DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: The Role of the Municipal Champion as the Interpreter” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in March 2022

Note to Reader:

Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the vision for Living Water Smart in British Columbia to build greener communities and adapt to a changing climate. The edition published on March 1, 2022 featured Adriane Pollard, Manager of Environmental Services with the District of Saanich.

A founding member of the Bowker Creek Initiative in the Capital Regional District on Vancouver Island, Adriane Pollard provides valuable insights into the role of the municipal champion as the interpreter of a Council-endorsed guidance document, and the process for translating a vision (creek daylighting) into a tangible outcome on the ground.

Knock Down Barriers

“You need layers of champions. You need a champion in the community. You need a champion in the municipality. You need a champion to keep everybody aware and moving forward – and that is the role of the CRD Watershed Coordinator,” stated Adriane Pollard.

“It is easy to hide behind your bylaws and manuals of practice and say that this is the way it has to be. It is not until you start working with people in the other disciplines that you realize well, we can all have wins here. A little bit of tweaking and we can all have wins.”

“Work. See the barrier. Knock it down. As long as people continue doing that…the 2003 Watershed Management Plan, the 2010 Blueprint, the 2020 Daylighting Feasibility Study and so on will be kept alive that way. Maybe there will be another limitation that comes up. Maybe it is money. Maybe it is a lack of coordination between municipalities. But that is how you get recharged to work, see the barrier, and knock it down.”

Stream Daylighting is the Latest Game-Changer

“The intergenerational baton is being accepted. I believe the Daylighting Feasibility Study is the Bowker Blueprint for this next generation of municipal employees and community people. It is a ground-breaking document. It is meaningful. It causes us to focus and act. It gives us the knowledge to go forward.”

“At the time, the Blueprint felt like that. After ten years, we realize this is great, but it has its limitations. Now that we have the Daylighting Feasibility Study, that limitation has been erased. Now we have to catch up on that and start implementing,” concludes Adriane Pollard.

To Learn More:

To read the complete story published on March 1st 2022, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: The Role of the Municipal Champion as the Interpreter.

DOWNLOAD A PDF COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/02/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Municipal-Champion_2022.pdf