PARTNERSHIP FOR WATER SUSTAINABILITY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA DELIVERS RESULTS ACROSS BOUNDARIES: “My focus on building networks by investing in relationships and community is rooted in values that closely align with those of many indigenous communities,” stated Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern, Senior Fellow with the Center for Social Sector Leadership at the University of California Berkeley
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 November 18, 2025 featured four thought leaders – Michael Blackstock in British Columbia; Jane Wei-Skillern and Zbigniew Grabowski in the United States; and Serpil Oppermann in Turkey. Reflections by the latter three within this story illustrate how the pioneering Blue Ecology work of Michael Blackstock in bridging the gap between Western and Indigenous perspectives resonates with each of them.
ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader
In all walks of life, implementing transformative change depends on passionate and dedicated champions. And a network provides leaders with peer support. In British Columbia, the Partnership for Water Sustainability is the legal entity, hub and catalyst for the Living Water Smart Network.
Network Leadership Thought Leader
Jane Wei-Skillern is a thought leader in the field of network leadership. Her sphere of interest, practice, and influence encompasses climate/conservation AND the social impact field.
“I dream of a culture change in climate/conservation or the social impact field more broadly so that people, relationships and community come first even before strategy, linear solutions and institutional self-interest. I am always working toward that and seeking partners to do this work,” says Jane.
Power of relationships in a network context
In this edition of Waterbucket eNews, we also connect the dots between Michael Blackstock and Dr. Serpil Oppermann in Turkey and with Dr. Zbigniew Grabowski in the United States. Their stories within this story illustrate how the Blue Ecology work of Michael Blackstock resonates with other thought leaders.
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER
“The story behind the story is what Michael Blackstock and I learned from our conversations with three thought leaders who embrace Michael’s teachings about Blue Ecology. Front-and-centre is our brainstorming with Jane Wei-Skillern. In January 2026, Jane and Michael will tag-team to lead a Partnership forum,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
Images are mostly from the Partnership’s library. A few are from the public domain and Creative Commons.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Seed change through the power of relationships and networks – conversations with four thought leaders
The story behind the story has three parts, with each featuring a different thought leader. Read together, the three parts paint a picture of what could be. Michael and my conversations with the trio yielded some gems about their hopes and aspirations.
THOUGHT LEADER ONE: Jane Wei-Skillern has a vision for seeding a culture change through the power of relationships and networks
In addition to the Center for Social Sector Leadership at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Jane Wei-Skillern has served on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School, and London Business School. She has studied, taught courses and published extensively on nonprofit networks for more than two decades.
“In the early 2000s, when I was on the faculty at the Harvard Business School, I began my research into the concept of a networked approach that is more focused on network-building and trust-based relationships, and less about building an organization to get to your mission impact,” explains Jane Wei-Skillern.
WHAT A DESIRED FUTURE LOOKS LIKE: A culture fueled by the power of relationships to get to mission impact
“My hope is that we can spearhead a larger initiative which is a culture change in the conservation space to value the power of relationships and networks. This is on top of innovation in technology which is essential.”
“But if you have everybody working in silos, competing with each other for their solution to be the end all be all, we will get nowhere. This is the sensibility we are trying to promote.”
WHAT A DESIRED FUTURE LOOKS LIKE: Work is easier, more effective and more fun because people collaborate
“It is all about storytelling. Keeping things simple; not getting caught up in academic theory or jargon. Making things simple and accessible is what is going to resonate, not making it something really complicated or theoretical or something you need consultants to help you with.”
“The more we can help people understand they have the power to do what we are talking about, right now, in whatever role they are in…and the more they open their minds to it, and the more they practice and exercise those muscles…their work will become easier. It will become more effective. And it will become more fun. Shining a light on that path is what we can help to do.”
“But these seemingly soft skills are undervalued and overlooked even though they are probably the most critical component of all leadership.”
HOW TO CREATE A DESIRED FUTURE: Go beyond an article or a podcast to excite, inspire and energize people to action
“By way of background, I love nature, I care about conservation issues. After talking about what we have seen, a couple of us decided we should try do something that focusses on the conservation space and the opportunity for overlaying the relational approach on top of the innovation in technology that people get really excited about.”
