Author Archives: Partnership for Water Sustainability

  1. STORYTELLING PLATFORM FOR ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH TO LAND AND WATER USE: “To inspire improved practices in all aspects of land development and water resource management, waterbucket.ca provides universal access to stories of peer-based learning,” stated Mike Tanner, founding chair of the intergovernmental waterbucket.ca partnership

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    Note to Reader:

    Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. 

    The edition published on April 15, 2025 featured Mike Tanner, founding chair of the Waterbucket.ca Website Partnership and celebrated the 20th anniversary of the launch of waterbucket.ca in April 2025. The combination of waterbucket.ca and the Waterbucket eNews newsletter gives champions in the local government and stewardship sectors a platform and voice for telling their stories.

     

    20th anniversary of waterbucket.ca, storytelling platform

    “Twenty years ago this week, BC Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection Bill Barisoff made the announcement in Penticton the day we went live with the waterbucket.ca website. Keep in mind the context. In the early 2000s, websites were in their infancy,” recalls Mike Tanner.

     

    Waterbucket.ca is one of six original elements of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for BC

    “In 2004. a consortium of provincial and regional organizations and federal agencies came together under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan to form a partnership and provide funding to create waterbucket.ca. BC Hydro Power Smart provided the seed funding that set everything in motion.”

     

     

    “Aside from the trust factor, the success of waterbucket.ca as a platform for peer-based learning has added to the credibility of the Partnership for Water Sustainability. How many websites are there like waterbucket.ca that have been able to do it for the length of time that we have, yet still remain current?”

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    “The 20th anniversary of the waterbucket.ca website is an opportunity for celebration as well as reflection. An intergovernmental partnership funded development of waterbucket.ca to support an Ecosystem-Based Approach to land development and water use,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

     

    waterbucket.ca is a platform for an ecosystem-based approach

    “With the passage of time, people either forget about or never knew what my generation or previous generations were trying to do and why. With that thought as context, a recent observation by legendary foreign affairs commentator Thomas Friedman resonates with me. What he stated in an interview is a reminder of the importance, relevance and power of storytelling.”

     

     

    “Storytelling has never been more important. The combination of waterbucket.ca and Waterbucket eNews gives champions in the local government and stewardship sectors a voice for telling their stories. We have a communications platform and we share the stories behind their stories.”

     

    Somebody had to put up the initial seed funding for waterbucket.ca and that is what Mike Tanner brought to mission possible

    “Mike Tanner is the waterbucket.ca visionary. His leadership got the website off the ground and online within 12 months of the inaugural meeting of founding partners. He did the heavy lifting that brought together provincial ministries and so many others for a common purpose.”

    “Somebody had to put up the initial seed funding to build support for the waterbucket.ca idea. And that is what I was able to bring from BC Hydro with a $5000 contribution from the Power Smart program,” recalls Mike Tanner.

     

    “Twelve months after the inaugural meeting of the Waterbucket.ca Partnership, the announcement by Minister Barisoff formally launched the waterbucket.ca website. Lynn Kriwoken primed the Minister on the drive to Penticton,” continues Kim Stephens.

     

    Influencing change through peer-based learning

    “In 2006, I stepped into the breach as a volunteer to takeover from Joanne de Vries as Waterbucket Editor when we lost our Environment Canada funding after Stephen Harper became prime minister. This was supposed to be stop-gap but I got hooked and 20 years later the mission continues. And I love it!”

    “Mike Tanner and I have been colleagues for over thirty years. Even so, the conversational interview for this story provided me with fresh insights into the crucial part his Power Smart experience played.”

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: waterbucket.ca, Storytelling Platform for an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Land and Water Use – a conversation with Mike Tanner 

    The story behind the story of my conversational interview with Mike Tanner is structured in four parts. In Part One, he explains the importance of the Project Charter as the framework document that crystallized the shared vision for waterbucket.ca as an online magazine.

    In Part Two, Mike Tanners shares his insights as to why waterbucket.ca is a trusted source of information. His reflections in Part Three recognize three individuals who injected timely energy and passion. Part Four closes with Mike’s thoughts on how waterbucket.ca has matured as a legacy resource.

    PART ONE – waterbucket.ca partners had a vision for an online magazine and virtual community

    “To prepare for this conversation, I went on a trip down memory lane and read the Project Charter that we adopted in 2004. Twenty year later, it makes for an interesting read. It is is a valuable historical document because it lays out what the waterbucket.ca partners set out to accomplish,” states Mike Tanner.

     

     

    “We set out to further collective understanding, collaboration and the development and implementation of best practice.”

     

    Context for waterbucket.ca editorial policy

     

    “We have stayed true to those words. And over time, waterbucket.ca has exceeded expectations and become much more than what we thought it would be in 2004.”

    “From day one, waterbucket.ca has been about providing information and a means of sharing the information of others, especially their success stories. That is what people are looking for, understand and value.”

     

     

    “And, I am proud to state, we have never have asked for anything since the launch of the website. It is self-funded by the Partnership for the Water Sustainability as a public service. In the early years, we resisted any suggestions to commercialize it. The content is sustained by a volunteer effort.”

    Just go to waterbucket.ca

    “Twenty years later, it is also fascinating to read the record of the partnership forum in February 2005. This was a mere two months before we launched the website. Much of the discussion that day revolved around editorial policy to achieve what is laid out in the Project Charter.”

    “Think of the website as a magazine, the record of meeting states, with the objective being to appeal to a readership slice so that we attract readers to the website. From the beginning, our target audiences were the government and stream stewardship sectors.”

     

     

    “We have been true to that vision for a news magazine with the type of stories we publish. They are short, concise and allow readers to take a quick look at whether they are interested in reading further. The information we have has garnered the right people to stay on the website and delve into the stories.”

