Convening for Action in British Columbia

In his 1969 book, Design With Nature, Ian McHarg pioneered the concept of environmental planning: “So, I commend Design with Nature to your sympathetic consideration. The title contains a gradient of meaning. It can be interpreted as simply descriptive of a planning method, deferential to places and peoples, it can invoke the Grand Design, it can emphasize the conjunction with and, finally it can be read as an imperative. DESIGN WITH NATURE!.” His philosophy was rooted in an ecological sensibility that accepted the interwoven worlds of the human and the natural.

“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. The big idea is to try and seed a culture change and shift in climate-conservation work to one that really values the power of relationships and networks. It is about getting the flywheel going,” stated Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern. She is a thought leader in the field of network leadership.

“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. People learn from and are inspired by stories. Work is easier, more effective and more fun when people collaborate. The big idea is to try and seed a culture change and shift in climate-conservation work to one that really values the power of relationships and networks,” explained Jane Wei-Skillern.

“The Water Act had evolved over many years and had limitations. And I really appreciated that government was willing to go out on a limb to replace it. The WSA took the hard edge off the 1909 Water Act while continuing the foundation of priority rights. The WSA respects priority rights BUT there is a provision that if you get into a situation where communities rely on a small amount of water for essential household needs, there is a provision to allow that to happen. That illustrates the flexibility that we did not have under the Water Act,” stated Valerie Cameron.

A decade in the making, the Water Sustainability Act is an a transformational piece of legislation but its full potential is yet to be realized. In their shared story behind the story, Valerie Cameron and Mike Wei reveal what makes the WSA special. They were in the room during drafting of the legislation. They lived and breathed it. “The Water Act lasted over 100 years, and certain provisions were never tried because there were other pressure relief valves. The WSA is still a relatively young statute. People will realize there are tools that can be used,” stated Mike Wei.

“”We are at the point where we need to move past concepts and truly begin addressing the problems. A large part of that involves re-evaluating services and better informing taxpayers on levels of service and costs. And then making tough decisions on how to fund the services that communities deliver. Asset Management concepts have been around long enough for staff and elected officials to have an awareness of the issues. We need to truly begin addressing the struggle to implement. The theme that I am now promoting is this, just tell us your story,” stated Arnold Schwabe.

“Work with the system to move good ideas forward,” stated Carrie Baron. The third installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver covers the period 1997 through 2005. In the 2000s, leaders ventured into uncharted territory. Great changes took place. These were possible because individuals took personal risks to innovate. This sweeping narrative weaves quotable quote to tell the story of what led up to publication of BC’s Stormwater Planning Guidebook in 2002, and the impact of what followed in the wake of publication.

“Transformation is often fraught with danger for both the change agents themselves and their organizations. It is like dancing with a tiger – with the outcome frequently uncertain. How does one dance with the tiger? You do it carefully, skillfully, courageously, in tune to the same music, advancing step by natural step,” wrote Brian Nattrass and Mary Altomare, authors of Dancing with the Tiger. Their analogy provides relevant context for the third installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver. This covers the period 1997 through 2005.

“In 2018, I happened to read a report which quoted a paper by Younes Alila. So I started reading more of his work. This is significant, I thought, because lives have been lost and billions of dollars in infrastructure damage has happened. And nobody seems to care. Here we have a UBC professor of hydrology who has completely changed how forest hydrology is looked at now. And he has determined that we have been using the wrong methods to determine the prescription outcomes from forest harvesting practices. Yet we are still continuing to do the same thing,” stated Mike Morris.

“Climate change scientists have always been overly consumed with extremes. The probabilistic framework has guided them since the mid-1980s. It has evolved into what they now refer to as attribution science. It has been developed aggressively by climate change scientists. That new framework is PROBABLISTIC in nature. It uses the frequency of extremes to tell you the extent to which the atmospheric rivers of November 2021 resulted in over $17 billion of damage due to human influence. Independently, I have been developing that same framework,” stated Younes Alila.

“In the BC Interior and the Okanagan, most are passionate about water, its science, limitations, and challenges. Okanagan Lake is key to our survival. Kelowna’s Water Security Plan came out of a need to recognize that water quality, not just quantity, is critical to our path forward. It took a long time to get there. But we got it across the finish line. We are known for our drinking water, wastewater and stormwater practices. But our outcomes must also consider natural asset management, environmental flows, and source water protection,” stated Rod MacLean.