People learn from and are inspired by stories
“Our original idea was to write a series of articles. That is when I realized the podcast would be a good way of telling those stories. I want to feature the network catalysts and their stories more fully because I think that is what convinces people of the power of the relational approach.”
“That led to a bigger idea which is to get more network thinking into the conservation field as a whole rather than just a one-off podcast or article. The big idea is, let’s try and seed a culture change and shift in climate conservation work that really values relationships and network approach.”
HOW TO CREATE A DESIRED FUTURE: If you can dream it, you can achieve the outcome through a tireless work ethic
“The hope is that we could build excitement, initially around an article and podcast, then potentially a book, retreats, and leadership training. If we could get support, I know so many amazing people…we could pull together retreat-type workshops THAT COULD HELP GET THE FLYWHEEL GOING.”
“We would get people on the same page, seeing and experiencing what we are talking about firsthand. And then they could go out in their roles and build that sense of community. And also have each other as a community of support.”
“That is my dream. That we can get the momentum so that we can eventually get to a larger scale culture change that has exponential growth. We plant these seeds and others go do what they are excited to do with these tools and with this approach in mind. That is what I am dreaming about. A podcast is one piece of that.”
“I am not interested in just doing an article or a podcast for the sake of those outputs. My interest is large scale change. And I want to find partners who want to do that in a significant way. That is what I am working towards. And that is why I invited Michael Blackstock (to play a role) because of his deep expertise in the Indigenous field.”
Go further, faster
“We need stories like that (for Michael) to be heard so that other people can see, oh that’s what I need to be doing. And whatever it is that I am doing, even if I have some expertise in technology or in some particular innovation, if I add this additional lens onto to my work, it is going to go so much further, so much faster.”
HOW TO CREATE A DESIRED FUTURE: People need to get along to turn problems into solutions in a changing world
“That is what I am trying to help people with, because I know it works for the nature of the work that we are talking about. If it is social change, environmental change, these go beyond the tools of your typical management consultant because we are not talking about problems at the institutional or firm level. We are talking about a macro level, system level, complex change.”
“And as long as it involves people, you need them to have strong relationships with trust. People need to get along in order to solve the problem and remove the roadblocks and overcome the challenges that are inevitably going to arise.”
THOUGHT LEADER TWO: Serpil Oppermann believes hydrological systems react to human betrayal with extreme floods and extreme droughts
Dr. Serpil Oppermann has combined her passion for literature studies with quantum physics! Serpil Oppermann is a past President of the European Association for the Study of Literature, Culture, and the Environment.
KEY TAKEAWAY #1: It matters what stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories
“When I develop a theory, it has to have a grounding. I have to have evidence. My evidence comes from quantum physics. And now from oceanography and limnology. Reading scientific articles is liking reading novels or poems,” states Serpil Oppermann,
Solutions lie in the new stories we tell
“We have to rethink the traditional humanist idea that storytelling is all too human and that humans are the only species with the ability to tell stories. WHAT IF the world we cohabit with a myriad of nonhumans is also expressive and is story-filled?”
Serpil Oppermann’s vision is to use storytelling as a means to an end. Her mission is to be a bridge between the humanities and science studies. She is co-editor and catalyst behind the scenes for The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Blue Humanities which will be published in early 2026.
“Though it may sound like a bold claim, I want to affirm that solutions lie in the new stories we tell, and in stories told by aquatic narrative agencies that enable us to think with water.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #2:The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Blue Humanities features a chapter on Blue Ecology
“Floods and droughts. That is how water protests human betrayal. We need a mindset change in order to affect an attitude change about water. We affect water, and we are affected by water. Hydrological systems react to human betrayal with extreme floods and extreme droughts.”
An Indigenous perspective
“We invited Michael Blackstock to contribute a chapter on Blue Ecology because we think Michael is well-positioned to help us achieve an ambitious goal. We intend this handbook to represent the state of the art in Blue Humanities thinking across different disciplines, regions, theories, and methods,” explains Dr. Oppermann.
“Our Handbook is divided into four sections with a total of thirty-five chapters. Our hope is that these chapters will inform their readers, stimulate their critical imaginations, and leave them wanting to learn more about the discourse of the Blue Humanities.”
