Residents are invited to an evening of stimulating thought and discussion as Vancouver Island University’s Powell River campus hosts two visiting scholars from the university’s world leisure centre for sustainability and innovation.
Dr. Nicole Vaugeois, BC regional innovation chair in tourism and sustainable rural development at VIU, and Dr. Katherine King, visiting scholar from Bournemouth University, England, will visit on Monday, October 21. They will provide two free public lectures starting at 7 pm on topics of relevance to the community, including how Powell River can position itself for prosperity.
In a lecture entitled Planting Seeds of Insight: Creating Resilient, Attractive and Sustainable Coastal Communities for Tomorrow’s Generations, Vaugeois will explore amenity-based rural development (ABRD).
“The approach advocates for the identification and use of natural and cultural amenities within a region to attract people, ideas and appropriate investment,” explained Vaugeois.
The assumption is that human, intellectual and financial capital drives economic and social development in rural areas, she said. “ABRD is gaining attention by rural policy makers within Canada at various levels but what does it mean for rural and remote areas like Powell River that have high amenity values? How can they utilize their attractiveness to achieve resilience and sustainability?”
The session will provoke discussion around potential future scenarios and suggest opportunities for coastal communities to position the region for long-term prosperity.
King’s presentation, Connecting Young Adults to Natural Environments Through Mountain Biking, pulls from her research interest on the geography of youth leisure, lifestyle sports and sport and leisure in rural environments.
Students accompanying Vaugeois and King will submit papers on issues of sustainability following their visit to Powell River. “We’ll give back the ideas to the communities we visit as a way of sharing knowledge,” said Vaugeois.
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