Partnership for Water Sustainability helps BC Wildlife Federation Wetlands Program attract local governments to Metro Vancouver workshop
Note to Reader:
In November 2013, the BC Wildlife Federation Wetlands Program organized a one-day workshop titled “Wetlands, Not Wastelands”. The workshop aimed to strengthen the Metro Vancouver region’s capacity to secure green infrastructure – promoting human health and nature.
Held at the Stanley Park Pavilion, the workshop included presentations and discussions on ways to integrate wetland conservation at a municipal and regional level with a variety of tools from policy to built-infrastructure. A presentation by Kim Stephens introduced the elements of the Water Sustainability Action Plan and connected dots between regulatory requirements and actions on the ground.
Wetlands, Not Waste Lands
“Wetlands are the kidneys of the earth. The BC Wildlife Federation Wetland Education Program organized the Metro Vancouver Wetland Workshop to target key agencies involved in wetland conservation. Our mission is to challenge local government by posing this question: Is your municipality doing enough to prevent downstream impacts from rainwater runoff while maintaining healthy aquatic habitat,” states Christine Cooper, Wetland Intern with the Wetland Education Program.
“We initiated and held the workshop in a matter of a few weeks. Our challenge was in how to contact those in local government who would be interested and would benefit from attending. Fortunately, the Partnership for Water Sustainability helped us to spread the word about the workshop and we did attract a local government audience.”
“The Partnership circulated an e-blast to its local government audience and there was an immediate response in terms of registrations. In a matter of a few days the workshop was fully subscribed. As part of the registration process, we polled registrants as to what they wished to learn from the workshop, The presentation by Kim Stephens on wetland conservation through the lens of integrated stormwater management was the #1 attraction.”
If We Reduce Our “Water Footprint”…..
“Every municipality in Metro Vancouver has to manage the raindrops that fall on it. The regulatory driver is the Environmental Management Act,” explains Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC. “A decade ago, British Columbia was the first jurisdiction in North America to adopt the ‘Water Balance Methodology’ when the Province released Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia. Guidebook direction is ‘mimic the balance’ when land is developed.”
To Learn More:
To download a PDF copy of the workshop program, click on Wetlands, Not Waste Lands: A Workshop for Metro Vancouver Municipalities
To read a previous story posted previously on the Green Infrastructure community-of-interest, click on Wetlands, Not Wastelands: A Workshop for Metro Vancouver Municipalities (November 19)
To download a PDF copy of the PowerPoint presentation by Kim Stephens, click on Wetlands Conservation in a Watershed Health Context: Watershed Blueprints Will Help Municipalities Integrate and Better Deliver on Regulatory Requirements.
