PARTNERSHIP CELEBRATES 5-YR ANNIVERSARY: “The vision for the website was, and is to provide a resource rich, highly interactive ‘destination location’ website,” says Mike Tanner, a founding Director
Note to Reader:
The incorporation date for the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC, a not-for-profit society, is November 19, 2010. To celebrate the 5-year anniversary of this milestone, those who have played leadership roles are providing their reflections on what has been accomplished over the years. This encompasses the period leading up to incorporation and the five years since incorporation.
In this post, Mike Tanner provides his reflections. A founding Director of the Partnership, he was formerly a Senior Manager with BC Hydro’s Power Smart Program.
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Is a painting by French artist Paul Gauguin
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
“This year marks the fifth anniversary of the non-profit Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia (Partnership). As Chair of the Partnership’s waterbucket.ca website, the Paul Gauguin painting was inspirational in reminding me that it’s a good time to look back at what the website was when we began, what it has achieved to date, and what its goals and objectives are for the next 5 years.” states Mike Tanner.
“The website began in 2005 as a tool for what was then the Water Sustainability Committee within the BCWWA. Prior to November 2010, the majority of the members of the Partnership were members of the BCWWA Water Sustainability Committee. It became apparent that the goals and objectives of the Committee and the website would be more achievable by establishing a separate non-profit society.”
“The vision for the website was, and is to provide a resource rich, highly interactive ‘destination location’ website for information and communication related to water sustainability in the Province of BC. The website initially had information and links to on-line tools, content aggregators to, provide an important role in facilitating change. The current website provides these and much more. It hosts 8 Communities of Interest such as Convening for Action, Water Centric Planning and Rainwater Management to facilitate awareness and increase the capacity to make informed decisions and to act effectively in addressing environmental and development issues. It also hosts tools such as the Water Balance Model, Water Conservation and Irrigation Scheduling calculators as well as guidance documents and resources.”
“To date, over a quarter million visitors have viewed and used the information and tools contained on the waterbucket.ca website. While this may not seem to be a large number compared to YouTube hits, over 90% of our visitors are using our site to access information that directly assist them in planning and facilitating change within their communities.”
“In future, the website will not only add to the current line of targeted interests and tools but assist the partnership in funding these additions by developing marketing opportunities such as website advertising.”
To Learn More:
To read a story posted in 2012, click on Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia announces re-launch of waterbucket.ca website
