Green infrastructure in Kamloops—it’s here!
Although it was completed in December 2022, it took awhile for the City of Kamloops to load its Green Infrastructure Research Project Report on the website. It’s there now, however, and is worth a read.
The Green Infrastructure Research Project was designed to support the City’s 2021 Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP), particularly, CCAP’s Big Move #8: Healthy Urban Ecosystem, which aims to “enhance and restore urban ecosystem health to improve carbon storage capacity and resilience to climate change.” The report shows that although the use of green infrastructure (GI) in Kamloops has a promising future, and can certainly help achieve Big Move #8, more work needs to be done. City staff have tried several GI projects, but there is room for improvement—both in terms of maintaining what they have now and building more.
Chapter 1 of the 45-page report provides some background on GI, including describing the three basic types—natural, enhanced, and engineered assets—and the benefits of GI, which also fall into three main categories: environmental, social and economic. The report includes information on funding opportunities, as well as case studies from Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria. GI plays substantial, though different, roles in the sustainability plans of each of these large BC municipalities, and Kamloops could profit from taking strategies from each. The report notes that although Kamloops has bylaws and guidelines (e.g., the Tree Protection Bylaw, the Urban Forest Management Strategy and the Official Community Plan) that provide support for the construction and protection of GI, we have tried only a few GI projects with varying levels of success.
Chapter 2 describes research into existing GI projects in the city. You might be surprised to learn that these projects include the planting of trees and other vegetation, construction of numerous bioswales, rock pits, and curb cutouts as well as a green roof, installation of perforated drainage pipes and permeable sidewalks, and even creation of an entire wetland. For most projects, the report’s author visited project sites and described the current (to 2022) state of the infrastructure. Residents near these projects on Singh and Windbreak Streets, Fleetwood and Richmond Avenues and River Road were interviewed and/or given surveys to complete. The results revealed that some projects were working well (at reducing flooding, for example) while others were less successful.
The author also visited and describes two other projects, Dufferin Wetland and the Kamloops Centre for Water Quality. The first of these is very successful at sequestering carbon and providing habitat for diverse wildlife; it also provides educational opportunities for local schools, including Thompson Rivers University, and various other groups. The second has done less well with respect to its GI goals, although it is highly successful at maintaining water quality!
Interviews with City staff are also included in Chapter 2. These provided a list of the GI projects implemented in Kamloops before December 2022, including the West Highlands pond in Aberdeen, Gamble pond in Upper Sahali, swales in Westsyde, and the dog park in Juniper, which doubles as a detention pond (i.e., a pond that holds water and slowly releases it for use by surrounding vegetation, rather than a retention pond, which has no outlet and holds water indefinitely), as well as those described above.
Staff noted that the City carried out many of these GI projects on the North Shore and in Brocklehurst; the fact that these neighbourhoods are located on flat land and lack stormwater piping makes them ideal for projects that use swales and other GI to reduce flooding. Compared to typical pipe infrastructure, GI is cheaper for many reasons and is aesthetically pleasing to boot. Staff also discussed the challenges associated with GI and some ideas for training and research, as well as suggestions to improve the implementation of green infrastructure in Kamloops. Finally, Chapter 2 includes insights from interviews with a group of three landscape architects/engineers with training in GI and experience working on GI projects both across Canada and in Kamloops.
Chapter 3 of the report is short and filled with recommendations for further research, training of city staff, and policy initiatives to support the construction of more GI projects. It concludes that future GI projects can greatly help the city achieve its climate and sustainability goals, noting that “the greatest obstacle in GI’s success in Kamloops has been a lack of maintenance and public awareness of its value.” Transition Kamloops—and other organizations—can certainly help with the latter!
Check out the Green Infrastructure Research Project Report right here.
Transition Kamloops
Transition Kamloops is a volunteer-driven, registered not-for-profit society focused on increasing local resilience and self-sufficiency in food, water, energy, culture and wellness. We emphasize a local economy, healthy ecosystems, and grassroots community building, while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. We believe in a better way: a community that sustains life in all its diversity, strives for equality and justice and invests in the future.
Transition Kamloops recognizes that we are living on Secwépemcul’ecw—land that was never ceded to settlers, and continues to be home to vibrant Indigenous cultures, languages, and traditions. We acknowledge the impact of colonization, forced displacement, and ongoing struggles faced by Indigenous peoples. We commit to listening, learning, and building positive relationships with Indigenous communities as we work towards reconciliation.
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