Wolfville, N.S. (July 15, 2016) – On May 12th, 2016 Wolfville became the first town in East of the Rockies to become a member of Cittaslow International, an organization which focuses on quality of life, environmental conservation, the promotion of sustainable development and the improvement of urban life.
The Cittaslow Manifesto declares that, “Cittaslow is the mark of quality for smaller communities that have made the choice to improve the quality of life for residents by improving the quality of the environment and the urban fabric and safeguarding the production of unique foods and wine that contribute to the character of the region.”
With Wolfville’s designation, Wolfville joins the communities of Cowichan Bay, and Naramata, BC to become the third Cittaslow community in Canada. Under the Cittaslow Charter, by having three designated Cittaslow communities, Canada now has a seat at the International Cittaslow Coordination Committee and can create a National Coordination Committee of Canada Cittaslow.
“Cittaslow is a great fit for Wolfville. We are Cittaslow. Linking food producers to consumers, protecting our fragile environment, promoting fair trade products and having a quality of life that is second to none are all things that Wolfville espouses and embodies,” says Mayor Jeff Cantwell
The application was the culmination of a 6 year process that involved a site visit from the International Committee and a detailed submission outlining how Wolfville met the Cittaslow criteria. This was reviewed by a prestigious scientific committee and Wolfville was scored against the criteria.
Several members of the local Wolfville community came together to prepare the application. Michael Howell, renowned chef and co-founder of the Devour! Food and Film Festival, Jim Morgenstern, a Wolfville based consultant, Scott Roberts, Director of Communications at Acadia and Dr. Edith Callaghan, Professor at the Acadia University of Environmental and Sustainability Studies were the driving force to become a member.
“We are thrilled with membership. It links together so much of what already is happening in Wolfville,“ says Howell. He goes on to say that, “We are working on an action plan to help people better understand the power of this Cittaslow designation and how it will benefit Wolfville. There are only 100 or so Cittaslow communities, towns and villages around the world and Wolfville is now one of them. We all need to take this designation and use it as a catalyst for positive change.”
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For more information contact:
Michael Howell
chefmhowell@gmail.com
(902) 679-0297
Mayor Jeff Cantwell
jcantwell@wolfville.ca
(902) 698-1676
