Convening for Action in British Columbia

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: “Nature-First Cities – restoring relationships with ecosystems and with each other” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in February 2025

February 18, 2025 - Posted in ...2025, PUBLICATIONS & DOWNLOADS

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 February 18, 2025 featured a conversational interview with co-authors Dr. Sean Markey and Herb Hammond about their vision for Nature-First Cities.

The book is intended to inspire government and community-based action by illustrating how cities can co-exist with nature. To that end, the book introduces a guiding philosophy and methodology the authors have framed as Nature-Directed Stewardship.

Nature-First Cities: restoring relationships with ecosystems and with each other

Nature belongs in cities, but how do we put nature first without pushing people aside? Nature-First Cities reveals the false dichotomy of that question by recognizing that people and nature are indivisible.

This new book by three B.C. authors shows how cities can co-exist with nature. Written by Herb Hammond, Sean Markey and Cam Brewer, Nature-First Cities is a guide to building urban ecosystems.

NATURE IS THE ANSWER: Co-authors Herb Hammond, Sean Markey and Cam Brewer

This book calls for action in cities based on the science and practice of Nature-Directed Stewardship (NDS) The authors make the case that the appropriate planning unit is a focal watershed – the largest watershed that fits within the boundaries of a city.

Nature-Directed Stewardship: an ecosystem-based approach to use and protection of land

“Cam Brewer is the lead author. It has been an incredible collaborative exercise over about 12 years. Everyone has brought different strengths,” explains Sean Markey.

“I brought a lot of planning work into it. Herb Hammond has the science and the ecology, and the methodology around nature directed stewardship. Cam Brewer has brought his passion for nature. Actually, he intersects both of us in terms of his knowledge base.”

The forest sustains us; we do not sustain the forest

“I am a forest ecologist,” adds Herb Hammond. “I have worked primarily with Indigenous peoples for the past 40 years to help them advocate for a more ecosystem-based approach to using the land and protecting it.”

“That experience has resulted in the development of what I now call Nature-Directed Stewardship. And this is incorporated in the book as well.” Herb Hammond likes to remind audiences that the forest sustains us; we do not sustain the forest.

To Learn More:

To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Nature-First Cities – restoring relationships with ecosystems and with each other.