DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Green Infrastructure Innovation in the Metro Vancouver region” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in May 2024
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 May 14, 2024 featured Ray Fung, a Past-Chair of the Green Infrastructure Partnership in British Columbia. In the 2000s, the Green Infrastructure Partnership played a prominent role in leading changes in local government attitudes in the Metro Vancouver region. Between 1996 and 2020, Ray Fung sat at several local government regional tables in Metro Vancouver. This lived experience provides context for his reflections.
Green Infrastructure Innovation in BC
When one thinks of the issues we face today in BC…weather extremes, drying rivers, degraded streams, frequent wildfires, population growth, housing affordability…they are no different than they were 20 years ago. They are just more complex and more urgent.
When a situation is dire, turning it around fairly quickly requires deep knowledge plus trust. This is the context for featuring Ray Fung and sharing his story about the Green Infrastructure Partnership.
His experience as a champion in the vanguard of change informs his reflections on green infrastructure innovation and the journey in the Metro Vancouver region. This lived experience explains his belief in the power and potential of storytelling to motivate and inspire a new generation of champions.
“Never before has there been such a need for the knowledge keepers and storytellers,” Ray Fung emphasizes when he talks about effectiveness in tackling current issues being dependent on deep knowledge and trust.
Something happened and the Metro Vancouver region lost momentum after 2010
In the 2000s, the Green Infrastructure Partnership played a prominent role in leading changes in local government attitudes in the Metro Vancouver region. This influence cascaded from elected representative at Municipal Council and Regional Board tables to practitioners in the trenches.
“How do you judge that time with the advantage of hindsight? It is always a confluence of different things. Certainly, there was a specific confluence of individuals who were around the table. We had all been colleagues for a while and knew each other,” states Ray Fung.
“Also, at that time regionally, it was the beginnings of the ISMP process, which is the acronym for Integrated Stormwater Management Plans. So, we were all trying to figure out what the ISMP was. And how it was different from a traditional Master Drainage Plan or Stormwater Management Plan.”
TO LEARN MORE:
To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Green Infrastructure Innovation in the Metro Vancouver region.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Ray-Fung-about-Green-Infrastructure-Partnershp_2024.pdf