Elkington Forest Update

The Living Forest Community at Elkington Forest is moving ahead at a good pace. We have made significant progress towards several goals, and soon we will begin the construction and sales programs.

Some exciting events have taken place over the last couple of months.

Priority Reception - On October 27, we held a reception at the Coast Hotel in Victoria. We had a full house with close to 60 wonderful people filling the room to learn about conservation communities and our current project at Elkington Forest. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and depth of the questions we were asked. Clearly, the crowd was a very knowledgeable group with a real understanding of what is possible in terms of living sustainably; district energy, integrated resource management, etc. I was pleased to learn that many have a strong interest in community gardening and community development. Christopher Bowers was at the reception capturing stories and questions with attendees. Please take some time to discover what others are saying about Living Forest Communities:

http://livingforest.blip.tv/

You can also find at this link Doug Makaroff's presentation at the Gaining Ground Sustainability Summit in Vancouver October 22, 2009

Rezoning – After two years of intense planning and community consultation, we are nearing the completion of the rezoning and entitlement process for Elkington Forest. Under the new Community Land Stewardship Zone, which is a new zoning designation specifically for our project, we will have 85% of the 950 acre forest in conservation and sustainable eco-system based timber harvesting. The remaining 15% will be split between land for food production, and three densely clustered, mixed-use residential hamlets with a maximum of 77 home sites. The Hamlets are modeled after a European hilltop town with very light-on-the-land infrastructure and services.

The local approving agency has specified seven technical engineering conditions that must be fulfilled before we can begin construction; including the finalizing of plans for fire protection, preparing a plan for the water system, sewage system, and an integrated rainwater management program, as well as parkland dedication. Things are moving along quickly with each of these conditions.

Exceptional Aquifer Well Reports – We have water and lots of it! We have been working closely with Worley Parsons Komex, a local engineering firm that has been conducting the preliminary work on the water supply at the property (one of the seven conditions mentioned above). In August, we completed a 24 hour test of the main aquifer well on-site. The engineers calculated that it would be sufficient for at least 100 gallons per minute over a 100 day period with no recharge of the aquifer. We are pleased by this result; the next step is to drill a production well.

Fire and Emergency Services — The Elkington Forest hamlet will have its own auxiliary fire hall on-site, volunteer fire department and emergency first responder service. Construction of the volunteer fire hall will begin with the first phase of the Elkington Forest project in the Trail Head Hamlet. We have held several public meetings now in order to discuss the issue of fire protection in the Elkington Forest project, as well in the surrounding areas. The hall will serve both Elkington Forest and the surrounding communities, and will be located on Elkington property. Neighbouring developers have given their support for establishing this fire services in the area, as it will lower insurance costs throughout the area and improve their ability to sell homes. In light of the recent increase in forest fires, we want the residents of the Hamlets be an essential part of the solution.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification Process – Elkington Forest is now an FSC certified forest, which is the most sustainable standard for forest management. We have a 350 year forest management plan that we think is ground breaking because it lays out the plan for restoring this 950 acre forest to a pre-colonial contact, old growth forest. Elkington forest currently has about 13% of the land base in Old Growth (more than 150 years of age), and in a carefully documented way, we plan to expand the Old Growth area to more than 30%.

MacDonald and Lawrence Timber Framers – MacDonald & Lawrence Timber Framing Ltd. is a specialist carpentry company that we have been working with closely throughout the development of the Elkington Forest project. They have extensive history in Timber Framing across the globe, including the restoration of Windsor Castle and Stirling Castle in the UK. MacDonald and Lawrence are committed not only to the communities in which they build, but also to the natural environment, using certified wood and sustainable practices throughout their work. M & L have a staff of 20 timber framers, and a shop of 12,000 sq ft, which they plan to move onto our property at Elkington Forest.