“We offer solutions. My solution is to recognize the distressing stories that aquatic agencies are telling us which change the way we tell our stories. It matters what stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #3: Blue Humanities scholars challenge the Green Ecology view of the world
“I am an eco-critic and environmental humanities scholar. We work at the intersections of the sciences and the humanities. Environmental humanities is a field that focuses on the Anthropocene urgencies. But most of the time scholars are writing or talking about ecological devastation that is ongoing on the land.”
Blue Humanities shifts attention from land to ocean
“Most of the time, the focus is on Green Ecology. This new field, Blue Humanities, emerged in the early 2000s. People like me and Steve Mentz and others, many of whom are in the United States, challenged this green focus.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #4: Michael Blackstock developed the definition of “Natural Intelligence” and it is a centrepiece idea within The Blue Humanities Handbook
“The promotion of AI as the greatest thing since sliced bread is constant and we really must counterbalance that. A consequence of the AI drumbeat is that AI decouples humans from nature,” states Michael Blackstock.
“So, I thought, what is the opposite of AI? Well, it is Natural Intelligence! All my recent reading and thinking has flowed from that epiphany.”
THOUGHT LEADER THREE: Zbigniew Grabowski says science can contribute to human well-being by aligning with Blue Ecology principles
Dr. Z has internationally recognized experience in collaborative and Intertribal watershed restoration, green infrastructure, and transformational research to advance the regeneration of people, ecosystems, the economy, and the built environment.
KEY TAKEAWAY #5: Many core principles of 17th-century worldviews still profoundly influence modern science
“I became familiar with Michael Blackstock’s Blue Ecology framework paper when I was at Portland State University. The PhD program was about doing experiments in interdisciplinary fellowships that tackled real-world problems, not just academic problems. That was when I spent time in Northwest BC and learned about the Gitxsan First Nation.”
Potential of ecosystem services markets to re-shape human relationships with nature
“I have long been interested in alternative world views to the Cartesian mechanistic paradigm. Formulated by René Descartes in the 17th century, this is a worldview that views the material universe as a complex machine operating according to strict mechanical laws.”
“The PhD research program at Portland State University was focused on how urbanizations and their regions are symbiotic and interdependent with each other. It was mostly using an ecosystem services framework which I had worked on in England during my time with The King’s Foundation.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #6: Water is the unifying hope
“I was born in Poland and we never let go of our cultural ontology of animals and plants as having their own independent kind of personhood. Always making a point to interact with them as such. And seeing the obvious benefits of doing so.”
“There have been a lot of challenges within mainstream ecology which is still very mechanistic. Even the systems stuff is still treating the world as a collection of inanimate objects.”
“Even mainstream ecologists know that something is not right with their framework. They have this anxiety about it and that causes them to be defensive. I have left academia partially because of that.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #7: Water is an entry point to regenerate people, ecosystems, economy and built environment
“Like Michael Blackstock, we are treating water as an entry point to address the bigger issues in terms of our relationships with land; and how to translate the right relationships with land into the economic, material systems that we depend on for everyday life.”
“I am thinking deeply and trying to enact different, regenerative economic principles in collaboration with our Indigenous allies. Looking at how can we do so through reciprocal relationships with ecological, biological systems. How that can inform how we design and manufacture ecosystems and how can we set up model enterprises to do so.”
The test of time is an important perspective
“The karma of my life is that I have seen the dark side, the unintended consequences of industrialization globally. We need to regain an even deeper foundation in terms of the right relationship with nature.”
“If we have that, then we can develop technologies and deal with complexities that we are talking about. But if we do not have that spiritual, moral foundation, then none of those technologies will withstand the test of time.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #8: If we are more unified with nature, we will be more unified with each other
“Culture is the root of a society. The groups that do not forget their original instructions are the ones that persist. How do you maintain that connection with spirit? People have to get back in touch with their culture.”
“They cannot borrow somebody else’s culture. They can be inspired by somebody else’s culture. But everyone has a responsibility to their own cultural continuity, and connecting that to the land.”
A loss of critical thinking skills within a generation is a current reality
“There is no institution that is actually tasked with doing deep critical thinking or enquiry anymore. Few people recognize the power of critical thinking skills.”
“Most people are being trained to operate as pseudo machines. That is a deep cultural trend. At the same time as you have a proliferation of access to information, less and less people are able to sift through the noise.”
Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series
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