Niagara Communities Need To Become More Sustainable, Before It’s Too Late

 By Bernie Slepkov

There’s something I want you to know.

Bernie Slepkov

For the past few years, the people at the City of St. Catharines, Ontario and the Region of Niagara have been gearing up for some serious mind shifting, and they want your help in those efforts.

Oh, I can almost sense the cynicism and complacency that declaration just aroused.

No, seriously. They know “that the times, they are changin’” and are trying to grapple with it. The challenges confronting the governments and residents of our region and communities (of Niagara, Ontario) are universal. Rising energy costs, climate change and poverty are but a few of the forces propelling community sustainability forward. All of those will increasingly touch us all – along with all of the everyday things we take for granted and virtually every aspect of daily living.

Societies the world over are striving to increase their resilience. Resilient communities are those that are most capable of responding to and recovering from adversity. That’s something we all need to begin to wrap our heads around. Not only have the city and Region been exploring new directions, they have actually been engaging residents to help them do so. Evidence indicates they are actually listening! I know this since I’ve been involved from day one and I encourage you to join us in shaping our directions.

In 1996, I began envisioning how we might renew our qualities of life and work in and around Niagara. Because of that, the past Regional Chair Debbie Zimmerman invited me in 2001 to attend the new Smarter Niagara Steering Committee meetings. That committee was created to guide regional staff and council toward smarter, longer-term planning policies. Since then, I’ve been involved in a slew of policy directions and public engagement initiatives being taken by different levels of government.

Two ongoing initiatives are seeking further public involvement. One is for the Region, the other for St. Catharines.

A few years ago, the Region launched its ‘Sustainable Niagara Plan’ initiative to help create “a guide for decision-making in community planning and investment”. The intent of the Region’s plan is “to strengthen our [regional] awareness of how decisions in one area can impact the outcomes in other areas”. Public input was incorporated from the outset. Having taken part in shaping that plan, I can attest that the public’s input and feedback toward determining its vision statements, indicators and goals have been open and fully collaborative.

The plan is now in its third phase – Developing an Action Plan for Sustainable Niagara. We need to define and prioritize the actions we’ll need to take, review the proposed targets to recommend how they might be monitored, and discuss ways the community can become a partner in the plan. Toward that end, a workshop will be held on Friday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Linhaven (433 Ontario St., St. Catharines). If you’re interested in attending, send an RSVP to Erin Britnell, the sustainability co-ordinator at sustainable@niagararegion.ca.

Whether you attend or not, you can still review the Region’s Sustainable Niagara Project Process web page at http://www.niagararegion.ca/government/planning/sustainability/default.aspx. Then, submit your ideas or comments. Also tell the Region if you are currently taking any actions towards a sustainable Niagara at http://www.niagararegion.ca/government/planning/Sustainability/public-forum.aspx.

The second initiative is for the City of St. Catharines’ Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP). “Tending the Garden City: The City of St. Catharines Sustainability Strategy”, available on the City’s website [href=\’http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/governin/CorporateSustainability.asp], is a framework determined by the previous work of two committees. One was an internal city staff committee. The other was the Community Advisory Committee comprised of St. Catharines residents, who applied and were selected by City Council to sit on the committee. Through several public meetings and online surveys between March 2010 and April 2011, the committee gathered the input of some 400 community leaders, stakeholders and residents.

Six key challenges expected to adversely affect the social, economic, environmental and cultural fabrics of St. Catharines were identified by both committees: climate change, rising energy prices, poverty, infrastructure, natural resource scarcity, and the global economy.

There is still much work to be done in bringing the plan to life within City Hall, as well as throughout the community. The people at city hall need to consider how those impending threats could affect the following priorities identified within Tending the Garden City: asset management; multi-modal transportation networks; compact, livable neighbourhoods; and local food security. As city residents, businesses and organizations we must also attune ourselves to similar matters; for example, how natural resource scarcity and rising energy costs could affect our access to basic necessities like food, or how we get from home to work, and to shopping and back.

The new Integrated Community Sustainability Committee, of which I am a member, is now charged with attempting to align city hall with the community, and visa-versa. Both, for the long-term benefit of the city, need to come to terms with sustainability and all it entails. To help, committee members would be happy to make short presentations to local groups wishing to learn more about the city’s sustainability plan.

We are also very excited about a unique public education and engagement campaign launched recently at http://www.helpcatharine.ca. Keep your eyes peeled for ‘Catharine’ posters to appear in and around the city. And expect my next few articles to play into Catharine’s Journey toward sustainability.

Bernie Slepkov is a Niagara, Ontario resident and long-time advocate through municipal committees he has voluntarily served on and through other means, for a more economically and environmentally sustainable Niagara region.

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