CHAMPION SUPPORTER: recognition of the Town of Gibsons (September 2020)
Note to Reader:
The Town of Gibsons is a coastal community of approximately 4,600 persons in southwestern British Columbia, and is the main marine gateway to the Sunshine Coast. On September 15th 2020, Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC presented the Mayor and Council with a framed “letter of recognition” of the Town as a Champion Supporter of the Partnership.
The Town of Gibsons has achieved national and international prominence for its innovation and leadership related to eco-asset management. Beginning in 2014, the success of the “Town of Gibsons Model” changed the conversation in the local government sector about the role of natural assets as core municipal services.
In this era of COVID, the presentation was delivered virtually via Zoom. However, the framed letter was real, and was hand-delivered to the Town’s Chief Administrative and Resiliency Officer during the filming of Watershed Moments, the Trilogy Video Series. The photo below records that moment at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in Nanaimo, the venue for video filming.
Filming of the Video Trilogy Series: Emanuel Machado (L), Richard Boase (C) and Tim Pringle (R)
A COVID-compliant presentation of the framed letter by Kim Stephens (L) to Emanuel Machado (R)
Town of Gibsons is a Champion Supporter of the Partnership for Water Sustainability
The Champion Supporter designation is the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s way of formally recognizing organizations whose enduring commitment enables the Partnership to foster and support collaborative leadership in the local government setting by “convening for action” in the interests of the common good.
“Collaborative leadership conceptualizes leadership as shared among members, rather than turning to one heroic leader to guide and be the expert. When we bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of the organization and community,” states Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President.
“The Town of Gibson’s demonstrated commitment to achieving a shared vision regarding the role of natural assets in providing core municipal services is vitally important to the Partnership’s capability to carry out our mission.”
How the Town Supports the Partnership
In his virtual presentation to Mayor and Council, Kim Stephens stated that “The Town of Gibsons has supported the Partnership in a number of ways.” He then went on to elaborate on five aspects. Kim Stephens is the Partnership’s Executive Director.
“Collaboration between the Town and the Partnership dates back to 2013. Within four years, a working relationship had evolved into formal membership in the Partnership. The Town is now represented on the Partnership Leadership Team in the person of Emanuel Machado.
“The Town has pioneered an approach to natural asset management which aligns with the mission of the Partnership. This synergy reinforces our respective efforts to change how local governments view and value ecological assets, and establish budgets for their maintenance and management.
“The Town is actively contributing to the success of the Partnership’s Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Educational Initiative (IREI). This unique program provides local governments with a mechanism to collaborate, share outcomes and cross-pollinate experience.
“The Town has acted on behalf of the Partnership and the IREI program to apply for grants from UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities) and FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities). This type of support is tangible, and makes a material difference to the effectiveness of the Partnership.
“The Town’s support is a lynch-pin for the Partnership’s ability to implement our program for mainstreaming EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process. EAP provides local governments with a methodology and metrics to calculate the financial value of land within stream setback zones.
“As a Champion Supporter, the Town of Gibsons is in distinguished company. Previously, the Partnership for Water Sustainability has recognized five regional districts representing some 75% of BC’s population; as well as thirteen municipalities ranging in size from the Town of Comox to the City of Surrey.”
Natural Assets as Ecological Systems and Services
In accepting the letter of recognition, Mayor Bill Beamish stated that:
“This award is really recognition of our staff, in particular our CAO, and the work that he and others have done in this very important area. The current Council was elected in 2018 and we are continually being educated in terms of natural assets and natural assets management.
“It is a true feather in the cap of the Town of Gibsons that we are getting recognition outside the community. At some point, I hope that (the Town’s accomplishments) will be recognized as strongly within the community. There is still work to be done in that area.”
Mayor Beamish concluded his remarks with a reference to the Video Trilogy Series that the Partnership is delivering online in November-December 2020. One of the modules features Emanuel Machado and the Partnership’s Tim Pringle in a facilitated conversation about Natural Assets as Ecological Systems and Services.
“Any time that we can learn more about natural asset management and what is happening in other areas is valuable to us all. Council thanks the Partnership for all the work that you do through your programs,” stated Mayor Beamish.
To Learn More:
Download the Agenda for the Council meeting on September 15, 2020.
View the virtual presentation via Zoom on YouTube:
Natural assets support the delivery of core local government services, while doing so much more
“Two programs – MNAI, the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative; and EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process – are facilitating the move from awareness to action that accounts for ecological systems and services,” explains Kim Stephens.
“The two initiatives are outcomes flowing from the tireless determination of two pioneers, EAP Chair Tim Pringle and MNAI Chair Emanuel Machado, to transform how local governments view ecological systems and the services they provide. Development of both MNAI and EAP began around 2015. Without the leadership of Emanuel Machado plus the bold leap of faith by Town Council in embracing the Gibsons Eco-Asset Strategy in 2013, there is no MNAI. It is that simple.”
Gibsons Eco-Asset Strategy
“At the heart of the strategy is North America’s first natural asset policy, which is what originally attracted province-wide, Canada-wide and international attention. This is transformational and directs the Town to consider the role of natural assets within its overall asset management strategy. Since declaring Nature its most valuable infrastructure asset, the Town has integrated the Eco-Asset Strategy into everything that the municipality does. This whole-of-government approach is what instills the stewardship ethic across the organization.
“It is not an over-statement to say that, as the face of the Town of Gibsons, Emanuel Machado has had an impact in changing the local government conversation in BC. People learn from stories and he has been tireless in sharing the Town’s story with other BC communities. Along with Tim Pringle, he has made a difference in mainstreaming the idea that nature supports the delivery of core local government services. His philosophy and local government credibility continues to generate momentum for replicating and/or adapting the ‘Town of Gibson’s Model’ in other communities.
“Actually translating policy objectives into tangible outcomes requires that local governments have a methodology and metrics for valuing ecological assets and services in an asset management strategy. Once you have a number for better maintenance and management of ecological assets, what do you do with that number? Putting it into play requires an understanding of how local government processes work. That is where Emanuel Machado has so much wisdom to share with other BC communities,” concludes Kim Stephens.
To Learn More:
First, download a coy of Advancing Municipal Natural Asset Management: The Town of Gibsons experience in financial planning and reporting.
Then click on the links to read a selection of articles posted elsewhere on the waterbucket.ca website:
- IMPROVING WHERE WE LIVE: “Land development often interferes with water balance by reducing forest cover and increasing imperviousness, without preserving the natural pathways water follows to reach creeks,” wrote Elizabeth Quayle, Town of Gibsons
- MUNICIPAL NATURAL ASSET MANAGEMENT IN BC: “We’re aiming to translate enthusiastic interest in our home-grown approach into real-world practice in municipalities and asset management organizations around the world,” says Emanuel Machado, CAO, Town of Gibsons
- Making Nature Count in the Town of Gibsons – celebrating and showcasing 5 years of leading by example (September 2017)
- Towards an Eco-Asset Strategy: Capital Region’s Finance Committee informed by Town of Gibsons leadership and pioneering experience (July 2016)
- Leading Change in British Columbia: “Bring nature into the DNA of decision-making to build resilient communities,” says Emanuel Machado, Town of Gibsons CAO (September 2015)
Post-COVID Presentation
Post-COVID, the in-person presentation of the Champion Supporter “certificate of recognition” took place in September 2022. From left to right: Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director. CAO Emanuel Machado. Mayor Bill Beamish. This designation recognizes the Town’s support for water sustainability and green infrastructure outcomes dating back to 1999.
