Eastern Charlotte Waterways To Launch Project:Village

An environmental non-profit in Charlotte County wants to address some of the region’s most pressing issues head-on.

Eastern Charlotte Waterways will unveil its new program called Project:Village during a soft launch on Tuesday evening.

Brian Cowie, executive director of the organization, said it is an idea their board first started exploring a year ago.

“It was the understanding that healthy environments are really intricately connected to healthy communities,” Cowie said in a phone interview.

When the organization started to work more in the community, Cowie said they started to notice some of the more prominent issues that came up related to housing, transportation, and food security.

Project:Village includes a number of initiatives related to those issues which are guided by four foundational pillars: community, governance, environment, and economy.

Among the initiatives is a phased plan for affordable housing and community spaces on 7.5 acres of land in Blacks Harbour. Phase one will begin in 2022 with 24 units of accessible housing.

The Southwest New Brunswick 2020 Municipal Housing study estimates the county will need 253 new dwellings per year through 2026.

In addition, 59 of 83 people who answered a 2021 housing survey in Blacks Harbour identified that they need rental housing now.

Other initiatives include implementing a car-share transportation system in southwestern New Brunswick and investing in the growth of local food systems.

Cowie said she hopes Project:Village will be a model for rural sustainable development that enhances people’s livelihoods.

“Whether it’s providing people with transportation opportunities to get to their medical appointments or to get to work, whether it’s providing people with safe, affordable housing options, whether it’s helping to support our local food economy and our food systems,” she said.

An open house will take place at Stella Maris Hall in Blacks Harbour starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday to give residents a chance to learn more about the project and its initiatives.