     

    PART TWO – waterbucket.ca is a trusted source of information for a global audience

    “With my marketing background at BC Hydro Power Smart, I realized the need to provide success stories. That is how you become successful in promoting a product. People are wary about trying different things. Providing them with success stories and factual information helps motivate them to implement some of the things that we talk about.”

     

    Power of success stories to influence behaviour

    “Part of my Power Smart thing is that I was successful with customers in implementing something that they did not quite understand about Power Smart. We were basically paying them to reduce using our product…electricity…which goes against every marketing concept.”

    “The idea behind marketing has always been to get customers to pay to use more. And we were paying them to use less! We needed stories that would help them understand why they would be successful if they got involved with the Power Smart program and spent upfront to save money.”

    “So we needed to be able to provide the story that company A did it and they achieved this energy saving. So, company B can do it too and also achieve this saving.”

     

    waterbucket.ca content is in the public domain to provide universal access to information and resources

    “We do not charge anything for people to access the Waterbucket.ca website or subscribe to the Waterbucket eNews newsletter. This goes against the principles of marketing – you provide something, you expect people to pay for it. But we do not. It is free!”

    “Because we are not asking for anything, that goes to the level of trust that we have developed with our readers. We just want to provide information that people can see, understand and implement if possible.”

    Michael Blackstock’s Blue Ecology is a prime example:

    “That guiding philosophy has worked out well for us. With my marketing background, I needed to be sure that we would have content on there that would provide that level of trust for people to keep coming back to read our success stories and use the Partnership’s tools and resources.”

     

     

    “If it is on waterbucket.ca, our readers know they can trust the story to be factual.”

    PART THREE – Recognition of three individuals who injected timely passion and energy 

    “Fiona Crofton was part of my original website working group. She brought passion and experience to the project. She made a huge contribution in developing a proof of concept for the website. This got us started.”

     

     

    “We had to first attract people to waterbucket. ca and then we had to hold their interest. That certainly is what the Waterbucket eNews newsletter does as a companion platform. The stories we publish help do that. Compelling, that is what the website and newsletter have developed into!”

     

    Why the waterbucket.ca embraced a storytelling approach to information sharing

    “Storytelling is the way we share intergenerational knowledge, experience and wisdom. We learn through stories. This is how we pass on our oral history. This is why each and every edition of Waterbucket eNews is built around a conversational interview. Those stories are also posted on the website.”

     

     

    “The storytelling approach would not be what it is without Kim Stephens. His unwavering dedication and commitment over two decades has made waterbucket.ca the success that it is. I cannot imagine anyone else being able to take the baton from Joanne and fulfil that storytelling role.”

    PART FOUR – Closing reflections on 20 years of success in sharing the stories of champions

    “The success of waterbucket.ca has outpaced anything that I thought we would achieve. The fact that we get people from other countries looking to us for information says so much about waterbucket.ca as a destination.”

     

    “We understand that it has something to do with our heavy use of images. Every story we post has multiple images. We strive to match words and images so that waterbuckeet.ca stories are visually compelling. It must  also help that waterbucket.ca has been around for 20 years and counting.”

    A living record of the “convening for action” history of Living Water Smart in British Columbia

    “We profile those who do good work in the spirit of Living Water Smart. This is a big reason why waterbucket.ca has become the place where people go to look for information on water. We have the communication platform. We give the champions a voice.”

    “The Partnership for Water Sustainability cannot do everything. If we can be the avenue to get the information of others out there, that is what we can do and have been doing. Our success comes from publishing our own stories plus the stories of other groups and individuals who are doing tremendous work for the common good.”

    Growing the network of champions: 

    “Through waterbucket.ca and the Waterbucket eNews newsletter, we are getting the stories of the Living Water Smart champions out there. This validates what they are doing.”

    “That is a public service that the Partnership is able to do because we have an independent communications platform. The waterbucket.ca community is about networking and collaboration. And that is what we stated in the Project Charter in 2004.”

     

     

    “And they can do it through waterbucket.ca! This serves our needs but it also serves their needs as well.”

    waterbucket.ca has matured into a legacy resource

    “In 2004, we were thinking about where we are now. We have adapted over the past 20 years. We have changed when we have had to. We have always gone where there is interest and energy. We have done all this and that is a big part of our continuing success.”

    “When people say I saw it on waterbucket.ca, that is our ultimate measure and testament of success. Hopefully that will continue to be our story for another twenty years and beyond. That will be the legacy of the Waterbucket Website Partnership founders,” concludes Mike Tanner.

     

     

    Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series

    To download a copy of the foregoing resource as a PDF document for your records and/or sharing, click on Living Water Smart in British Columbia: waterbucket.ca, Storytelling Platform for an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Land and Water Use. The document is complete with the 69-page Part A of the Green Infrastructure Chronicle as an attachment.

    DOWNLOAD A COPY:  https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Mike-Tanner-and-20-years-of-waterbucket.ca_2025.pdf

     

  2. WATERSHED MOMENTS AWARD HONOURS ROB LAWRENCE: “In his time with the City of Nanaimo, Rob Lawrance grew the responsibilities of Environmental Planner to include community collaboration. He connected community stewardship passion with municipal capacity,” stated Paul Chapman, chair of the Watershed Moments Team

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    Note to Reader:

    Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on on February 7, 2023 featured a tribute to the late Rob Lawrance (1964-2022), former Environmental Planner with the City of Nanaimo.

     

    Watershed Moments Team Award honours memory and legacy of the late Rob Lawrance (1964-2022), former Environmental Planner with the City of Nanaimo

    Watershed Moments began as an annual symposia series. In 2020, however, the COVID pandemic changed everything. The Partnership pivoted and reimagined an approach that combined elements of a TED Talk with Zoom and YouTube technology. The result is a set of legacy video educational resources that showcase stories that the Partnership hopes will inspire collaboration for some time to come.

