Archive:

“The City of Courtenay State of the Environment annual report series is our way of sharing information on the ways that the City works with the environment on a daily basis. Healthy natural heritage systems are the foundation for a sustainable community. This year we have taken a look at the ecological systems that connect our neighbourhoods and communities – our backyard streams,” states Nancy Hofer.

“One of the things that I have observed over the last couple of years is that we do a lot of planning, and we do a certain amount of monitoring, but then it becomes an issue of implementation. And really, the question is how do you ensure that your plans, intentions and goals shape and guide your decision-making on a day-to-day basis?”, stated Vic Derman.

“Vancouver Island 2065, building upon the IREI and LINK initiatives, seeks to establish an Island-wide forum to provide opportunity for sharing of ideas and stories of successful projects that integrate watershed management and asset management principles. It is hoped that this collaborative approach will set a new standard for land use planning on Vancouver Island,” states Eric Bonham.

“This partnership has the potential of being a model for other regions in the province and beyond. A grassroots initiative developed through working partnerships and collaboration, it is nevertheless pragmatic in its approach and sustains connection to the decision makers at the local, regional and provincial levels of government. Getting things right at the front end has emerged as essential for investing in the right infrastructure,” states George Hanson.

Glen Brown explained what his Ministry means when it urges local governments to view watersheds through a Sustainable Service Delivery lens. “This builds on the principles of Asset Management. It is going to be a component, and a requirement, under the next Gas Tax Grant Program. This is where we will find traction in moving Sustainable Service Delivery forward,” he said.

“Bowker Creek is provincially significant and precedent-setting. It is also inspirational. In my 40-year career as a professional engineer, there is nothing that equals it. And the reason it is so important is that it gave the rest of us a vision of what can be. The experience of what this region has done is informing others, from Metro Vancouver all the way up to the Comox Valley,” stated Kim Stephens.

“We know the importance of watersheds, not only for producing our own water, but also for sustainability of the environment generally.Speaking as one of the communities involved in the collaborative effort for Bowker, I can attest for the need for collaboration in these kinds of situations; and also the success that can come out of collaborative efforts,” stated Nils Jensen.

“The IREI supports implementation of integrated and watershed-based community planning processes on the east coast of Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland. A desired outcome of inter-regional collaboration is accelerated implementation of affordable and effective watershed sustainability and green infrastructure practices,” states Derek Richmond

“The Regional Board is committed to achieving the vision that we share for watershed sustainability in our region. We also appreciate the leadership shown by Kate Miller in guiding the CVRD to the destination. Kate truly is a champion. She is demonstrating how benefits are flowing to this region because we collaborate with other regions,” stated Mayor Rob Hutchins, Chair of the Regional Board. in June 2008, the Cowichan Valley was the first demonstration region for the Learning Lunch Seminar Series approach to continuing education for local government practitioners.

“The Province’s decision to embed the ‘Water Balance Methodology in Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia’ defined a turning point in the regulatory vision for drainage planning, and that is: ‘design with nature’ and forestall problems rather than reacting to problems after they have occurred,” says Ted van der Gulik.