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/ Opinion / Column /

Didsbury's wetlands award something to be proud of

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I want to take this time to talk about the recent award nomination that the Town of Didsbury and our

consulting engineers, ISL Engineering and Land Services, received for the design and development of the North

Industrial Storm Water Wetlands area and what it means for Didsbury.

On Friday, Feb. 10 the Consulting Engineers of Alberta awards ceremony was held in Calgary. Didsbury’s

wetlands project was in an elite group of 11 nominees for the Award of Merit in Sustainable Design that

included such projects as the TELUS World of Science in Calgary, the Fort McMurray Waste Water Treatment

Facility, and the University of Calgary Cogeneration Project.

For those who attended the awards evening on behalf of the Town of Didsbury, it soon became very evident that just being nominated for such an award was a major accomplishment. So when Didsbury was named the winner

for this 2011 Award of Merit it was a monumental moment for all involved in this project. To realize that what

we had built in Didsbury was a very unique, leading-edge, one-of-a-kind project that incorporated long-term,

environmentally friendly, interactive and sustainable planning principles that would be a showcase for

Didsbury and a benchmark for municipalities nationwide!

To be living in one of the best countries in the world from an economic and quality of life perspective is

something to be proud of as a Canadian. To live in the province that is leading the country in economic growth

and prosperity is again an accomplishment to be proud of as Albertans, and to live in a town that is recognized

provincially with such a major award is something that all Didsburians can take great pride in. This shows that

Didsbury is a growing and thriving town that is looking to the future by using long-term sustainable and

environmentally positive planning principles.

Add to this that over the past couple of years, Alberta Venture magazine voted Didsbury as one of the top 10

communities in Alberta to do business in (2009), and one of the top 10 Growth Communities in Alberta (2010),

and you can start to see that Didsbury is destined to become a growth community along the QEII corridor

because of our location, history, overall appeal and our forward thinking and planning to help prepare

Didsbury for the future.

Council and administration are very focused on and working constantly towards improving Didsbury’s

potential for the future using smart, sustainable and environmentally sound planning principles.

Smart planning will lead to a brighter future for Didsbury and its residents.

Brian Wittal is the mayor of Didsbury.