    The foregoing provides context for the Watershed Moments Team Award which recognizes individuals whose extraordinary contributions and accomplishments serve to elevate recognition of ecosystem values and benefits; and advance their integration within the built environment.

    The Watershed Moments Award honours the outstanding legacy of the late Rob Lawrance (1964-2022). He was a founding member of the team in 2018. In the 1990s, Rob was the first Executive Director of the Cowichan Land Trust. He then had a 20-year career in local government as Environmental Planner with the City of Nanaimo.

    Rob Lawrance had an extraordinary ability to connect with people and people with ‘place’, as does Kate Miller of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. Kate is the inaugural recipient of the Watershed Moments Team Award. Just like Rob did throughout his career, Kate champions the embedding of ecosystem values within municipal planning, processes and projects.

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    The guest Editor’s Perspective for this edition of Waterbucket eNews is contributed by Paul Chapman, Chair of the Watershed Moments Symposia Series. His day job is Executive Director of the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust (NALT). Co-led by the Partnership and NALT, the Watershed Moments team came together for Nanaimo 2018, the first in the symposia series The initiative is grassroots by definition, with members from 10 organizations.

     

    Recognition of Rob Lawrance and Kate Miller

    “Rob Lawrance grew up in the Cowichan Valley where he began his stewardship journey. In his time with the City of Nanaimo, he grew the responsibilities of Environmental Planner to include community collaboration. He played a key role in almost every major waterway stewardship initiative in Nanaimo and connected community stewardship passion with municipal capacity,” writes Paul Chapman.

    “In 2021, Rob retired from the City and moved to Blaine, Washington. Tragically, he passed away in May 2022 while participating in the cyclocross leg of the Bellingham Ski to Sea relay race. As part of the stewardship community in the Nanaimo area, I can attest that Rob is missed for his contributions to effective stewardship partnerships and his personable ways.”

    “Kate Miller is a worthy inaugural recipient of this award. Kate connects the dots between community and regional government water stewardship collaboration. Kate also leads in inter-regional collaboration on water stewardship initiatives through her key participation on the Watershed Moments Team.”

    “Beyond these accomplishments, Kate and Rob worked together on water stewardship efforts in the Cowichan Region in their previous working lives.”

    “Kate is an outstanding asset to her community and the community of water stewardship practice, and through collaboration and sharing of experience is growing a culture of water stewardship in the CVRD, across Vancouver Island and beyond.”

    “The Watershed Moments Team continues to carry Rob’s work forward as we work to present seminars and ultimately a symposium on Blue Ecology – the interweaving of Indigenous and Western water stewardship knowledge. This is a pathway to Water Reconciliation.”

    “Over the last few years we have all learned to pivot. Blue Ecology offers us a chance to pivot towards a place of collaboration and hope. The Hope Spectrum as Michael Blackstock, a member of the Gitsxan First Nations and the founder of the Blue Ecology Institute, refers to it.”

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: What made Rob Lawrance special, a tribute from the heart by Nick Leone

    Rob Lawrance was a champion for the Environment, as well as for his local and professional communities, and a bridge between the two; an Environmental Planner for the City of Nanaimo for 20+ years.

    Rob was a well-known, highly personable, knowledgeable, dedicated, and passionate individual with an extraordinary ability to connect with people and people with ‘place’.

    Through this connection, Rob garnered respect, trust and support in linking people with ideas that helped to shape and enhance their community through the integration of Municipal Development with Ecosystem assessment and planning.

    Rob saw the value, outcomes and benefits of profiling and maintaining environmental integrity throughout the municipal development planning process, recognizing its importance to community wellness, values and sustainability.

    Rob further recognized and understood not only the benefits, possibilities and opportunities of bridging between the built and ecological/natural environments; but its potential to enhance public amenities, community identity, liveability and ultimately, as a means to foster connection to and inspiration of ‘place’.

    In Rob’s eyes, these elements, and the range and diversity of ideas within the community citizenry to achieve these goals were not necessarily divergent, though rather integral components of one another.

    Rob understood the importance of the natural environment – our watershed health, and its relationship to our built environment (and social wellbeing) through provisioning of ecosystem services and the protection and maintenance of our natural assets (natural capital).

    He understood however, that this connection and its potential was arguably limited without an equal focus, respect, and ability to connect, affect and inspire people within our communities.

    Rob was not only keenly aware of this fact, but ‘lived-it’ in how he engaged life and supported and mentored others. What an extraordinary influence and affect on one’s community and meaningful legacy.

    The ability to interweave and harmonize opinions and personalities, science, professional disciplines and policies, along with technical and administrative processes is an exceptional quality and one Rob was well known and respected for.

    Connecting people to place and with one another – for the betterment of community and our world; such principles and ideals are indeed exemplary, reflective of the essence of Stewardship and the Watershed Moments Team values and goals and most certainly deserving of such recognition.

    Through ‘his being, his person’ and actions, Rob set a standard which resonates through time and to which we can all aspire.

    The possibilities and potential of one person’s actions – Rob extolled the virtues of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life; as both the community and our natural environment are certainly better off for his dedication and service.

    The Watershed Moments Team Award, presented in memory of Rob Lawrance, a founding member of the Team who worked to inform and connect his community to the collective benefits of watershed health.

     

    Did you enjoy this article? Would you like a PDF document version? Click on the image below to download your copy.

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/02/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Watershed-Moments-Award_2023.pdf

     

  3. KATE MILLER IS INAUGURAL RECIPIENT OF WATERSHED MOMENTS AWARD: “Cowichan Valley’s Kate Miller connects the dots between community and regional government water stewardship collaboration,” stated Paul Chapman, chair of the Watershed Moments Team (February 2023)

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    Note to Reader:

    Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on on February 7, 2023 featured a tribute to the late Rob Lawrance (1964-2022), former Environmental Planner with the City of Nanaimo.

