CREATING THE FUTURE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY: Moving ahead on a ‘green’ platform has gained positive momentum as Council has found it easy to support green infrastructure innovation that protects groundwater supply and fisheries habitat
Note to Reader:
The Langley Township story is the fifth in a series of Watershed Blueprint Case Profiles published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability.
The series showcases and celebrates successes and long-term ‘good work’ in the local government setting.
The purpose of the series is to inform and facilitate inter-regional collaboration in the Georgia Basin.
By telling the stories of those who are spearheading changes in practice, this helps other local governments eliminate the “disconnect between information and implementation” that may otherwise hold them back.
Showcasing Spurs Innovation
The Township of Langley was a co-host for Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver: The 2007 Series, organized by the Green Infrastructure Partnership.
The 2007 showcasing event is the natural jumping off point for the Watershed Case Profile. It is a defined moment in time. It serves as a benchmark for judging progress.
Quotable quotes from 2007 are especially valuable. They capture the moment. And a decade later, they were a useful conversation starter to prompt reflection by Township staff.
“The Township is a community of 113,000 of which 75% of the land area is within the Agricultural Land Reserve,” stated Councillor Charlie Fox in his opening 
address at the 2007 event.
“This presents a delicate balance between the preservation of agricultural land and the continued pressure for urban development. It is within this context that the staff and Council champion the theme of harmony and integration as we endeavour to focus on ‘green’ initiatives and programs.”
Showcasing innovation and celebrating successes promotes networking, builds regional capacity, and helps local governments within the Georgia Basin move ‘from awareness to action’ – through sharing of green infrastructure approaches, tools, experiences and lessons learned as an outcome of designing with nature.
Looking back, successive showcasing series on both sides of the Georgia Basin during the period 2006 through 2008 created a ripple effect that spurred even more innovation.
Moving Ahead on a Green Platform
Resource protection – for groundwater supply and fisheries habitat – is the original driver for implementing ‘green infrastructure’ in Langley.
For the past decade and a half, Township staff have been learning and adapting. Their experience is reflected in HOW implementation of Langley’s rain garden program has evolved in successive development areas.
In 2017, rain gardens are standard practice in the Township, and standard practice is evolving. Moving ahead on a ‘green’ platform has gained positive momentum in the Township as Council has found it easy to support the initiatives of the staff.
To Learn More:
To read the complete story, download a copy of the Watershed Case Profile. Click on Green Infrastructure Innovation in Langley Township, released in October 2017.
The Table of Contents below is a synopsis. It distills the essence of each section into a succinct statement. These create a storyline. Readers are asked to pause and reflect on them before reading the story itself.
