CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “There are many champions in local government; and it is important that we recognize and celebrate what they are doing. This is all part of creating our future,” stated Lois Jackson, Chair of the Metro Vancouver Regional Board, during the golden period (2006-2011) covered by Part D of the Chronicle
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 (REPRODUCED BELOW).
The edition published on February 24, 2026 featured the fourth installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver. Part D covers the period 2006 through 2011. This sweeping narrative weaves quotable quote to provide the reader with a sense of the level of activity and how this activity generated green infrastructure momentum in the Metro Vancouver region.
How would the Metro Vancouver region absorb another one million people and remain livable? That was the defining question in the 2000s. The Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation brings to life an exciting period in local government “convening for action” history. There was critical mass to implement changes in development practices.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY OF THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CHRONICLE: learn by doing, and adapt to create livable communities – convening for action in Metro Vancouver
The Green Infrastructure Chronicle covers the period between 1994 and 2024. At 700-plus pages, it is a tome. By definition, tome means it is both unusually large and unusually important. The Chronicle is oral history and the storyline is a work-in-progress because we are moving along a continuum.
With 2026 coming soon, how the next five to ten years play out depends on whether and how effectively municipalities adapt to implement the “streams and trees component” of the Metro Vancouver region’s updated Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan. It is an essential piece of the strategy for ensuring a livable region and thus quality of life.
HISTORY AT A GLANCE: Convening for action in the Georgia Basin between 2006 and 2011
In the 2000s, drainage was a galvanizing issue for sustainable development. The cumulative impacts of land use changes on stream function were proven. Implementation of streamside protection regulation was a fact of life. We understood how to turn problems into solutions.
COLOUR CODE: yellow is Georgia Basin in scope and white is specific to Metro Vancouver
Two unifying threads weave through Part D. Thread One was that the provincial government provided green infrastructure leadership during this period, with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs mantra being: Today’s expectations are tomorrow’s standards.
Thread Two was the regulatory requirement that Metro Vancouver municipalities develop integrated plans pursuant to the rainwater (i.e. streams and trees) component of the region’s Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan. This provided a reason for convening for action!
QUOTABLE QUOTES: Peer-based sharing and learning the driver for convening for action
UNTOLD STORY: Incorporation of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in November 2010
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it
“Collaboration is essential. We also have to bring people together. If we find a common purpose that we are pursuing together, there really is nothing that we cannot accomplish,” exhorted Premier Campbell.
“Look long term. Think about what is best for the future. Not for you, but for those who will follow you. Think about how we can create a better environment that others can live in and benefit from.”
“We get to make our own choices. We get to make our own future. We just have to have the vision to imagine, and the tenacity to pursue it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
TABLE OF CONTENTS: for Chronicle and for Part D
Part D is structured in twelve segments to tell the stories behind the story for the years between 2006 and 2011. It provides the reader with a sense of the level of activity and how this activity generated green infrastructure momentum in the Metro Vancouver region.
To Learn More:
Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Learn by doing, and adapt to create livable communities – convening for action in Metro Vancouver.
