The News
The latest articles and news relating to rural living...
Local Food, the Secret Ingredient for Vibrant Downtowns
Whether you are a foodie or a farmer, local food is something to embrace. In small towns, the local food movement is doing more than putting meals on plates—it is nourishing economies by keeping farms…
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BC’s Wildfire Situation
We are re-posting this article from the BC Government on the province’s current wildfire situation. The latest information on the current wildfire situation in British Columbia, including Wildfires of Note. Wildfires of Note “Wildfires of…
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Doug Donaldson BC’s New Minister Responsible for Rural Development
The new BC Government has named the Honourable Doug Donaldson as Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development. Prior to becoming an MLA, Doug worked for Storytellers’ Foundation, a non-profit organization focusing on…
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BC wildfires: calmer weather helping firefighters, but winds expected to return
Number of active fires has dropped below 200 for the 1st time in days This article by Mike Laanela, CBC News was first posted: Jul 12, 2017 8:41 AM PT Last Updated: Jul 12, 2017 2:08 PM PT Smoke…
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How can rural B.C. thrive? Australian expert offers lessons from his country
‘Is a town too small? No. Is a town likely to die? Yes, if they aren’t prepared to adapt’ CBC News Posted: Jun 22, 2017 6:55 PM PT Last Updated: Jun 22, 2017 6:55 PM…
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Peter Kenyon, Founder, The Bank of I.D.E.A.S., delivers an inspirational keynote
Peter Kenyon, renowned Australian rural development expert, delivers an entertaining — and inspirational — keynote at the KEEPING IT RURAL 2017 conference hosted by SIBAC/BC Rural Centre, on June 20 in Kelowna. Click…
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Community Forests Important Says Report
An important report, Community Forests — Community Benefits: The Economic Contributions of Community Forest to Rural Communities, on the significant value of our province’s community forests, was released today. This timely effort is an economic analysis that quantifies the…
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Keeping It Rural 2017 Just Got Even Better!
The old Norwegian proverb, “It’s never so good that it couldn’t be better” is a great way to describe this year’s exciting Keeping It Rural 2017 conference in Kelowna (June 20-21). For two days, rural…
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all that jazz… a conversation with Paul Hinrichs
All those mountains, and all that jazz… For over 25 years, the tiny West Kootenay village of Kaslo has played host to one of the world’s most celebrated outdoor music festivals. USA Today has…
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Old Masset Turns Up the Heat!
Energy/heat in the village of Old Masset on Northern Haida Gwaii, as in many remote BC First Nations and rural BC communities, has always been hugely expensive. On Haida Gwai, hydro is provided by diesel generation,…
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Ants in your pants? Red Ants Pants founder Sarah Calhoun speaks out!
Do you have ants in your pants? Sarah Calhoun does. Or rather Sarah has created a successful clothing business, foundation, and music festival, all under the catchy title of Red Ants Pants. Sarah has…
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Book it! Literature lives large on the Sunshine Coast
Literature is a big deal on BC’s Sunshine Coast. The Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts, now in its 34th year, is the longest-running writer’s festival in the country. It celebrates Canadian writers…
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Culture & rural development — how culture revitalized New York Mills, Minnesota
Culture & rural development — are they, or should they be, linked? Zachary Mannheimer, founder of the Des Moines Social Club, VP of Creative Placemaking for Iowa Business Growth, who has led numerous revitalization efforts…
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John Davis to speak at Keeping It Rural 2017
We’re excited to report that John Davis, executive director of Minnesota’s Lanesboro Arts organization, will be speaking at the Keeping It Rural 2017 conference in Kelowna, June 20-21. John is internationally recognized for his success in using culture…
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Keeping It Rural 2017 funding support from CBT
We’re pleased to announce that Columbia Basin Trust plans to help up to 20 Basin-based residents attend this year’s Keeping It Rural conference (June 20-21 in Kelowna), by offering up to $1,000 each to offset…
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Paul Muir on the arts & small rural communities
For many small remote rural communities, the key to renewal and revitalization may well lie in the pent-up creativity of local residents. Culture, even if it starts out small, as it did in tiny (population…
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Peter Kenyon to speak at Keeping It Rural 2017
We’re delighted that internationally recognized rural development leader Peter Kenyon will be joining us at this year’s Keeping It Rural conference, in Kelowna (June 20-21). A community enthusiast and social entrepreneur, Peter has worked with…
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Funding success for a Slocan micro-hydro project
Funding success for a Slocan micro-hydro project, recently announced, demonstrates that consensus-based vision, with a large measure of determination, can make all the difference when it comes to making big things happen in small…
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SIBAC announces upcoming Keeping It Rural 2017 conference
In the wake of 2015’s highly successful Keeping It Rural conference, SIBAC is pleased to announce that Keeping It Rural 2017 will take place this June 20th and 21st in Kelowna. As with the…
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Community forum on investing in clean energy coming to Nelson
A community forum on investing in clean energy coming to Nelson. Ever wonder how small towns manage to find the funds needed to kickstart innovative new ventures? Are you concerned about the West Kootenay’s environmental…
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BC Government Releases Rural Strategy
The BC Government, represented by Premier Christy Clark and Secretary of State for Rural Economic Development Donna Barnett, announced the release of the provincial government’s rural strategy in Merritt on March 3rd. To access the strategy document,…
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Economic development in the Lower Columbia region — a chat with Terry Van Horn of LCIC
Economic development in the Lower Columbia region has been bolstered since 2010 by an organization formed through a partnership featuring the City of Rossland, the City of Trail, the Village of Warfield, the Village of Montrose, the Village of Fruitvale…
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Rural revitalization & the arts — a conversation with John Davis
Rural revitalization and the arts — few places have linked the two more successfully than the small Minnesota towns of New York Mills and Lanesboro. So what do these communities have in common? Among other things,…
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Rural schools are vital, says Kaslo principal Dan Rude
Rural schools are vital — it’s difficult to imagine a rural community prospering without offering its children access to an adequate school. This fact was hammered home at a open house on February 24th in…
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