Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable – Moving Forward

Building on the successful completion of four years of stakeholder and community collaboration, this project allowed the newly formed Coquitlam River Watershed (CRW) Roundtable to move forward. Project objectives were:

· To build partnerships and strengthen relationships between diverse members of the Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable.

· To share information and encourage communication about the watershed through meetings, the project Web site and email list, and local news media.

· To successfully implement some projects and activities.

· To secure funding and in-kind support to continue the operation of the Roundtable in future years.

Over the course of the year, the Roundtable Core Committee met seven times and the Roundtable met once. The Core Committee, which is the administrative body for the Roundtable, is composed of sixteen members and five alternates representing eleven sectors of interest in the watershed. The Roundtable membership is equally diverse. Over the course of these meetings and other Task Group meetings, which took place between meetings, the members were able to work collaboratively to reach consensus about a range of issues. The Core Committee and Roundtable approved a mission statement, guiding principles and operating guidelines for the Roundtable and terms of reference for the Core Committee. These guidelines and rules provide a firm foundation for the Roundtable’s future operation. As a first project, the Core Committee responded to the Roundtable’s suggestion to create a “virtual environmental watershed centre.” The Core Committee worked with a contractor to design and build a new Web site which will feature virtual tours of the Web site and other interactive tools designed to inform people about the Web site and encourage them to participate in Roundtable projects and activities. The Core Committee researched potential funding sources and submitted applications to secure funds for the coming year. The Committee also prepared an evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness of the Roundtable as well as a work plan and budget for the coming year.