, and paper scavenger hunt maps to get citizens exploring community issues and the community itself. They were directed to locations around Creston where Challenge Stations invited targeted feedback on specific…
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