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awareness 13 Raising around family literacy
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VOICING VIEWS Village of Radium Hot Springs mayor Clara Reinhardt brainstorms with the rest of her table at the Have Your Say workshop hosted by Columbia Basin Trust at the Lions Hall on Wednesday, January 21st. See story below. PHOTO BY STEVE HUBRECHT
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F Valley residents set priorities with Columbia Basin Trust Family literacy is fun. From January 24 – 31, families across British Columbia are encouraged to learn together and participate in literacy-related activities to benefit both children and adults.
amily Literacy Week is a means of reaching not only children, but their caregivers. Parents and caregivers who participate in family learning, directly and positively affect the language and literacy development of their children. Even 15 minutes a day can improve both a child and parent’s literacy skills dramatically.
STEVE HUBRECHT steve@invermerevalleyecho.com A packed room of local residents gave input on what they hope the future of the Upper Columbia Valley might look like during the Columbia Basin Trust’s (CBT) Have Your Say workshop in Invermere last week. The CBT has held similar sessions all around the Columbia Basin, seeking input from community residents as it reviews and refines its strategic priorities and figures out how best to use its expected increase in revenues. “I’m really pleased with the turnout; it’s the biggest we have had so far,” said CBT chair Greg Deck to the more than 100 valley residents who gathered at the Invermere Lions Hall on Wednesday, January 21st. He said the Trust’s projected revenue from its power projects will increase from $27 million to around $50 million.
During the week, hundreds of activities and events are being offered by literacy providers, schools, libraries and community centres across the province to promote literacy and learning. Activities range from book drives to children’s reading circles to family game nights. This feature section is your guide to Family Literacy in B.C.
“This represents a big opportunity. The questions prompted participants That’s why we’re asking for your in- to think about what they want to see in put,” said Deck. their community in the future and how “All your input is going to guide it can happen. Most of the answers prewhere (the CBT) is going in the next sented by participants centred around five years,” said Golden-based CBT themes such as sustainability and smart special initiatives manager Heather growth, but a few were more specific. Mitchell, adding the workshop is part Bill Swan presented his table’s deof the process the sire for a locally-drivAll your input is Trust goes through en investment fund when it reviews its that would support going to guide strategic priorities. where (the CBT) is going projects in sectors The entire process such as local food and takes a full year, in the next five years. agriculture. HEATHER MITCHELL and includes infor“We’re always lookCBT SPECIAL INITIATIVES MANAGER mation-gathering at ing outside the valley workshops all across the basin, analyz- for funding; always thinking ‘bring the ing the data and then coming up with tourists in and we’ll be fine.’ And we new action plans and strategic priorities. are, and it usually works great. Until At the Lions Hall, workshop partic- the tourists decide not to come,” said ipants sat in groups around tables, Swan. “Why not pool our own financial brainstormed answers to questions resources and use that to drive projand then, table by table, shared their ects here in the valley?” answers with the rest of the room. Maria Kliavkoff presented her table’s
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view that the valley needs much better public transportation. “For us, it’s all about transportation. It’s hard to get from Brisco to Canal Flats to Invermere, especially if you have any kind of physical disability,” said Kliavkoff. The idea of more regional co-operation and integration was a common theme for several tables, with two tables going as far as suggesting the valley’s multiple communities should amalgamate. “Our idea is one big municipality for the valley,” said Dorothy Blunden, presenting her table’s views. “We need to stop each going in our own direction. If we band together, we can do transportation well, we can do sustainable business well. We can stop having money and resources flow from the valley to Victoria and then having to beg to get something back.” See A2