Convening for Action in British Columbia

CONTEXT FOR GEORGIA BASIN INTER-REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LEGACY INITIATIVE: “The mid-year report provides an excellent understanding of our ‘philosophical’ rationale, how we function, and the collaborations and resources that make the Partnership for Water Sustainability effective,” stated Tim Pringle, founding director of the Partnership and adjunct professor at Vancouver Island University

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. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story.

The edition published on September 23, 2025 presented an overview of the Partnership’s Mid-Year Report. Also structured in three parts, the Mid-Year Report describes the Partnership’s operational framework followed by a section on the ambassadors’ program. Then it weaves quotable quotes into a narrative about the Partnership’s array of initiatives.

ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

The Mid-Year Report for 2025 is not a conventional annual report in the way people typically expect one to look like. The Partnership has adopted a storytelling approach to inform and engage readers about our mission.

The Mid-Year Report provides context for the work of the Partnership for Water SustainabilitY

Are you at all curious? What do you wonder about the Partnership? Continue reading for a broad overview. And if this taste whets your appetite to delve deeper, download the Mid-Year Report for 2025.

“The Partnership’s Mid-Year Report for 2025 provides an excellent understanding of our ‘philosophical’ rationale, how we function, and the collaborations and resources that make the Partnership effective. This is a baseline or landmark document.”,” explains Tim Pringle, founding director.

When you read the Mid-Year Report, you will learn that:

Images are mostly from the Partnership’s library. Some are from the public domain and Creative Commons.

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“We live in challenging times, exacerbated by the instability in the United States. The ripple effects of polarization there have unforeseen consequences for us. At the same time, we live in a world where there is information overload. Meanwhile, knowledge and wisdom are being lost at an alarming rate. The Partnership bridges a gap with respect to conservation and land use realities involving water,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

Are we really willing to become dumber?

“An emerging concern is the decline of critical thinking skills. There is more technology, but less understanding. In an article published in the NY Times, David Brooks reflected on new research findings. Reliance on artificial intelligence impacts the underlying cognitive architecture of human brains.”

The Partnership for Water Sustainability strives to bridge a knowledge gap

“With the exodus of experienced people who have deep knowledge, there is an intergenerational gap in understanding what works and what does not. This includes the ability to interpret data and information,” continued Kim Stephens.

Once critical thinking skills decline…

“The knowledge gap grows with the decline in critical thinking skills. This situation has implications for the quality of decision-making going forward. So, what can the Partnership realistically do to make a difference? So, what can the Partnership realistically do to make a difference? Well, we facilitate peer-based sharing and learning to help local government practitioners integrate water-centric solutions into land planning outcomes.”

“Volunteers who are Partnership elders have something quite valuable. We describe it as freedom of action! This allows us to keep our eyes on the prize. We have the independence to focus on and teach those who want to know what matters most in times of change and turmoil.”

The Living Water Smart Network bridges the knowledge gap in a tangible way

“The Partnership provides legal and organizational continuity for the Living Water Smart Network. The Partnership has no paid staff and that is intentional. Instead, we rely on growing the network. And that changes everything because it entails commitment to something bigger than oneself.”

“People who want to be part of the Living Water Smart Network are voting with their feet. They are engaging with the Partnership. They are telling us the Partnership is a valued and valuable resource, they want it to continue, and they want to participate in the mission.”

Twin Pillars of Water Sustainability support the idea of Living Water Smart

“In the Mid-Year Report, readers will learn about Water Tools for British Columbia and the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative (IREI). These are the twin pillars of the Partnership’s water-first approach at the provincial and bioregional scales.”

“Governments come and go and staffs turn over. And memory and understanding are lost. But the Partnership is a constant. Deep knowledge is embedded within the Living Water Smart Network.”

“This deep knowledge is the foundation for ideas, tools and initiatives that the Partnership sustains, evolves and passes on through peer-based learning,” concluded Kim Stephens.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: President’s Perspective on Network Continuity – reflections by Ted van der Gulik

The Mid-Year Report is structured in three parts.

We start by describing the operational framework for achieving the Partnership mission. Our ambassadors are the focus in the second part.

By weaving quotable quotes into a narrative, the set of vignettes in the third part elaborate on initiatives that advance the Partnership’s intergenerational mission.

Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication. People learn through stories. Storytelling starts with the President’s Perspective which follows below.

Make it so!

When a need for action is identified, we rise to the moment and get on with the job. What is the goal; how we will make it happen. We have done this many times. We create self-fulfilling prophecies!

The Partnership is a unique approach to collaboration. Our emphasis is on growing the Living Water Smart Network. We do this within a constellation of networks.

We develop tools and resources that others may not even contemplate. That is one of our strengths. That sets us apart. Growing and sustaining the network to implement changes in practice over time is very much about finding those to whom we can pass the intergenerational baton.

Timeline for passing the baton

The Partnership embarked on a multi-year transition strategy in 2023. The strategy is designed to achieve two outcomes in sequence. The Partnership continues to add to the leadership team; has crafted what the Partnership and network would look like after 2025; and recognized and acted on the need to accelerate the strategy to put in place leadership for 2028 and beyond.

Ambassadors Program is the lynchpin for network continuity

To achieve our intergenerational mission through the network, the Partnership launched the Ambassadors Program led by Derek Richmond in 2021. “It started simply; it has grown in value and is proving invaluable,” Derek says.

We held our inaugural Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum in Nanaimo in October 2023. The second forum will be held in Metro Vancouver in January 2026.

Ray Fung, a founding member, provided a closing perspective at the first. “We leave the summit inspired to figure out how the FORM of the Partnership will follow the FUNCTION,” Ray stated.

“The Partnership is seen as a resource that is stable, is there, and people can draw upon. Being part of network reminds us that…YOU ARE NOT ALONE,” Ray concluded.

Ambassadors elevated to the Leadership Team in 2025

The network is where we identify champions to whom we can pass the baton. This year the Partnership elevated Rémi Dubé and Michael Blackstock to the leadership team because there is a job to be done. They bring experience and wisdom to the intergenerational mission.

About the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

To download a copy of the foregoing resource as a PDF document for your records and/or sharing, click on Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Context for Partnership’s Mid-Year Report for 2025.