Doughnut Economics? A community bike ride to explore the concept, while eating a local donut (or two?)
A coconut boston creme doughnut from food truck Harbour City Donuts. (Jesse Woodward / CHLY 101.7FM)
Global Donut Days are here in Nanaimo and a community bike ride will mark the occasion.
Global Donut Days is an international festival run by Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL), an organization inspired and dedicated to the Doughnut Economic model from October 20th to 24th. The Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation (NPC) is taking part in the global event celebrating the Doughnut Economics framework.
Back in 2020, City Council voted to adopt the Doughnut Economic model, making Nanaimo the first municipality in North America to do so.
Staying on theme, the community bike ride will feature local shops' doughnuts such as Harbour City Donuts and Milk Jam Donuts. (Jesse Woodward / CHLY 101.7FM)
Anni Thesen, living systems coordinator at the Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation, explained what the Doughnut Economics philosophy actually entails.
“So doughnut economics is a concept by Kate Raworth, and if you just picture a doughnut, there is an inner ring of the doughnut and an outer ring of the doughnut. The idea is that everyone should have, sort of access to the essentials that they need to have a good life, such as like housing, food, health, sense of belonging,” said Thesen. “So that's the inner doughnut. While also making sure we don't put too much pressure on the natural environment that we depend on. So the outer ring of the doughnut is that ecological ceiling, we're trying to stay … in the space that is between the inner and the outer ring of the doughnut.”
The prosperity corporation will show how that framework can translate to everyday life. A casual drop in morning bike ride will visit places that have been implementing the Doughnut Economics philosophy locally. Staying on theme, the community bike ride will feature local shops' doughnuts such as Harbour City Donuts and Milk Jam Donuts.
Thesen commented on the idea behind the community bike ride.
“So we just wanted to have a doughnut economics themed bike ride to kinda highlight the initiatives and some ideas of how we practice doughnut economics here in Nanaimo. So we have three signature stops along the way, they're all kind of highlighting different parts of what makes our community thrive.”
She added riders will visit the Beaufort Park Food Forest to talk about food cultivation and neighbourhood stewardship, then stop by Beban Park to focus on active transportation. Finally the tour will stop at the Tom Harris Regional Food Centre to highlight how infrastructure helps connect food with people who need it.
The economics community around the world organizes days of online and in-person events that connect communities following the Doughnut Economic model. The prosperity corporation had already taken part in the event last year, but only through workshops for businesses and non-profit organizations. This time, Thesen explains the organization wanted to have fun exploring what the philosophy actually looks like in the wild.
Alongside Nanaimo, other cities employing the Doughnut Economic model include Amsterdam, Melbourne and Berlin.
The City of Nanaimo recently developed the Nanaimo Monitoring Bar, a visual summary of progress on key indicators tied to the city's goals. The goals include making Nanaimo Green, Connected, Healthy, Empowered and Prosperous.
The monitoring bar shows whether the performance on each goal is within a sustainable range or if it needs improvement, helping the city track what needs focus.
Thesen commented on the city’s efforts and what she hopes they do next.
“ I believe the city is doing a wonderful job of integrating donut economics into its city plan. They have an integrated action plan. They also have an award-winning monitoring strategy, which I think is fantastic,” said Thesen. “I think … what I would hope to see is to celebrate everything that is happening in the city because there's so many people that don't know about these initiatives that are happening. So I think just getting the word out and sharing it with the community that all of these great things are happening.”
With the prosperity corporation taking a more hands-on approach to the global event, Thesen is excited for the ride next week and invites anyone interested to join the group.
She shared her excitement and explained the accessibility options for any planning to attend.
“ There's definitely opportunities to rent a bike if people don't have bikes at our local bike shops. There's also Evolve Bike Share program that people can use if they don't have a bike but would love to join, and we'll make sure that it's suited for everybody.”
The community bike ride kicks off at Diana Krall Plaza, on Saturday October 24th at 10:00 a.m.
Further registration information is available at the event webpage.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
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