Saturday November 23, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC [Posted at 5:54 pm | Updated 9:57 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The impact of urban growth in the Langford and west shore areas has been the focus of research by graduate students at Royal Roads University (RRU) over the past year.
Five major projects were showcased at a five-hour open house at the Royal Roads University campus library yesterday.
The relaxed informal walk-about event was hosted by Royal Roads University professors Rob Newell (Environment and Sustainability) and Brian White (Tourism and Hospitality), along with the graduate students who presented their work.
Students at Royal Roads University receive support for major research projects, masters theses and doctoral dissertations from their program’s faculty.
About the research:
The research was west-shore focused. This work will now be available online, making it accessible by residents and leaders in the Langford municipality and beyond.
The west shore is generally considered to encompass Langford and Colwood including View Royal, Metchosin and Highlands as well as Sooke. This represents nearly half of the 13 municipalities of the Greater Victoria area.
Each project focused on issues and possible approaches or solutions to improving well-being and ecosystems in the West Shore communities of the Capital Regional District.
Topic areas covered by the research presented in the session included:
- environmental management,
- tourism management,
- town planning,
- community garden development, and
- regional planning and growth.
Presented materials took the form of display boards, maps, computer interaction and virtual reality. Each student had one-on-one or group discussions about their research findings with people who visited the event.
A watershed planning and management visualization tool is being developed through a Millstream Creek Watershed visualization planning tool project by TRIAS Lab. The interactive display for that consisted of computers and virtual reality headsets available for attendees to use the visualization tool and explore scenarios for development and management in the watershed.
Who was there:
Community members, teachers, representatives from west shore community associations, and government leaders were invited to attend.
Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi and Colwood Councillor David Grove dropped in to tour the event as well as Langford Councillor Mary Wagner and Metchosin Councillor Shelly Donaldson.
Bilston Watershed Habitat Protection Society lead Alison Leduc attended, as did Urban Food Resilience Initiatives Society lead Mary P Brooke.
Change management specialist Dr Eileen Pepler attended as did local change activist Kara Middleton.
List of projects:
There were 10 projects on displays.
- Community Involvement in Public Space Development in Langford & Colwood
- Water Management & Land Use Planning in Greater Victoria
- Establishing a Community Garden in the City of Langford
- Visualization tools for planning & stakeholder engagement
- Reshaping Langford’s Landscape: Water resources and urban forestry
- Co-Designed Millstream Creek Watershed Visualization Tool
- Energy consumption using renewables in Langford
- Enhancing Bramberton Quarry’s Reclamation PRogram
- Assessing Metal Contamination Risks in Millstream Creek
- Innovative spaces, Livable Langford: Placemaking for a Sustainable Community
===== RELATED:
NEWS SECTIONS: POST SECONDARY EDUCATION | LIVING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE | COMMUNITY CALENDAR
