Convening for Action in British Columbia

The Partnership for Water Sustainability originated as a network in the 2000s as an outcome of the provincial “convening for action” initiative. This multi-year program demonstrated the power of peer-based learning, collaboration and partnerships in combination with a regional team approach that spans jurisdictional boundaries. “When you bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, you look to them to create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of their organizations and community,” stated Derek Richmond.

In his 1969 book, Design With Nature, Ian McHarg pioneered the concept of environmental planning: “So, I commend Design with Nature to your sympathetic consideration. The title contains a gradient of meaning. It can be interpreted as simply descriptive of a planning method, deferential to places and peoples, it can invoke the Grand Design, it can emphasize the conjunction with and, finally it can be read as an imperative. DESIGN WITH NATURE!.” His philosophy was rooted in an ecological sensibility that accepted the interwoven worlds of the human and the natural.

“We can open doors so that together we can make the changes necessary to achieve a vision for a watershed. That is the key to benefitting from local input. Once there is consensus, only the community can then take the vision for a watershed forward. Streamkeepers have the on-the-ground knowledge to establish restoration priorities within a watershed. We now come from a place where we have the educational, science-based understanding of our environment, of our watersheds and how we can support the life that is struggling to survive within them,” stated Zo Ann Morten.

When developing the BC Stormwater Guidebook, the steering committee believed it was important to have their finger on the local government pulse. Conversations yielded valuable insights while at the same establishing expectations about Guidebook direction. Igor Zahynacz, chair of a regional committee, was one of those leaders. “Accomplishing institutional change boils down to three principles: melt the opposition: implement the change; and then re-freeze! A good idea is immediate, but preparation for implementation can take 5 to 10 years,” stated Zahynacz.

“Our vision is intergenerational. Achieving settlement, economy and ecology in balance is a marathon, not a sprint. And all of us need to understand and care about the goal which is development in harmony with nature. Once there is consensus on what we want watersheds and neighbourhoods to look like in future, we can use the tools that will get us there. That is where the Partnership has a role to play. We are outcome-oriented. Build on and leverage what works. Evolve. Adapt,” stated Ted van der Gulik in his President’s Perspective.

“This organization, this network, has always been about bringing together likeminded people. And we have always been NIMBLE AND OPPORTUNISTIC. The Partnership is seen as a resource that is stable, that is there, and that people can draw upon. We must create a network so robust that it can withstand the shifts in people and positions in organizations. When we gather together we find inspiration. We find camaraderie. The Partnership provides an informal space to seed ideas and innovation. Convening for action gives us a common sense of purpose,” stated Ray Fung.

“Across British Columbia, a wave of new leaders took charge after the 2005 election. These elected representatives had open minds, were passionate about and committed to a long-term view of community, and trusted their staffs to turn ideas into beneficial outcomes across boundaries. A vision shared across regions powered the Convening for Action in British Columbia program. It inspired and aligned the efforts of many champions in local government, elected officials and staff alike. This was a top-down and bottom-up movement,” stated Kim Stephens.

“What do we want this place to look like? I first posed this question exactly 20 years ago to make the point that we have it in our hands to create our future. What we do on the ground sets the pattern of development for generations. Changing standard practices does not happen overnight. It takes time. Therefore, it is important to manage expectations when embarking on this journey towards water sustainability. A vision without a task is but a dream. A task without a vision is but drudgery. A vision with a task is the hope of the world,” stated Eric Bonham.

“Deep knowledge is being ignored or dismissed at an alarming rate. Our world seems to be getting more wobbly, more unstable, more uncertain, and for all sorts of reasons. Storytelling is needed more than ever. It matters how we share information to ensure concepts are conveyed to, and understood by, the people who need to know. Solutions to the issues of our time lie in WHAT stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories. There is tremendous value in networks to help solve problems together. Cooperation will help buttress this wobbly world,” stated Remi Dube.

“Constructive collaboration with others creates a powerful tool that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Because of transformational events, such as COVID, we have rapidly shifted to an era where trusted knowledge sharing has become more important than ever. Ensuring that the decisions we make are sound, inclusive, and knowledge-based means looking beyond our often-self-imposed boundaries. Our first initiative should be to look for history, what has or has not worked and why, and to search out others with similar experience,” stated Derek Richmond.

“Gaps between vision and reality are, of course, standard in politics. What makes this one frustrating to water-sustainability experts is how close to success the green infrastructure push came before it got derailed. Through decades of effort, planning had become policy, and policy had started to become practice. Now the question is whether the high profile of floods, droughts, and population growth will put green infrastructure back in the spotlight—and, if so, whether the decision-makers within Metro Vancouver’s municipalities will correct course,” stated Pamela Swanigan.

“As a magazine editor, I am very keen on showcasing real world water projects, and the people whose lives they impact, with our national audience. The Ecological Accounting Process is a topic that I believed a Water Canada audience would really benefit from and that is why we featured it in the May-June 2022 issue. When I reached out to Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC, he readily accepted my invitation to write an article about how B.C.’s strategy is designed to help communities decide how much to invest in stream protection,” stated Jen Smith.