There are very public debates over the Chapman Creek / Grey Creek watersheds in the Sunshine Coast and the potential Gospel Rock development in Gibsons. A UBC study is seeking input on these and other important environmental issues such as potential oil spills, flooding, and sea level rise as part of an international study called C-Change based out of the University of Ottawa. Researchers from UBC have interviewed community leaders on the Lower Coast as well as politicians and staff in the Town of Gibsons, District of Sechelt, and the Sunshine Coast Regional District and now they need your help.
Residents of the Sunshine Coast are invited to complete an anonymous online survey. Those providing contact information will be entered into a draw for ten prizes of $100 (contact info will be stored separately from responses). Community participation is essential to the success of this study and we invite you to share your opinions on both public environmental debates and possible risks to your community.
Gibsons is one of four Canadian coastal communities being studied in C-Change, which is examining communities in the Caribbean and on Canadas Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic coasts whose livelihoods will be most affected by rising sea levels.
C-Change started in 2008 and involves researchers from the University of the West Indies, and five Canadian universities, including UBC and SFU. The project aims to develop local community capacity to address the urgent need to anticipate and plan for environmental impacts to communities’ physical, economic, and social well-being.
The other towns in the study are: Charlottetown PEI; Georgetown, Guyana; Iqualuit Nunavut; Belize Barrier Reef; Grand Riviere, Trinidad & Tobago; Isle Madame NS, and the Island of Bequia.
If you have any questions, or would like a paper version of the survey, please contact Nathan Vadeboncoeur at vadebncr <at> interchange.ubc.ca.