Wednesday June 1, 2022 | SAANICH, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The District of Saanich has announced a public input opportunity regarding the development of its People, Pets and Parks Strategy.
“We want all parks users, visiting with pets or not, to have positive, safe and enjoyable experiences at Saanich parks and beaches,” said Councillor and Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee Chair Judy Brownoff.
“This strategy will provide a framework to help us protect the environment and meet the needs of the community. To develop the strategy, we need to hear from everyone—individuals, families with children, pet owners and non-pet owners—about your experiences using Saanich parks and what you value about our parks system.”
In 2021, Council directed staff to develop People, Pets and Parks: A District Wide Strategy for Sharing Saanich’s Parks. Saanich hired Lees and Associates to develop the strategy and Modus to facilitate the public engagement activities. The strategy will set goals and objectives for the community’s vision combined with the need for practical management of specific parks and amenities.
Saanich has a wide variety of parks, trails and recreational amenities. They have more than 170 parks that cover 8.2 km2 (820 hectares). This represents 8% of the total area of Saanich or about 100 CFL football fields.
As well, there are more than 100 kilometres of trails – everything from short, leisurely strolls to intense uphill climbs.
Ways to provide input:
There are several ways for the public to provide input during this first round of public engagement, including an online survey, virtual community conversations, or using a workbook at home with a small group.
Online survey
- Open May 20 to June 19 at 4 p.m. at saanich.ca/peoplepetsparks . The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. It tends to focus quite a bit on dogs in parks, and aspects of dogs being off-leash in the parks and other amenities for dog-owners. The survey accepts input from people in Saanich and beyond.
- Request a paper copy, if needed, by contacting parks@saanich.ca or 250-475-5522.
Virtual community conversations
- Thursday, June 2 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. via Zoom.
- Tuesday, June 14 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. via Zoom.
- Registration for these sessions can be done at saanich.ca/peoplepetsparks . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
- Connect with and learn from other community members as the group discusses parks use and the diverse needs to include in the strategy.
Kitchen table conversations
- For those who are unable to participate in a community conversation or who would prefer to facilitate their own small group conversation, we will have workbooks available upon request. These workbooks will include background information on the project and discussion questions to guide your conversation. Participants will be asked to take notes of their discussion in the workbooks and submit them to the project team via email so their feedback can be recorded.
To receive a kitchen table workbook, please contact tru@thinkmodus.ca
Phone survey:
In addition, Saanich will conduct a statistically valid telephone survey during the month of June. People will be randomly selected for those phone calls.
Open house:
Later this year, Saanich will host a public open house and pop-ups at parks and beaches to gather further input from a wide range of parks users. Details will be shared on the project webpage once confirmed.
Learn more
You can also sign up for email notifications to receive updates on the strategy, learn more about Petiquette in Saanich parks and find a list of Pop-up Dog Park locations for 2022 at saanich.ca .
