Rainwater Management

Beyond the Guidebook 2015: Cowichan Region's Kate Miller elaborates on "Our Regional Team Approach – why it is different but perfect for us"

Note to Reader:

Released in November 2015, Beyond the Guidebook 2015 is the third in a series that builds on Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia. Over the past decade, the Water Sustainability Action Plan has facilitated cross-pollinating of ideas and approaches in the local government setting. The ongoing process of sharing and learning has influenced initiatives and outcomes within the five regional districts that are partners in the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Educational Initiative.

Convening for Action in the Cowichan Region of Vancouver Island

Structured in four parts, ‘Beyond the Guidebook 2015’ is a progress report on how local governments on the east coast of Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland are ‘learning by doing’ to implement affordable and effective science-based practices.

Part D tells five regional stories, including that for the Cowichan region. At the conclusion, Kate Miller provided her reflections in the form of an op-ed on the ‘regional team approach’. She is the Manager of Environmental Services (in the Engineering & Environmental Services Department) with the Cowichan Valley Regional District.

Our Approach is Different But Perfect for Us

“We have a dominance of electoral areas with proudly distinct communities, capable and engaged municipal partners, and a leadership that is characterized by true independence and internal reliance,” states Kate Miller.

“The outcome is a unified perspective on the issues across our region and a deeper understanding of the distinctive local and organizational frameworks in which we work. We are partners, but have distinctly different ways of applying the underlying issues and philosophies of a ‘design with nature’ approach – one that respects the broad range of our communities and political and organizational imperatives we live and work with.”