Bowen Bulletin

What Does it Mean to be “Green” on Bowen?

 In the spring of 2008 fourteen islanders, selected by Council, sat around tables in Municipal Hall and began to answer this question. They came from a variety of backgrounds, with expertise in climate change solutions, social justice, green buildings, affordability, waste reduction and ecosystem protection – approaches that have been shown to make pretty great communities even better.

 Their task was to imagine the future: What might Bowen Island look like in a dozen years or so if we could implement planning practices that—in case study after case study—have been shown to reduce the carbon emissions that cause global warming, strengthen community bonds, boost property values, protect wildlife habitat, and improve citizen health and well-being?

 After weeks of research and discussion, the group crafted a one-page vision for Bowen. It went like this:

 First, you see the trees.

 Here in the year 2020, Bowen Island remains a small, socially diverse, rural community cloaked in a lush mantle of green. It didn’t stay that way by accident. Early 21^st Century challenges – dramatically rising oil and housing prices and the need to address global warming – were undermining the community’s ability to live up to the vision within its OCP. In response, a series of decisions moved the community to a more self-reliant, inclusive and environmentally responsible path. Forests were protected as biological treasures, carbon sinks, and recreational and economic assets. Clustered, compact, mixed-used development was given priority, some development was shifted to Snug Cove from the remainder of the island, and economic development and housing affordability strategies were put in place. The result has been a degree of protection from ever higher energy prices, a 33% cut in greenhouse gas emissions and stronger community ties.

 Snug Cove is still a maritime village tucked among the trees. As the community’s commercial, recreational, and residential hub, many more people now live, work, walk, create, shop, and play here. With a variety of housing types—such as apartments and live-work spaces above stores—the neighbourhood hosts a diverse population, reflecting a wide variety of incomes, ages, and family types. Meanwhile, the area’s impressive civic facilities serve as the community’s front porch and living room.

 A diversified economy allows more islanders to work on the island and purchase many of their goods and services here. Bowen now supports an array of home, office, service, retail, and health businesses, light industrial enterprises, and its own food production and waste-management operations. Thanks to a resource-recovery program and a composting facility, the quantity of garbage leaving our shores has slowed.

 Despite an increase in the island’s population, there are fewer private vehicles on the roads—the result of viable public transportation and rideshare systems, expanded trail networks, and mixed-use neighbourhoods that lessen the need for travel. While ferry traffic still moves through the village, volumes have declined because so many people now live and work on the island. Among those who commute for employment, many are foot passengers; the convenience of our transit system linked with Metro Vancouver far outweighs the expense, delays, and ecological costs of private cars.

 Bowenites are caring, engaged, and committed to building a conscientious community. As the island prospers, so, too, does its culture and arts. With an increasingly self-reliant and vibrant economy, combined with a housing authority that offers affordable-living options, we have enhanced social diversity and community well-being.

 Our island is recognized nationally for its remarkable achievements: It remains small, affordable, and safe, despite its proximity to one of the world’s great cities. It has demonstrated how an increasingly exclusive and car-dependent suburb can transform itself into a socially diverse, increasingly self-reliant community. And it is leading the way with year-round food production, renewable energy generation, and programs aimed at carbon neutrality and zero waste. In short, Bowen Island is renowned for its unshakeable commitment to its people, its economy, and its ecological integrity. It has become an adaptable and resilient community for present and future generations.

 These volunteers—the Sustainability Framework Working Group—presented this vision to council, along with a set of policy recommendations designed to help bring it to life. We’re bringing it to your attention here because we believe our island has reached a turning point. We say it is time to turn away from sprawl, away from a village that frankly has seen better days, and toward a more compact, complete, and vibrant community heart like that articulated in the vision above.

 This dream doesn’t deserve to die on a shelf down at Municipal Hall, along with the endlessly sidelined visions of a community hall. We not only deserve better, but we believe our security, well-being, and small-community character depend on it. A stronger, more resilient Bowen Island—an island every bit as authentic and interesting as the one we have today—is ours to create together. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get on with it, shall we?

 —Elizabeth Ballentyne, Neil Boyd, James Glave, David Hocking, Colleen O’Neil, and Jason Vantomme for TRUE GREEN: Solutions for Bowen, truegreenbowen.ca.