LOCAL FIRESMART GUIDE TO GARDENING NOW AVAILABLE
(Click the image to view the full guide)
This guide and excerpt has been shared from the Strathcona Regional District:
"With COVID-19 keeping us closer to home this fall, and many people taking on home and garden improvements, a new FireSmart Guide to Gardening offers landscaping tips that can safeguard local homes.
Printed booklets are available in Campbell River at: Campbell River Garden Centre, Home Depot and Sticks and Stones Nursery.
This guide recommends a number of ways people can work with nature and the changing seasons to make their property fire resistant. The guide illustrates how incorporating fire-resistant plants in lush landscapes reduces the chance that embers from a wildfire will damage or destroy a home. These principles also incorporate best practices to support plants and reduce harm to wildlife.
The guide features graphic design and illustrations by School District 72 students Jennifer-Thorton Hughes and Bailey Bellosillo. Information has been developed to meet local building requirements and the specific climate conditions of northern Vancouver Island region thanks to BC Wildfire Service, Greenways Land Trust, FireSmart BC, School District 72, Strathcona Regional District and multiple departments within the City of Campbell River.
“With climate change, hotter, drier summers, and a greater risk for wildfires are a growing reality for our region,” says Mayor Andy Adams. “The Campbell River FireSmart Guide to Gardening is a handy, all-in-one source for the type of information people need to be proactive when it comes to reducing the chance of wildfire damage to their home.”
“An important component of reducing disaster risk is public awareness about how to prepare in advance. The more we can do to develop properties and landscapes with protective features in mind, the better chance we have of reducing risks,” adds fire chief Thomas Doherty. “Studies continually demonstrate that the homes that survive a wildfire exhibit many of the attributes recommended by FireSmart guidelines.”
For more information about FireSmart visit www.firesmartbc.ca
The project was funded by the Community Resiliency Investment grant and in-kind contributions from content contributors."
Contact:
Shaun Koopman, Protective Services Coordinator, Strathcona Regional District
skoopman@srd.ca
250-830-6702