“This category recognizes agencies and organizations whose support is vitally important because that is what enables the Partnership to develop tools and deliver programs under the umbrella of Convening for Action in British Columbia. Their demonstrated commitment to achieving a shared vision for water sustainability allows the Partnership to carry out our mission,” states Kim Stephens,
In his 1969 book, Design With Nature, Ian McHarg pioneered the concept of environmental planning. “So, I commend Design with Nature to your sympathetic consideration. The title contains a gradient of meaning. It can be interpreted as simply descriptive of a planning method, deferential to places and peoples, it can invoke the Grand Design, it can emphasize the conjunction with and, finally it can be read as an imperative. DESIGN WITH NATURE!,” wrote Ian McHarg. He insisted we look at the many aspects of the entire system we are designing. Instead of fighting against natural forces, design in harmony with them.
“Avoidance of a future financial liability is a driver for Sustainable Service Delivery. This starts with land use and watershed-based planning. No matter what level of Asset Management implementation a local government is at, the key message is that including nature, natural resource management and natural services into their thinking should be done at the beginning – and the beginning has everything to do with planning,” stated Glen Brown.
“The website is designed to provide the complete story on integrated land and water management – why, what, where and how. Because we have such a strong following in the United States, we do make a special effort to include American stories. We cannot help but wonder about the extent to which the BC experience may be subtlety influencing thinking in the United States,” states Mike Tanner.
“After ten years of involvement with the Partnership for Water Sustainability, I feel as committed as ever. At times, I find myself amazed at the collective expertise of the volunteers who work in Partnership initiatives. Their wisdom makes the work of the Partnership efficient; it allows a great deal to be done with very limited dollars. We collaborate with practitioners as equals and take services to their territories,” states Tim Pringle. “The Partnership makes available tools and support services that enable practitioners to focus on water sustainability as an essential form maker of our communities. We all live in a watershed.”
Considered one of the world’s worst invaders, this hollow stem shrub (which resembles bamboo), can destroy fish and wildlife habitat, penetrate pavement causing damage to infrastructure such as roads, walls and drainage systems. “This is a great opportunity to work with our local governments region-wide to proactively implement the treatment of knotweed species,” said Edwin Grieve.
4TH IN A SERIES: “The waterbucket.ca website facilitates communication and integration across initiatives, regions, sectors and disciplines and links these in order to foster development and implementation of ‘Design with Nature’ practices. We share stories about how practitioners can reduce project (and environmental) costs by applying ‘Design with Nature’ principles,” explained Mike Tanner.
3RD IN A SERIES: “When CAVI began, we established a goal that Vancouver Island would be well on its way to water sustainability by 2010. CAVI has moved forward significantly and successfully promoted the message of water sustainability by engaging governments, developers and the community in water-centric thinking, planning and development activities,” states John Finnie.
“We are being bold in using the mantra: What do we want Vancouver Island to look like in 50 years? Rather than being guided by 3-year municipal and 4-year provincial government election cycles, we are saying….look 50 years out and backcast to determine what decisions we need to make now to create the future that we want,” stated Eric Bonham.
“There is growing national and international interest in the British Columbia experience and our lessons learned in moving from talk to action in implementing green infrastructure practices that lead to water sustainability,” explained Kim Stephens.
