As an elected official at the City of Chilliwack, a member of our team, Sam Waddington, spearheaded a council initiative to develop a comprehensive plan for outdoor recreation in the community. This began with the formation of a new committee, for which Sam was the founding chair, the Chilliwack Parks and Trails Advisory Committee, who recognized the need for detailed outdoor recreation planning to be included in the municipality’s official community plan. Beginning in 2016 the committee members and city staff began hosting workshops and community engagement open houses with stakeholders and user groups to better understand both existing recreation needs, as well as future recreation opportunities. Drawing on best practices and the unique opportunities that existed within the city and adjacent crown lands, our team member and their committee were able to achieve council support for the city’s first ever Greenspace Plan in 2018.

The momentum of the City of Chilliwack Greenspace Plan was followed by a Trail Network Plan and a Blueway Access Strategy, which combined form a multi-decade vision for the future of new parks, trails and recreation waterways within the community. Our team has drawn on the experience gained from planning processes such as these to inform our community engagement and planning work at Outpost Trail Management.