Living in harmony?

Hornby Island is set to host the Housing Solutions for Small Communities conference on April 11th-13th, 2007 � and it�s a timely reminder of why the island has survived for over 30 years as a community of just under a thousand residents. The Northern Gulf island off BC, Canada, boasts a culturally distinctive population of immigrants, mainly American draft dodgers from the Vietnam War.

Of course, Hornby Island has been beset by its share of problems too �You can get “The history of Hornby Island” from Amazon – its population is said to quadruple suring the summer months due to tourism, which has led to some major water shortages and a re-thinking of the way islanders use water. Tourism is, after all, the primary source of income for the island, but it certainly isn�t the only source of its problems.

A major concern for the island is the contamination of fresh water wells by ocean water, which is a considerable health risk. Rainwater collection has been suggested as a way to combat water shortages and promote sustainability, but the island has seen too many years of procrastination on the subject, many feel.

It seems that even in the close-knit community it�s easy to look the other way, or blame someone else, when sewage is flushed directly into the ground with no septic tank, no septic field, and no means to filter either people�s own wells or those of their downhill neighbours from the bacteria laden waste they dispose of without a second thought. But people are beginning to recognize that if nothing is done now, they will most certainly have to foot the bill later when disease and social chaos arrive.

At the moment, rainwater collecting schemes are only catching about 20% of the water falling on the island � and that�s considering that the island has been for some years now completely dependent on rainwater renewal, having run out of all fossil or old stored aquifer water. And cutting down on water use would be a pretty useful thing to do, too.

Pressure on the island�s eco-system is also manifested in the relationship between the permanent residents of Hornby Island and the occasional visitors (or is that vice-versa?) Simply put, all recognize the limitations of the island� resources but few like to think it�s because of them and their habits.

The Hornby Island Residents and Ratepayers Association (HIRRA) has articulated some of the island�s concerns in what are called �vision statements� which constitute an articulation by the majority of the community of the �ideal Hornby Island in the year 2020�. It includes ideas about sustainable living to address the environmental concerns, ways to strengthen the economy and a sense of community, already strongly present on the island. Considering that some of the island�s problems have arisen because of the residents� failure to act collectively, having a picture of the future that Hornby Islanders want for the Island is a good start to resolving those issues.

For full details of the Housing Solutions for Small Communities conference, please contact Tony Law at ceec@telus.net or at 335-1155.

Conference topics will include: Challenges for BC communities, Community with earth in mind, Preparing for action, Creating and implementing a strategy, Utilizing land use planning tools, Addressing regulatory challenges, Organizational approaches to housing, Creating partnerships, Building and energy solutions, On-site water and waste solutions.

Certain workshops of general interest will be open to the public by donation: �The Eco-home�, �Affordability v. Sustainability�, �Energy Solutions�, �Making Rentals Work�, �Habitat for Humanity�, �Hydro-lodge-ical Design�.

Tags: off-the-grid