     

    Presentation of the Watershed Moments Team Award to Kate Miller at the January 26th meeting of the Cowichan Valley Regional Board. From left to right: Paul Chapman (Chair, Watershed Moments Symposia Series), Aaron Stone (Board Chair and Mayor, Town of Ladysmith), Kate Miller, and Kim Stephens. In the background, and looking over their shoulders, is the late Rob Lawrance.

     

    Cowichan Valley’s Kate Miller is the inaugural recipient of the Watershed Moments Team Award which honours the memory and legacy of the late Rob Lawrance (1964-2022), former Environmental Planner with the City of Nanaimo

    The Watershed Moments Team Award recognizes individuals whose extraordinary contributions and accomplishments serve to elevate recognition of ecosystem values and benefits; and advance their integration within the built environment.

    The award honours the outstanding legacy of the late Rob Lawrance (1964-2022). In the 1990s, Rob was the first Executive Director of the Cowichan Land Trust. He then had a 20-year career in local government as Environmental Planner with the City of Nanaimo.

    Rob Lawrance had an extraordinary ability to connect with people and people with ‘place’, as does Kate Miller of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. Kate is the inaugural recipient of the Watershed Moments Team Award. Just like Rob did throughout his career, Kate champions the embedding of ecosystem values within municipal planning, processes and projects.

    Why Kate Miller is the inaugural recipient 

    “Kate Miller is a worthy inaugural recipient of this award. Kate connects the dots between community and regional government water stewardship collaboration. Kate also leads in inter-regional collaboration on water stewardship initiatives through her key participation on the Watershed Moments Team,” stated Paul Chapman when he and Kim Stephens co-presented the award to Kate.

    “Beyond these accomplishments, Kate and Rob worked together on water stewardship efforts in the Cowichan Region in their previous working lives. Kate is an outstanding asset to her community and the community of water stewardship practice, and through collaboration and sharing of experience is growing a culture of water stewardship in the CVRD, across Vancouver Island and beyond.”

    TO LEARN MORE:

    To read the complete story published on February 7th 2023, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Watershed Moments Team Award honours legacy of Rob Lawrance (1964-2022).

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/02/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Watershed-Moments-Award_2023.pdf

     

     

  4. A VISION WITH A TASK IS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD: “Honouring of Jody Watson with the 2023 Watershed Moments Award is both timely and a great example how one individual with a long term vision and determination can make a difference,” stated Eric Bonham at the Partnership for Water Sustainability Forum held in Nanaimo (October 2023)

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    Note to Reader:

    Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on November 28, 2023 featured Jody Watson of the Capital Regional District because she is the recipient of the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s second Watershed Moments Award. The award draws attention to the vision for connecting people and place and recognizes her extraordinary contribution to environmental sustainability.

    A vision with a task is the hope of the world 

    The Partnership for Water Sustainability’s Watershed Moments Award honours the memory and legacy of the late Rob Lawrance (1964-2022), former Environmental Planner with the City of Nanaimo. In 2018, he was a founding member of the Watershed Moments Team.

    The award draws attention to the vision for connecting people and place by recognizing the passion and commitment of those who excel in contributing to the success of the Watershed Moments idea and vision.

    Connect people and place

    Rob Lawrance had an extraordinary ability to connect with people and people with ‘place’, as does Jody Watson of the Capital Regional District. Jody is the second recipient of the Watershed Moments Award. She follows Kate Miller of the Cowichan Valley Regional District.

    Just like Rob did throughout his career, Jody champions the embedding of ecosystem values within municipal planning, processes and projects. Both Jody and Kate represent their regional districts on the Watershed Moments Team.

    The award presentation took place in October in Nanaimo at the inaugural Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum. The event brought together local government members of the Partnership from along the east coast of Vancouver Island.

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    “The 100-Year Action Plan for bringing Bowker Creek back to life through an intergenerational commitment to a shared vision is Jody Watson’s pre-eminent claim to fame in the world of BC local government,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

    “As chair of the Bowker Creek Initiative (BCI), Jody provided inspirational leadership for 13 years from 2005 through 2018. Without determined champions such as Jody Watson and her BCI peers, nothing gets started and nothing happens. Champions motivate others.”

    A vision with a task is the hope of the world

    “The BCI is more than the people sitting around the BCI table,” Jody Watson emphasized when I interviewed her in 2021 for A Beacon of Inspiration: Bowker Creek Blueprint and 100-Year Action Plan.”

    “Key words that capture the essence of the Bowker story are perseverance, dedication, and TIME in capitals. Changes do not happen overnight. It is a journey and journeys take decades.”

    “The BCI members are representatives of an extensive network that includes three Councils, every department, 11 community associations, and the CRD too,” continued Jody.”

    Jody Watson’s legacy

    “I have known and admired Jody Watson for almost two decades. She is a great communicator. Jody always looks for opportunities to advance the mission, and she focuses on results,” continued Kim Stephens.

    “When I met with elected reps on CRD’s Environmental Services Committee in 2014, I described the Bowker Creek Blueprint as a game-changer and provincially significant.”

    “The Bowker Creek Blueprint gave the rest of us a vision of what can be, I stated, and the Bowker process showed us how to give life to the vision.”

    “In my remarks to the CRD committee, I underscored that in my professional judgement there is nothing that equals the Bowker Creek Blueprint. The intergenerational commitment embodied in the 100-Year Action Plan is at the heart of Jody Watson’s professional legacy!”

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: What makes the Capital Region’s Jody Watson special, a tribute from the heart by Eric Bonham

    “Jody Watson, our recipient of the Watershed Moments Award for 2023, reflects the vision and determination that was the hallmark of Rob Lawrence’s commitment to watershed health,” stated Eric Bonham when he commenced his tribute at the inaugural Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum on October 25th in Nanaimo.

