Cathy Robertson of Community Futures Cowichan doesn’t often get to delight a Cowichan Lake crowd but she did it Thursday, Oct. 19 when she told chamber of commerce members that $120,000 is coming to the area to help boost tourism.
$120K grants announced
The provincial government decided in 2016 that rural B.C. “needed a pot of money it could access for its rural development projects,” Robertson said.
“I think we all understand as residents in a rural area we all have very individual needs. And we need to be able to work with our province and get their financial support to bring the money into the community and do what exactly is needed for us. So, more than a year ago when we first applied to them for $10,000 to do a baseline study to understand a bit more what Lake Cowichan was, the story we told was that the mill [at Youbou] was lost about 20 years ago and Lake Cowichan has gone through lots of changes in the meantime. I think we have to acknowledge the development and private investment of Laketown Ranch. We thought, can this be a turning point? Greg Adams has used the term, ‘a real punch in the economic arm’ for Lake Cowichan. So, with the feasibility study we did quite a bit of community engagement and also talked to community leaders.”
Tourism came up over and over again.
“At Lake Cowichan, people desire a more robust tourist sector. But the big questions are, how do you do that? How do you know you’re making the right decisions? What investment is needed? Who are your partners going to be?”
So, a group that also included Amy Melmock of Economic Development Cowichan, wrote an application for funding.
“It’s a great day when you put hours of work into a proposal and then your email lights up and they say they got the money. The total value of the project is $120,000. The B.C. government’s putting in $97,000, Community Futures will put in some money, and the balance of it we hope will come from the Island Coastal Economic Trust,” Robertson said.
Of course, the next question is, what will they do with that money? And Robertson had some answers.
“We hope to do a regional collaboration: Lake Cowichan and the electoral areas that surround it. We need to bring those members of the community together and make a plan focused on tourism. We’re going to diversify and then extend the tourism season. What the study and our conversations have told us is that we need to be concentrating on cycling, hiking, and water sports. Cycling is driven from the Marine Circle Route and also from the Trans Canada Trail. There’s a lot of activity that comes right into the area that we want to capitalize on.
“And water sports? We have the lake to capitalize on. And then, lo, and behold, the Lake Cowichan First Nation got a large chunk of money to do a feasibility study for a marina.
“This is Lake Cowichan’s time. There’s money coming from outside investors. We want to get behind you folks, have a lot of community consultation. When you have to make big investment decisions that go on for 10 or 20 years, you have to get it right early on. I feel that we are lucky to have the type of investment right now.
“What do we need to offer the people who come through on their bikes and that? Do we need more hostels? Do we need accommodation? When we talk about infrastructure strategy it’s, what has to be done in order to make it successful?”
Experts have said that infrastructure is the most important key to tourism growth and performance, she said.
“We’re committed to forming a leadership team in Lake Cowichan. We need people who are really motivated by this. Then we need really smart consultants, people who are involved in the tourism sector, who will help us understand how to make these decisions. We’re going to hire a part time coordinator; someone has to get up there and drive this bus. We’re going to work with Tourism BC, and then we will share out our findings. That’s what a group of us will be doing for the community with this money in the next little bit. We don’t have all the answers right now but we’re certainly going to work towards them, and have great answers at the end of it on how we can help the community.”
Melmock said, “This is a great time for Lake Cowichan” and urged everyone to grasp the opportunity.
She said that she had that evening met members of the arts community at the Lake and saw potential there.
“Years ago, I worked in Wells, B.C. In that area, they started a school there called the Island Mountain School of the Arts and put people in billeting throughout the community. Now, that little Island Mountain School has evolved into an artist in residence program where artists are coming from all over the world. That’s a really interesting concept for expanding that off-season thing we talked about earlier.
“It’s an interesting idea for you because they will want to enjoy the beauty of this area. They will come at any time of the year. I can see something like that evolving for this region.
“I can also see the outgrowth of the tourism sector, as Cathy talked about. It’s easy to say we can build out onto the lake but what does it mean for Lake Cowichan? Well, look at what it’s meant for areas like Ucluelet and Tofino. There is so much happening now around that Pacific Marine Circle Route and how it’s connecting back to this region,” she said.
Amy Melmock talks up Lake Cowichan
Brent Clancy, vice-president of the chamber, agreed, “It’s exciting times for Lake Cowichan when you think of the money that’s coming here. We need to get the best bang for the buck. If the area does well, we all do well.” he said.
He told the group about the paved walkway that the Lake Cowichan First Nation has planned on some of its land.
“It goes all the way from their Kaatza Adventures area to the town and they are hoping to eventually go all the way to Laketown Ranch so North Shore will have a nice, safe walking path that will go right to Laketown Ranch, and hopefully, with partnership, right into the town of Lake Cowichan,” he said.
