A turn in the river : revitalizing planning with Seabird Island

As graduate students in the Indigenous Community Planning specialization at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning, we completed an eight-month practicum placement working in partnership with the Seabird Island Indian Band (SIB) in British Columbia’s beautiful Fraser Valley region. This portfolio showcases the highlights of our planning efforts over the course of our time working alongside SIB, drawing from the 13 trips and over 1000 hours of work completed between September 2014 and May 2015. Supported by key community members and building upon the work done by previous ICP practicum students and the Nation, we were tasked to design, implement, and document a housing, communications, and visioning planning process. We began the practicum with the creation of a Workplan, Community Engagement Strategy, Student Partnership Agreement and a Community Learning Agreement. These documents outlined our work together as students, with our community and staff planning teams, and with the greater SIB community. Beginning work at SIB, it was essential to agree on shared planning principles and values. We re-visited these planning values throughout the duration of the practicum as they served as a reminder of what underlies our project work. Throughout the practicum we strived to develop a process that was: inclusive, community-driven and participatory, transparent, and ethical.Applied Science, Faculty ofCommunity and Regional Planning (SCARP), School ofUnreviewedGraduat