    Courage, Commitment, Collaboration and Creativity

    “Jody Watson was destined to become a respected community leader. With early training in the naval reserve, she quickly learned the skill of self-discipline and determination, while still remaining true to herself in what was a male dominant environment.”

    “Jody Watson is an example of someone who reflects the best of public service, cognizant of political direction, yet equally comfortable engaging community in the development of WIN-WIN outcomes. So what are those leadership qualities that Jody projects? I refer to them as the Four Cs.”

    Courage:  “To attempt, what may seem impossible, yet not be daunted by the challenge.”

    Commitment:  “The tenacity to be in for the long haul, yet weather set-backs along the way.”

    Collaboration: “To inspire and engage others, and together, reach for the common goal.”

    Creativity: “Blend vision with task that results in making a difference.”

    “Jody Watson has consistently demonstrated these four qualities throughout her working career. She is a change agent, passionate about building effective partnerships, both within and outside of government. Early in her career, Jody realized the importance and value of local government-community relationships built upon mutual trust, respect and common purpose.”

    A vision with a task is the hope of the world

    “Jody Watson is an effective spokesperson for the Capital Regional District (CRD) who has encouraged innovation and environmental protection, while recognizing a necessary balance with development interests.”

    “For example, consider the Bowker Creek Blueprint and 100-year Action Plan, where three local governments, Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay, with their respective community leaders, embraced a shared vision and responsibility to rehabilitate Bowker by daylighting the creek and reclaiming the riparian corridor.”

    “With her characteristic vision and task focus, Jody Watson fulfilled an influential leadership role, particularly so, during the formative years of this groundbreaking initiative.”

    Four creative initiatives in the Capital Region

    “As Supervisor of Environmental Stewardship and Initiatives at the CRD, her broad mandate includes public education, outreach on water conservation, integrated watershed management, biodiversity, stormwater infrastructure, invasive species to name but some.”

    “This responsibility involved engagement with community representatives where Jody’s leadership was a contributing factor in the development of four creative initiatives, including:

    Visionary and pragmatist

    “In her role as Supervisor, Jody Watson is fully aware of this requirement, and has emphasized collaboration and teamwork at every opportunity. The initiatives are timely, and as a result, creative community partnerships are being forged to address changing circumstances, and indeed, our very understanding of our relationship with water.”

    “Jody Watson is an inspiration, an able communicator and mentor who ‘walks her talk’, a champion for innovation, noting the importance of ecological principles within the development process. Jody is both a visionary and a pragmatist, for the vision and task are equally important, and that is what makes the difference,” concluded Eric Bonham.

     

    Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series

    To download a copy of the foregoing resource as a PDF document for your records and/or sharing, click on Living Water Smart in British Columbia:  A vision with a task is the hope of the world.

    DOWNLOAD A COPY:  https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Jody-Watson_vision-and-task_2023.pdf 

     

  5. 2023 Annual Report for the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia

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    NOTE TO READER:

    Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on January 23, 2024 featured Partnership’s Annual Report 2023. The document is written to inform and engage the reader through a storytelling approach to sharing of information.

    DOWNLOAD: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/01/PWSBC_Annual-Report-2023_as-published.pdf

     

    There is no time to re-invent the wheel

    Growing a network breaks all the rules of conventional thinking. It is the antithesis of building an organization that has staff. Instead, the network aligns individuals and organizations to deliver results across organizational boundaries.

    However, a network that is guided by a collaborative leadership philosophy does require a nucleus or “engine” for legal and organizational continuity. The Partnership for Water Sustainability serves that function for our local government partners within the Georgia Basin bioregion.

    Ensuring continuity of the network comes down to how organizations continue WITHIN the network.

    Summit at the Bastion in Nanaimo

    Last October, the Partnership for Water Sustainability brought together some 30 ambassadors representing a dozen organizations. They participated in a consultation session around what some might view as an existential topic:

    Going forward, this watershed moment will forever be known as the Summit at the Bastion in Nanaimo. At the conclusion, Ray Fung summarized and reflected on aha moments that emerged during the sharing session.

    “Emotion is important. Relationships are important,” stated Ray Fung. “It is not just the science and the work itself but the emotion that seems to bind us together in this purpose. And so storytelling becomes a really important way of pointing out successes. BE THE NEXT SUCCESS STORY.”

    Ray Fung’s reflections are included in the Partnership’s Annual Report 2023 and thus provide a record of the summit outcome.

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    “One ambassador described the Summit at the Bastion in Nanaimo as a turning point in our convening for action story. But it can be so much more. In fact, it will be the springboard to creating a future which so many of us desire, one which coalesces around a shared vision for Water Reconciliation,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

    “The Partnership is seen as a resource that is stable, that is there, and that people can draw upon,” observed Ray Fung. But the founding leadership team is aging out. Growing and sustaining the network through time is very much about finding those to whom we can pass the baton, now and in the future.”

    The Partnership is viewed as a movement built around water sustainability

    Ray Fung captured the mood of the summit with this summation:

    “I liked the comment that THIS IS A MOVEMENT. I find that is really inspiring to not see ourselves just as a network. We are a movement built around water sustainability. We leave the summit inspired to figure out how the FORM of the Partnership will follow the FUNCTION.”

    “We can learn things from expanding our perspective. Part of that holistic approach includes the SPIRITUAL as well as the physical connection to the land.”

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Partnership for Water Sustainability’s 3-Year Transition Strategy for ensuring continuity of the network – as explained by Ted van der Gulik, President

    Extracted from Annual Report 2023, the “story behind the story” is a 450-word essay written by Ted van der Gulik for his President’s Perspective. He paints a broad-brush picture of where the Partnership is heading.

