The Real Estate Foundation of BC has named 10 Land Awards finalists and will recognize Lana Lowe (Land Champion), Tesicca Truong, and Veronika Bylicki (Emerging Leader) at the 2018 Land Awards Gala on October 11th. 

Land Champion: Lana Lowe

A Dene from Fort Nelson First Nation, Lana has worked to manage and protect water, land, and habitat in northeast British Columbia. As the Nation’s Director of Lands, Lana has worked with community members and industry to manage the impacts of oil and gas development in the Nation’s territory. 

Lana established community-led research and water monitoring programs, collaborated with governments, industry, NGOs, and academia, and created a community databank that is used in impacts assessment, regulatory and policy review, land use planning, and legal actions that have resulted in the prevention of over-extraction of water for fracking and the protection of threatened caribou in the territory.

Emerging Leaders: Veronika Bylicki and Tesicca Truong 

Veronika and Tesicca are the co-founders of CityHive, an organization that works to engage youth in civic affairs and sustainability. Together, they’ve launched pop-up “think-and-do” tanks, formed youth hubs on city building, and advocated for youth inclusion in planning.

Land Award Finalists

Built Environment

• Olivia Skye (Atira Development Society)
• BC’s Affordable Housing Plan (BC Non-Profit Housing Association)
• BC Energy Step Code (Energy Step Code Council)
• Nuutsumuut Lelum (Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre)

Fresh Water and Food Systems

• Young Agrarians Land Matching Program (FarmFolk CityFolk)
• Southwest BC Food System Design Project (Institute for Sustainable Food Systems at Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
• POLIS Water Sustainability Project (POLIS Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria)

Land Use and Conservation

• BC First Nations Land Use Planning Handbook (Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council)
• Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (Brooke and Associates, Smart Prosperity Institute, David Suzuki Foundation, and the Town of Gibsons)
• Embracing Our Potential (Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association)

Read more about these projects at LandAwards.com/Finalists. 

Winners will be announced at the Land Awards Gala on Thursday, October 11th at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre in Vancouver.

Tickets are on sale until October 4, 2018.