Community Assistance - Canmore, AB
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Mining the Future - Developing a Vision for Canmore
Mining the Future was a grass roots community based process designed to help define a vision of the future for Canmore. We explored questions such as how do we decide what kind of community Canmore will be in the future when we don't know what sort of society we will be living in? These sorts of questions don't lend themselves to traditional analysis.
Scenarios were used as alternative descriptions of the community of Canmore. They were internally consistent stories describing paths from the present to a future time horizon. "Good" scenarios were rooted in the past and present: they provided an interpretation of past and present events projected into the future. Their objective was to expand the envelope of our thinking, to expand the limits of our mental maps of the future. They involved more than one view of the future. That is their explicit objective. A single view is a forecast. They deal with complex, uncertain situations in which qualitative, non-quantifiable forces are at work. (e.g., social values, technology or regulations). The challenge was to broaden our thinking without trespassing the unbelievable. Scenarios focused on the uncertainties and driving forces relevant to strategic decisions under consideration.
Through a number of neighbourhood group and community group meetings, as well as community-wide gatherings, the conversations in Canmore’s Mining the Future lasted for 8 months. For this project Chinook Institute worked in collaboration with a team managed by Felicity Edwards of CSE Group. View the attached documents for outcomes.
A Vision For Canmore - Final Version, pdf 264KB
Home Buyers' Guide to Environmental Stewardship
Funded by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, Chinook Institute’s goal was to develop and produce a Home Buyers' Guide that educates prospective buyers about living responsibly in one of Canada’s fastest growing and most environmentally pressured communities. The intended conservation outcome was to reduce stress on a continentally significant wildlife corridor, to expand community understanding and appreciation of its natural heritage and, based on that appreciation, generate behavior that supports the conservation of natural systems and native species.
Pending future funding, the Home Buyers’ Guide will be followed by two other Environmental Stewardship Guides: The Home Owners’ Guide, and the Bow Valley Visitors’ Guide. The three will constitute an integrated educational package.
The project reflected CI’s community stewardship approach by soliciting advice from key stakeholders in the community and then vetting the document throughout the community before publication.
An initial print run of 1,100 copies of The Home Buyers' Guide were published in July 2006.
Publications
The Home Buyers’ Guide to Environmental Stewardship, produced by the Chinook Institute for Community Stewardship, is available in both print and electronic formats. This innovative project provides the Bow Valley real estate and development community with an educational guide to inform prospective home buyers about Canmore’s unique environmental and lifestyle assets, and to encourage environmentally responsible choices and stewardship actions. The project contributes to protecting desirable natural assets and community values; thereby protecting buyers’ investments and strengthening the local economy. To receive high quality hard copies contact us.
Download the Online Version of Guide
Printing Instructions: Under file click on print, chose FIT TO PRINTER MARGINS. Then go into ADVANCE and click on PRINT AS IMAGE, then press okay.
The Chinook Institute gratefully acknowledges the support of the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, whose vision and funding made this guide possible.