    We did what we said we would do!

    “A challenge confronting our society is widespread organizational amnesia. The baby boomers have more or less gone out the door. And with them has gone so much oral history. Knowledge and experience are not being passed on. Organizational amnesia is the consequence,” wrote Ted van der Gulik.

    “It is a race against time to pass on knowledge and experience. It feels like the gap caused by loss of understanding is widening. When those coming into organizations do not know what they do not know, loss of understanding of the WHAT, WHY and HOW is a cause of concern in managing expectations.”

    Our mission is intergenerational in scope

    “The Partnership is the engine for a network in the local government setting. Our mission is intergenerational. This means we are striving to bridge the gap in understanding; and we are doing what we can to help governments overcome organizational amnesia.”

    “The clock is ticking, and we are working hard to shape this outcome: what the Partnership and associated network will look like after the Year 2025. At the end of Year One, we can proudly state that we accomplished what we set out to accomplish in 2023. We exceeded our own expectations. We are ahead of schedule in moving forward with the strategy for network continuity.”

    We must look back to see ahead

    “In 2023, the Partnership had two over-arching objectives. One was to connect with a new generation of provincial decisionmakers and staff. The other was to bring our Ambassadors Program to the forefront of provincial and local government awareness. We accomplished both objectives, and all the way up to Premier David Eby, as we proceeded down three parallel tracks to:
    • WATER TOOLS – Find a permanent home for a suite of online tools that the provincial water management program already relies on for water licensing. These tools provide a powerful capability for water sustainability planning as envisioned in the Province’s Watershed Security Strategy.
    • ECOLOGICAL ACCOUNTING PROCESS (EAP) – Train next generations of planners and local government staff to tackle the riparian deficit along urban streams. The EAP methodology and metrics address the disconnect in the Riparian Area Protection Regulation (RPAR) between land use oversight and direct responsibility for maintenance and management of stream condition.
    • BLUE ECOLOGY – Build a bridge between two cultures through a water-first approach, one that embraces lessons learned from Indigenous oral history and imbues a change in attitude among water managers. We describe this desired outcome as Water Reconciliation.”
    “We have started to engage government with training and will continue through 2024. We also convened the inaugural Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum and will build on the energy that it generated. It is full speed ahead down all three tracks!”

     

     

  6. CONTEXT AND HISTORY DO MATTER: “In 2003, we embarked on a journey with a commitment to document our history on waterbucket.ca even as we created it through collaboration and partnerships,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director

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    Note to Reader:

    Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on welcomed readers back for another season of Waterbucket eNews! Between September 2022 and June 2023, the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia published 32 feature stories over a 9-month period. 

    ONE-MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    Everyone learns through stories. Through sharing stories of innovation and leadership, the Partnership strives to inspire our readers. Our focus is on issues of concern for watershed, water and food security in the local setting. How will we reconnect people, fish, land, and water in altered landscapes?

    Stories behind the stories

    This season, the Partnership will again feature “convening for action” champions in the local government and stewardship sectors. We share the stories of those who build on knowledge, experience and wisdom to advance Green Infrastructure solutions that achieve Water Sustainability outcomes.

    We shine our Waterbucket eNews spotlight on the “story behind each story” because that is what readers are interested in. Through telling stories about champions and trailblazers, we underline that context and history do matter.

    The voices of experience remind us that progress is measured in terms of decades, not months or years. Realistic perspectives plus sustained commitment over achievable time horizons would help communities manage expectations and make progress in successfully tackling issues and risks.

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE: How well are we doing? Now what? 

    “Mother Nature has an amazing sense of timing. On the 20th anniversary of the evacuation of 27,000 people from Kelowna due to forest fires, history repeated itself in August in the Kelowna region, in particular West Kelowna,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

     

    Context and history do matter

    “We have had two decades to prepare for the obvious and the inevitable. 2003 was the first of a series of ‘teachable years’, with the full onslaught of a changing climate hitting hard as of 2015.

     

    The Partnership path from 2003 through 2023

    “The Partnership for Water Sustainability in its present form was birthed in 2003. We seized the moment and moved into a vacuum. Timing is everything. At the beginning of 2003, the members of an intergovernmental committee comprised of three levels of government were in place. By April 2003, we were organized and we were primed for action.”

    “In September 2003, mere weeks after the Kelowna fires resulted in evacuation of some 27,000 residents, Lynn Kriwoken of the Ministry of Environment asked me to spearhead development and implementation of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, released in February 2004. Then came BC’s first Drought Response Plan in June 2004.”

    To learn more, click on Provincial Drought Forum

     

    “At our first inter-regional focus group session, held in Kelowna in November 2003, the vision and game plan for the waterbucket.ca website had crystalized. The Partnership embraced the model for storytelling that Joanne deVries pioneered with her FreshOutlook  magazine in the 1990s.”

    “The rest is history, as they say. We embarked on a journey with a commitment to document our history on waterbucket.ca even as we created it through collaboration and partnerships. And why is this context important for our readers to know?”

    Members of the team in April 2005 when the Minister of Environment announced that waterbucket.ca was now LIVE. From left to right: Ron Smith, Lynn Kriwoken, Joanne deVries, Ray Fung and Mike Tanner.

     

    “Well….because people learn from stories! Through storytelling, we pass on an understanding of THE WHY and THE WHAT. Two decades later, you are reading Waterbucket eNews !”

    “For more than two decades, the Partnership has been developing tools and resources and mentoring talent, while all the time growing the Living Water Smart Network. The Partnership is all about the intergenerational mission and passing the baton to those who are receptive to embracing it,” concluded Kim Stephens.

