Keeping It Rural 2023

June 1st and 2nd, 2023 in Kelowna, BC at the Hampton Inn We are planning to cover many of the challenges and opportunities facing rural BC right now. From mill closures, and mega-projects to innovation in agriculture and rural health updates. The tickets will go on sale in mid-March and due to limited seating we…

Read More

A Post-Pandemic Policy Agenda for Rural and Smaller Canadian Communities

Many of us know someone who, at the height of the pandemic, picked up and moved from an urban centre to a smaller, more rural Canadian community. Though small and rural communities face unique challenges across this country, we know one thing: inclusive and sustainable growth principles are becoming foundational to economic decision-making across the…

Read More

Farmers Enhancing Riparian Areas – Kootenay Program Expands to New Regions

Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmers’ Institute (WDFI) was one of nine groups named in January to receive a share of $133,600 this year through the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund for…

Read More

Supporting Small Independent Businesses in BC

Support Local BC was an initiative brought on out of necessity in 2020 due to the closures of many businesses in response to the Provincial Health Orders to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19.  The website provides a place for communities and businesses throughout the province to support each other. Connecting all regions with its…

Read More

Rural Connectivity an Issue for Every Canadian

Cybera is an Alberta not-for-profit, technical agency that helps the province advance its IT frontiers. It operates through a strategic investment by its members and the Ministry of Alberta Economic Development and Trade. The following report by Meagan Hampel will be of interest for rural innovation advocates across the country. As part of our core mandate, Cybera…

Read More

Technology Boosts Rural Life

Rural tech

Is it true that technology boosts rural life?   Conventional wisdom has it that the rural economy is in decline due to seismic shifts in the modern economy.   Traditional rural industries are shrinking, or are moving abroad. Mainstay activities like farming need fewer people as they become more efficient.  There is poor broadband and mobile…

Read More

Rural Innovation & Youth Attraction

Attracting youth to rural places is vital!
BC Rural Centre
BC Rural Centre
Rural Innovation & Youth Attraction
/

If rural communities are to survive — let alone prosper — in the 21st century, they need to innovate. And through that innovation, attract a new wave of creative, entrepreneurial Millennials to our small towns and rural regions. This audio version of a BC Rural Centre webinar features two inspiring advocates of rural innovation —…

Read More

Canal Flats Is Electric!

Canal Flats rebounds!

Canal Flats fell on hard times. When our communities’ circumstances change, we need to find new ways to prosper. Canal Flats was a lumber town; it’s primary employer was a sawmill. When that mill closed in November of 2015 it threw 75 people out of work and decimated the town’s economy. Many people, grown children,…

Read More

Rural Innovation — How It Happens, How To Inspire More

Rural innovation — how does it happen and how can it be encouraged? A researcher in the USA has received funding to zero in on these questions, as reported in the following article by Matt Swayne, originally published in the Penn State News.    “When we think about innovation, we tend to think about big…

Read More