The Real Estate Foundation of BC hosted the sixth Land Awards Gala on October 21 at the Rocky Mountaineer Station in Vancouver. At the Gala, REFBC presented three Land Awards – for projects led by the private, public and non-profit sectors.

Land Awards were presented for the following projects:

• The Beer Farm, Persephone Brewing Company: a model for integrated, sustainable community-based agriculture (private sector)
• Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Electoral Area B, District of Lillooet and St’át’imc Agricultural Plan: an inclusive regional agricultural plan (public sector)
• Moving Towards Reconciliation, the Fair Mining Collaborative: technical information and practical assistance around the benefits and impacts of mining (non-profit sector)

The Foundation also celebrated the work of Deborah Curran, an environmental lawyer and educator, and presented her with the 2016 Land Champion award. Through her work as co-founder of Smart Growth BC, acting executive director of the Environmental Law Centre at UVic and as a practicing lawyer, Deborah has established herself as a thought leader on sustainable built environments and freshwater governance. Her current work, in partnership with the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance, matches indigenous water law with the framework of BC’s Water Sustainability Act.

The Land Awards Gala was emceed by Steve Patterson, a comedian known for his work on CBC Radio’s The Debaters. The Gala also featured wearable botanical art created by Nicole Dextras and a silent auction hosted by Sole Food Street Farms.

Links:

Full list: 2016 Land Award finalists

Videos: Land Award finalist projects

Social media recap: #LandAwards

Media Release