    To Learn More:

    Click on WATCH THE VIDEO / Water and a Changing Climate / Drought Affects Us All: “When you think about it, the earth is a closed-loop system. New water is not being created. What changes is the seasonal distribution. Extreme droughts followed by extreme floods show just how unbalanced the seasonal water cycle is now,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership for Water Sustainability (July 2021)

     

  7. 2022 Annual Report for the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia

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    Note to Reader:

    Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on March 14, 2023 featured Partnership’s Annual Report 2022. The document is written to inform and engage the reader through a storytelling approach to sharing of information.

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/02/PWSBC_Annual-Report-2022_as-published.pdf

     

    Collaborative leadership deliver results across organizational boundaries: Build bridges of understanding, pass the baton!

    Over the past 30 years, a series of provincial government initiatives established a direction for water sustainability, including Stewardship of the Water of BC in 1993, the Fish Protection Act in 1997, and the Water Conservation Strategy for BC in 1998. The high-water mark is Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan, released in 2008.

    Since its inception, the Partnership for Water Sustainability has been guided by and acted within the 45 actions in Living Water Smart. The enduring strength of Living Water Smart lies in its recognition that collaboration, while important to foster within a legislative framework, also happens outside governments, in communities and non-governmental organizations.

    The Water Sustainability Act is another key piece; the Partnership is committed to furthering its implementation and collaborating with the provincial government to fill gaps and improve the legislation.

    We are implementers: Look back to see ahead

    “A Partnership strength is the real-world experience we bring because of our multiple initiatives under Living Water Smart Actions. Under that vision, various building blocks processes have evolved over the decades. Living Water Smart transcends governments,” states Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President.

    “Over the past 30 years, the hard work of hope has resulted in a policy, program and regulatory framework in British Columbia that enables community-based action to adapt to the changing seasonal water cycle.”

    “Living Water Smart successes are defined by collaboration and a “top-down and bottom-up” approach. This brings together decision-makers and community advocates. Successes are milestones along a building blocks continuum.”

    “The Watershed Security Strategy and Fund, an initiative of the current provincial government, is the obvious mechanism to revisit, understand, learn from, and leverage past successes in the building blocks continuum. We have tools to help do the job. We can achieve better stewardship of BC’s water resources for present and future generations.”

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    “The Partnership is a legal entity. Operationally, however, we function as the hub for a network, which we describe as the Living Water Smart Network, “stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

    “The Partnership leadership team is growing the network. We are not building a conventional organization. The Living Water Smart Network is guided by the collaborative leadership model, and this shared vision:

    “The network also holds the key to intergenerational collaboration. It is how we build bridges of understanding and pass the baton from the past to the present and future. In this way, the network is a foundation piece for succession planning and thus continuity.”

    “For the Partnership to be successful as a catalyst for facilitating changes in practice over the long-term, the hard work on the ground must be done by our partners. This means the mission and work of the Partnership must be aligned with and support their organizational aspirations and objectives.”

    “The Partnership’s Annual Report 2022 lays out our mind-map for a 3-year transition strategy for ensuring the continuity of the Living Water Smart Network.”

    “The document is not a conventional annual report in the way people typically expect one to look like. Rather, it is written to inform and engage the reader through a storytelling approach to sharing of information.”

    “We do this because everyone learns through stories!”

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Partnership for Water Sustainability’s 3-Year Transition Strategy for ensuring continuity of the network – as explained by Ted van der Gulik, President

    Extracted from Annual Report 2022, the “story behind the story” is a 600-word essay written by Ted van der Gulik for his President’s Perspective. He paints a broad-brush picture of where the Partnership is heading. It is our road map of Tier One priorities. These build on notable accomplishments in 2022.

    Below, the highlighted quotable quote is also extracted from Annual Report 2022. In clear terms, Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern conceptualizes how a network gets to its “mission impact”.

    Make it so!

    “The long-term success of the Partnership is founded on recognizing when there is either a need or a watershed moment, and then creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. We have done this repeatedly over the years and decades. Notable examples are EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, and the suite of online calculators that the BC Agricultural Water Demand Model has spawned,” wrote Ted van der Gulik.

    “Last October, the Partnership leadership team convened in Nanaimo. We looked back to see ahead. We reflected on how we would ensure the continuity of the Partnership network. We emerged from our session with the concept for a 3-year transition strategy to create a self-fulfilling prophecy once again.”

    “The Partnership itself is a unique approach to collaboration because we place the emphasis on growing the network within a constellation of networks. We know that from our conversations with Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern of the Haas Business School at the University of California Berkeley.”

    “A foundational idea is that we are not building a PWSBC organization per se. But there will always be the need for an “engine” or guiding force, which is the Partnership leadership team. And we cannot just be cheerleaders and facilitators. We must also continue to develop tools and resources that others may not even contemplate. That is one of our strengths. That sets us apart.”

    “Growing and sustaining the network is very much about finding those to whom we can pass the baton.”

    Year One of the 3-Year Transition Strategy

    “Currently, a challenge facing many organizations is the loss of oral history and long-term understanding due to organizational amnesia. This reality is uppermost in our minds as we proceed with Year One of a 3-year strategy,” continued Ted van der Gulik.

    “With the foregoing in mind, our Annual Report 2022 is structured in two parts. First, we provide context – we describe how the Partnership embodies collaborative leadership and how we achieve our intergenerational mission through the power and continuity of the network. Then we highlight three Partnership priorities for 2023.”

    Three priorities align with desired outcomes for a 3-year transition strategy

    “The defining question is this: Who among the next generation will step forward, accept the baton, and provide the type of leadership that would ensure continuity of the network? We have an answer for EAP which is foundational to municipal asset management for sustainable service delivery. EAP is our precedent and our first model for a 3-year transition strategy.”

