ACTION PLAN 10-YR CELEBRATION: “The waterbucket.ca website allows our ‘convening for action’ partners to record their history even as they are creating it,” says Mike Tanner, waterbucket.ca Chair

NOTE TO READER:

Released in February 2004, the “Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia” provides a partnership umbrella for aligning efforts and implementing on-the-ground initiatives in the local government setting. Throughout 2014, the Partnership for Water Sustainability will be celebrating 10 years of successful Action Plan program implementation. This is the fourth in a series of flashbacks featuring those who have played leadership roles in delivering the Action Plan.In this flashback, the spotlight is on the waterbucket.ca website.

A video followed the Minister’s announcement that launched waterbucket.ca at Penticton Conference in April 2005

A video followed the Minister’s announcement that launched waterbucket.ca at Penticton Conference in April 2005

GREENER COMMUNITIES: waterbucket.ca website showcases champions, guidance documents and success stories

“Early on, the Partnership recognized a need for a single point of access to news, information and tools for sustainable water management in British Columbia. To meet this need, the waterbucket.ca website was officially launched in 2005. However, the announcement by the Minister (of Water, Land and Air Protection) at a conference Mike-Tanner_Jan-2013_v2_120palmost did not happen as planned,” recalls Mike Tanner, Chair.

“When I realized that nobody had remembered that the Minister’s prepared speech was to be followed by a video showcasing waterbucket.ca, I dashed across the stage at the Penticton Conference Centre, grabbed the microphone from the Minister and made that part of the announcement on his behalf.” TO VIEW THE VIDEOCLICK HERE.

“Since then, almost ¼ million visitors have taken advantage of the stories, resources and tools the website offers. These numbers are remarkable when one considers that waterbucket.ca was developed primarily for an audience of elected officials, government agencies and utility managers in B.C. It is also remarkable that the site has attracted thousands of visitors from across Canada and from almost every country around the globe.”

Minister’s Announcement

Bill Barisoff_120pTo download a copy of the news release from the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, click on“Waterbucket” a New Resource in Water Action Plan.

“This is another major step forward to ensuring British Columbians have access to safe, clean and abundant water supplies,” said Minister Bill Barisoff. “This resource will allow those responsible for water management to develop tools and programs that address water sustainability and to share their knowledge and successes with others.”

waterbucket.ca website facilitates “Convening for Action in BC”

“The 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,” continues Mike Tanner. “We share stories about how practitioners can reduce project (and environmental) costs by applying ‘Design with Nature’ principles. And we find and/or develop appropriate resources that promote learning and change.”

“The website helps land development and water use practitioners articulate a vision of what the regions of the province can look like if local governments prepare communities for climate change, choose to live water smart, and strive to build greener communities.”

“The website has a history of successful sharing of practitioner-related education and collaboration. Through working together and helping each other in collective projects, we have built a sense of trust and co-operation with others that extends beyond the tasks at hand.”

“But we are not sitting on our laurels about these achievements; waterbucket.ca will continue to strive to meet established and new challenges. The waterbucket.ca website allows our ‘convening for action’ partners to record their history even as they are creating it,” concludes Mike Tanner.

To Learn More:

The Partnership for Water Sustainability is the hub for a “convening for action” network in the local government setting. The Partnership believes that water and watershed sustainability in the local government setting will be achieved by implementing green infrastructure policies and practices. How BC communities get there relies on a change in mind-set and “land ethic”. The mission of the Partnership is to help facilitate that change.

To learn more, click on ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP.

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