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Vital Signs Committee focuses on forest industry

The health of the Golden forestry industry will be discussed at an upcoming community engagement event.

On April 4th at the Golden Seniors Centre, local and provincial forest leaders will present on issues that impact our local forest industry and economy at large.  With guest speakers coming from near and afar, both specific and general forest issues will be addressed.  The topics to be discussed include ‘industry outlook for engineered wood,’ ‘recent changes to the Ministry of Forests,’ and ‘how the timber to be harvested in our area is divided up.’  And finally, looking to the future, the meeting will include the exploration of ‘opportunities for energy and fibre from the forest industry.’

The forest industry speakers will be presenting their information in an easy to understand format and language, making the session thought-provoking for everyone in the community.  Each speaker will present for 20 minutes, followed by questions from the floor.  At the end of the session, the Vital Signs Steering Committee will offer an opportunity for participants to provide feedback.

The evening event, with support from the Columbia Basin Trust,  is sponsored by the Golden & District Community Foundation’s Vital Signs community report initiative, which is one of 20 community foundations across Canada preparing a 2011 report.  This is the steering committee’s second community engagement event and is a chance to learn about the local and provincial forest industry and the opportunities and challenges ahead of us and how our decisions can positively impact our community.

The Steering Committee is now looking for any local data sets that local community organizations may have – especially those from education, recreation, police, safety, development, transportation, non-profits and government.  Through this community consultation process, it’s hoped that the best local support decisions can be made and new projects will focus on areas where improvement is necessary.

Anyone in the community is welcome to get involved with the Vital Signs Committee.  The volunteer group meets about twice each month and regularly posts news and research on the Vital Signs blog, http://goldenandareaavitalsigns2011.blogspot.com.  The Committee is looking to meet with local groups and they invite everyone to contact Ryan Watmough to set up a meeting.

To learn more about your community foundation and the ongoing Vital Signs project, please bookmark www.goldencommunityfoundation.ca.