    “The Partnership has embarked upon a 3-year program to embed EAP in the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Research Institute (MABRRI) at Vancouver Island University. MABRRI has accepted the baton and will lead the next stage of EAP evolution. They believe in EAP and are committed to meeting the needs of local government through training of the next generations of planners and local government staff. They have bought into the vision.”

    “Learning from the EAP precedent, we are committed to doing something along the same lines with either the provincial government or other partners. For example, this may be where our objective is to ensure the legacy of tools that others may be relying on for their water use decisions such as those related to water licensing. This means we must establish relationships with a new generation of provincial decisionmakers and staff.”

    “In 2023, our big idea is to convene a workshop for senior managers in the provincial government, up to and including Deputy Ministers. The theme would be helping people meet their mandate. We would build strategically and communicate and coordinate with early adopters.”

    “At the end of the day, ensuring continuity of the network is really about how organizations continue within the network.”

     

  8. About the Lifetime Category of Membership in the Partnership

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    The Mission Continues

    “The Lifetime Members category recognizes the contributions of key individuals who have played a pivotal role in the genesis and/or evolution of the Partnership,” reports Tim Pringle, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability.

    “The Directors created the Lifetime Membership category to achieve two outcomes. First, we believe this is a material way to recognize the valued contributions over time of key individuals who have been involved in developing and/or delivering the program elements comprising the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia (and which provided the genesis for the Partnership).”

    “Secondly, this provides those key individuals with formal standing in their retirement so that they can continue to identify with the Partnership and the Water Sustainability Action Plan. In other words, they may have retired from their day-jobs, but the mission to advance a new way of doing business in BC continues.”

    “Continued participation in the activities of the Partnership is a tangible way for our Lifetime Members to share the knowledge and wisdom that they accumulated over the course of their careers in leadership positions in BC,” concludes Tim Pringle.

     

  9. About the Champion Supporter Category of Membership

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    Sharing a Vision for Water Sustainability

    “The Champion Supporters category of membership in the Partnership is our way of formally recognizing agencies and organizations that provide the Partnership  with substantial financial and/or in-kind support. Their support is vitally important because that is what enables the Partnership to develop tools and deliver programs under the umbrella of Convening for Action in British Columbia,” reports Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability.

    “While the Partnership is a not-for-profit society, our members mostly represent local governments. Hence, their demonstrated commitment to achieving a shared vision for water sustainability in a local government setting is vitally important to the Partnership’s capability to carry out our mission.”

    Recognition of Water Balance Model Partners

    “A catalyst for incorporation of the Partnership was the Water Balance Model initiative,” continues Ted van der Gulik, a founding Director of the Partnership and Chair of the Water Balance Model Partnership. “An essential part of the plan for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Water Balance Model was creation of a legal entity where the tool would reside permanently. The Partnership for Water Sustainability is that entity.”

    “The Champion Supporters designation also allows the Partnership to recognize the commitment of those Water Balance Model Partners that are making exceptional contributions to the success of the Partnership’s outreach and education program.”

  10. Lifetime Member – Brian Carruthers (inducted in 2022)

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    Note to Reader:

    In September 2022, the Partnership for Water Sustainability honoured Brian Carruthers with a Lifetime Membership in recognition of his stalwart support for the Partnership in his role as Chief Administrative Officer (2014-2022) of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. 

    Brian Carruthers career in government spans 40 years. He spent the first 20 years  with BC Parks, supervising and managing operations in some of the largest and busiest provincial parks in BC. In 2001, he switched to local government, and served as both a municipal and regional district CAO in the Kootenay Boundary, North Central and Vancouver Island/Coast regions of BC.

    Living and working in communities across the province, Brian has gained a deep understanding and appreciation for the unique opportunities and challenges facing regional districts and small to medium size communities.

    Kim Stephens (on the right) presented the LIFETIME MEMBER certificate of recognition to Brian Carruthers (on the left). Scenic Cowichan Bay is the backdrop.

    Brian Carruthers is a Champion Supporter of the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative

    “Cowichan Valley Regional District experience has influenced core content for provincial guidance documents and curricula for training sessions, workshops and seminars held around the province and delivered by the Partnership for Water Sustainability under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan,” states Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director.

    “CVRD collaboration with the Partnership has been supported by successive Regional Boards and Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs). Their support is the essence of handing off the baton from one administration to the next over five election terms and three CAOs, namely – Frank Raimondo (2006-2007), Warren Jones (2008-2014), and Brian Carruthers (2014-2022).”

    “Support by elected representatives and staff for program elements delivered by the Partnership (through initiatives such as the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Educational Initiative) enables the Partnership to foster and support collaborative leadership among participating local governments. In turn, that builds bridges of understanding through intergenerational collaboration.”

    “For almost decade, stalwart support by Brian Caruthers has been a critical success factor in building momentum for a whole-system approach to water resource management,” concludes Kim Stephens.

    A Window into the Cowichan Water Journey

    “I had a real incentive to come to the CVRD in 2014 because water was the primary focus. I was really impressed by the CVRD’s work in terms of water, the Cowichan Watershed Board, and protection of the Cowichan watershed,” states Brian Carruthers.

    “It made it intriguing for me because I came from a regional district that had no desire to be involved in those kinds of things. When I started at CVRD, the region was in the midst of a watershed governance study. It was looking at how the CVRD could take a more active role in watershed governance.”

    “The Board Chair and I did tours of First Nations communities and met with their chiefs and councils around the intent of this initiative and what would their interest be. We realized that this was bigger than we could take on at that time. Instead, we turned our attention to the Drinking Water & Watershed Protection (DWWP) model for a regional service.”

    “It is a story of ups and downs. Running into obstacles and resistance, whether in the community or at the Board table, but always keeping the end-result in mind: making sure we have enough water in our region to satisfy a growing region. And that outcome is what always kept us focused on moving drinking water and watershed protection forward.”