Appendix C: The Regional Green/Blue Spaces Vision

The Green/Blue Spaces Strategy set out a comprehensive, long–term strategy for maintaining, conserving, rehabilitating and restoring green/blue spaces on public and private lands in the region, including areas with ecological, aesthetic, renewable resource, outdoor recreation and greenways values. The Board adopted the Green/Blue Spaces vision on November 26, 1997 as a guide for the preparation of the 2003 Regional Growth Strategy. This vision – Our Essential Nature – formed part of the Framework for Our Future Agreement adopted by the Board on July 15, 1998 to guide the development of the Regional Growth Strategy. The Regional Green/Blue Spaces Strategy has been superseded by subsequent planning initiatives such as the Regional Parks Strategic Plan, the Integrated Watershed Management Program Plan, the Regional Parks Land Acquisition Strategy and park management plans for the Sooke Hills Wilderness and Sea to Sea Regional Parks.

There are times when we just want to roam the Gowlland Range and listen to the sound of air stirred up by eagles’ wings. Or stroll the Swan Lake boardwalk and watch a family of proud ducklings parade past our feet.

Then there are days when splashing about with our children in the cool, clean waters of Thetis Lake is the only thing worth doing. Or maybe it’s kicking up the warm, soft sand of Willows Beach.

Perhaps it’s walking along the Colquitz Creek that makes our world come alive. Or taking a second, reflective look at a rare old Douglas–fir on the grounds of Royal Roads.

Whether it is the pastoral splendour of the Saanich Peninsula Farmlands, or the stark and wild beauty of the Juan de Fuca coastline, our ability to appreciate nature begins with whatever captivates our senses. It then expands to values we feel deeply but rarely capture in words.

All of us who live in the Capital Regional District cherish the natural environment that is so essential to our quality of life, and we are determined that it never be compromised.

So although we already enjoy a diverse network of protected areas that stretches from the southern Gulf Islands to Port Renfrew, we cannot be complacent. As the region’s population continues to grow, we must ensure that the stewardship of the natural environment remains integral to all forms of urban, suburban and rural development.

But we don’t protect nature just so we can hike, relax and contemplate. We must also safeguard endangered species and sensitive ecosystems such as Garry Oak meadows and stands of old growth Douglas–fir. And we need to give Pacific salmon a fighting chance to return to urban streams.

To that end we envision the development of a regional green/blue space system that will protect and maintain the full range and diversity of the natural environment that surrounds us, including significant green spaces, the marine environment, wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat, and unique ecosystems.

We are also committed to protecting and maintaining the last remnants of ecosystems that flourished here before the time of Captain Cook, and to restore natural systems we have altered.

This is neither a park plan nor a policy document, but a vision of cooperative stewardship that integrates the contributions of citizens, landowners, businesses, communities, and all levels of government. It is a vision of sustaining the essential nature of our region, of continually creating and protecting a livable and healthy community – and passing on that legacy to future generations.

The objectives of the Regional Green/Blue Spaces Strategy were to:

Conserve rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems and species in the Capital Regional District;
Maintain biological diversity by protecting and enhancing a variety of habitats;
Conserve ecologically valuable areas in large, diverse, contiguous units and connect them with greenways;
Maintain the character and diversity of green/blue spaces in the Capital Regional District;
Enhance and restore areas that could have green/blue space values;
Develop a comprehensive set of priorities for the conservation of green/blue spaces in the Capital Regional District;
Educate people about the value of protecting green/blue spaces in the Capital Regional District; and,
Foster partnerships for the conservation and stewardship of green/blue spaces.