BC Rural Centre Archives

Creston 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…

BC Rural Centre Social Media e-Magazine (Autumn 2017)

We hope you enjoy our October social media e-Magazine. Be sure to stay in touch with us on Facebook (and don’t forget to like us)!

BC Rural Dividend grants over $10 million

On Friday, October 13, the BC Government announced over $10 million in new grants to rural communities through the BC Rural Dividend. Here’s the official press release: The B.C. government is distributing $10.1 million in new grants to help rural communities stabilize their economies and create long-term local employment, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural…

Attracting Young People to Rural Communities

Attracting young people is one of the toughest challenges facing rural communities. The outflow of young people from rural to urban hits small towns and rural regions in a variety of ways, including stripping communities of badly needed tax revenue, threatening the viability of local schools, depressing local and regional economies, and stripping fraying towns…

Café Culture Comes to Rural Ontario

Café culture stirs the pot in rural Bath One of the first things young people look for when considering a move from an urban centres to a rural setting is the availability of great places to eat & drink. When Lauren Gamble returned to rural Ontario after working in Australia for a number of…

Small Town, Big Change

Small town, big change. Dale Williams was mayor of the small rural North Island New Zealand town of Otorohanga (pop. 2,700), and Chair of the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs. A certified motorcycle engineer by trade, Dale has first-hand experience launching and growing successful motorcycle dealerships and training young people through apprenticeship programs. Passionate about helping…

Is There a Doctor in the House? Attracting Physicians to Rural Towns

Is there a doctor in the house? Rural health care is a pressing challenge for many small, often isolated, communities in rural BC. The challenges facing small communities struggling to provide an acceptable standard of care for their citizens are legion, ranging from long distances to major care centres to dangerous roads. Often the most…

Affordable Rural Housing — the View from Yorkshire, UK

Affordable rural housing is often at a premium in small communities and rural regions. While rural housing prices may appear a bargain to newcomers and second home buyers from overheated urban real estate markets, they are often anything but for long-time residents, often saddled with relatively low-paying jobs. In this video produced by by the North…

Ktunaxa Nation: Ensuring the most vulnerable citizens can succeed

For the Ktunaxa Nation, a key pillar of the community is supporting its most vulnerable citizens. It’s an effort that is changing lives for the better. Ktunaxa Nation has grown its Cranbrook-based social services from its Operation Street Angel program to include both a support house for youth transitioning out of foster care, and a…

Rural Revitalization, Iowa-Style

Rural renewal is well underway in Earlham, Iowa

Rural revitalization Iowa-style. There are plenty of small towns badly in need of economic and social renewal across North America. Earlham, Iowa was one of them. Through a combination of community resilience and tenacity, and newcomers of means who seem to have truly understood — and respected — the local culture, Earlham is poised…