“The Town of Gibsons has recognized, formally and in practice, that nature, and the ecosystems services that it provides, are a fundamental and integral part of the Town’s infrastructure system. Gibsons is one of the first communities in North America to do so,” stated Emanuel Machado.
“This is an exciting partnership that will result in a comprehensive approach to visioning and planning that will ultimately benefit many diverse groups on Vancouver Island,” states Pedro Marquez.
“The Leadership Team comprises Directors and non-Directors. For more than a decade, the team has been responsible for developing and delivering elements of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia. This provincial initiative provides an umbrella for bringing together partnerships and convening for action,” reports Peter Law.
“Context for the Wetland Workshop was provided by the vision for a Metro Vancouver Regional Green Infrastructure Network. Managing the lands in the Green Infrastructure Network to ensure that they continue to provide ecosystem services that we depend on is important. Wetlands are the kidneys of the earth. We are challenging local government by posing this question: Is your municipality doing enough to prevent downstream impacts from rainwater runoff while maintaining healthy aquatic habitat?,” stated Neil Fletcher.
“Coquitlam’s Official Community Plan requires that a Watershed Plan be completed before a Neighbourhood Plan can be developed,” states Melony Burton. “This important direction guides appropriate land use in response to a watershed’s unique conditions and needs.”
Jim Dumont and Dr. Charles Rowney are the Engineering Applications Authority and Scientific Authority, respectively. The are responsible for constant improving the Water Balance Model to meet the needs of local government.
“I now see that we are one very small step away from seeing this region embrace rainwater harvesting in a manner in which I had only thought was something to dream about; and I am inspired to really push to see that the goals that we have for our North Vancouver watersheds are realized,” stated Richard Boase. “We are really close to seeing our region embrace the kind of smart development that I had thought was much further away than it is today. That’s what I am taking away from this day.”
“We are in for the long haul. Watersheds are fundamental to our settlements. By working to balance watershed health with settlement prosperity, communities can sustain their well-being. We are helping to support communities to understand this equation and move to implementation,” stated Tim Pringle.
“Over the past decade, we have built a ‘partnership architecture’ that solidifies commitment to achieving practical outcomes under the umbrella of the Action Plan. It is the breadth of these partnerships that enables the Partnership for Water Sustainability to fulfil its integrating role and connect dots to links humans, watershed, landscape and buildings,” concludes Kim Stephens.
“Over the last 10 years, the WSC/Partnership has accomplished much. Through a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Environment, we developed the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, which provided the framework for our work,” states Raymond Fung. “As a result, the Waterbucket.ca website portal was initiated. The Water Balance Model was developed. The Water$ave Toolkit was completed. The Green Infrastructure Partnership was launched. And on Vancouver Island in particular, the Convening for Action initiative has inspired a whole grassroots collective.”
