News - Whistler Centre for Sustainability

Nicolette Richer – From Social Venture Challenge to Dragons’ Den

Aug 2, 2017 | Business, Social Venture Challenge

Nicolette Richer has found her purpose. She loves being a social entrepreneur and can’t imagine doing anything else. She sees no differentiation between work, life and play anymore and every day she wakes up excited, energized and inspired. She claims that the hardest...

Social Venture Challenge 2017 Pitch Event Winner: Gear Share Hub!

Jul 11, 2017 | Economic Development, Social Venture Challenge

The average Canadian has $4,000 worth of ‘stuff’ sitting idle in their home, 80% of which gets used less than once per month. Keith Hammermeister presented these staggering stats during a convincing pitch for his venture Gear Share Hub during the Social Venture...

Building Capacity in BC’s Small Communities for Affordable Housing

Jul 7, 2017 | BC, Community Planning

Affordable housing remains a challenge for communities large and small throughout BC. While almost all communities in BC have policies in their Official Community Plans (OCPs) supporting the development of affordable housing, implementation of these policies and...

Baby boomers are entering their 70s. Is your community age-friendly yet?

Jul 6, 2017 | Age-Friendly, Community Planning

Seniors now account for 18% of BC’s population, and for some small BC communities the proportion is closer to 30%. And while the definition of ‘senior’ seems to be changing and up for debate, one thing is for sure: we’re all aging. And baby boomers – the largest...

Growing the local economy: Our 2017 Social Venture Challenge wraps up

Jul 3, 2017 | Economic Development, Social Venture Challenge

Is it possible to grow the local economy, support new entrepreneurs, protect the environment and do good for the community? The Centre created the Social Venture Challenge to do exactly that. We’ve just wrapped up the program for the third year in the Sea to Sky...

Social Venture Challenge Success Story – Ski Heaven Diverts Over One Metric Tonne of Waste from the Landfill

Jun 27, 2017 | BC, Business, Social Venture Challenge

Any skier who has thrown out an old pair of skis can appreciate the pain involved in the process. A non-skier might think “what’s the big deal?”, but a skier knows that a simple pair of skis can represent innumerable mountain memories… laughter, tears, joy, awe,...

Social Venture Challenge Success Story – Dooshi Pet Supplies

May 24, 2017 | BC, Business, Social Venture Challenge

Jeff Anderson started making homemade dog treats not because he knew he wanted to start a business, but because he wanted healthier food for his beloved canine companions, Doobie and Lilly. At eleven years old, Doobie had developed several lumps on his body. After paying a visit to a holistic vet, Jeff discovered that these lumps were likely due to malnutrition during Doobie’s key growing years.

Neighbourhoods Work Block Party 2017

May 10, 2017 | BC, Healthy Communities

The “Neighbourhoods Work Block Party” is an innovative initiative that aims to bring together residents, neighbourhoods and community organizations in a fun gathering to build social connections and to create even more amazing neighbourhoods. The initiative is made possible by the Community Fund for Canada’s 150th, the Community Foundation of Whistler, the Government of Canada and extraordinary leaders from coast to coast to coast.

Ensure Your Team Achieves Results by Fall 2018!

Mar 3, 2017 | BC, Strategic Planning

With just under 2 years before the fall 2018 municipal elections in BC, it’s time to check in on your strategic plan! Are any adjustments necessary based on newly emerging opportunities, challenges or community needs? The District of Tofino undertook a mid-term review and update of their four-year strategic plan in November. We assisted the District to develop their strategic plan in 2015, and went back to design and facilitate the review and update process, including a nearly full-day workshop with Council and senior staff.

Entrepreneurial approaches to meeting community needs

Feb 27, 2017 | Economic Development, Social innovation

For those of us living in smaller, rural communities, we know the importance of creating greater resilience and self-reliance. This means that creating local economies that support residents and the community, rely less on imports, create local jobs, and preserve and sustain our natural assets requires an entrepreneurial approach that’s often different from traditional economic development.

“Growing Event Tourism” workshop summary

Jan 13, 2017 | Economic Development, Tourism

The Centre hosted a “Growing Event Tourism” workshop with Tourism Kamloops in December 2016. The purpose of the workshop was to share learnings on how to develop and grow event tourism as a tourism and economic development strategy. Click here to view the event...

Walrus Talks Whistler

Oct 30, 2016 | Social innovation, Whistler

I had the honour of being invited to be one of the ‘talkers’ at the Walrus Talks on Innovation in Whistler last week. The talks were all super interesting, and I had a lot of fun preparing my talk. My topic was inspired by a line used by Mike Rowlands @ Junxion Strategy earlier this year – ‘The Space Between’ and I modified it to ‘The Space In Between,’ thinking about the space where change and innovation happens. So then I had to figure out how to communicate this idea in a 7-minute Walrus Talk. So here is what I talked about.

Building Capacity in BC’s Small Communities for Affordable Housing

Baby boomers are entering their 70s. Is your community age-friendly yet?

Neighbourhoods Work Block Party 2017

Ensure Your Team Achieves Results by Fall 2018!

“Growing Event Tourism” workshop summary

2019 Age-Friendly Community Grants Announced

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