North Cowichan council has appointed 12 community members to the newly re-instated Environmental Advisory Committee.
They include: Sandy McPherson, Neil Anderson, David Coulson, Cameron Campbell, Dr. Zoe Dalton, Dr. Shannon Waters, Ashley Muckle, Bruce Coates, Per Dahlstrom, Dr. Jana Kotaska, Dr. Jesse Patterson and Dr. Geoffrey Strong.
The inaugural EAC meeting is expected to take place in February 2021, with bi-monthly meetings after that. The EAC will provide council with valuable advice on corporate planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the community and other environmental matters such as natural areas, watershed protection, air quality and climate adaptation plus any other emerging issues referred by council.
“I am pleased to share that we had over 30 highly qualified applicants who put their names forward to participate on this committee,” noted North Cowichan Councillor and EAC Chair Kate Marsh. “Everyone who applied was a strong candidate and represented various sectors of our community. In the end, council chose to expand the committee from nine to 12 members to best support us on one of our most important and challenging mandates: responding to the climate emergency.
“I am looking forward to working with this group of individuals to apply a climate-focused lens to all of North Cowichan’s strategic and long-range planning. With the Official Community Plan and Climate Action and Energy Plan updates already underway and a new Master Transportation Plan on the docket for this year, there will be plenty of opportunity for this committee to provide valuable community advice and expertise to council.”