Convening for Action in British Columbia

“Convening for Action is a provincial initiative that supports innovation on-the-ground and has undertaken regional demonstration initiatives and programs in four regions. From the perspective of those leading and/or participating in regional programs, having this community-of-practice provides the opportunity to tell our story and record our history as a work-in-progress,” stated Ray Fung. “It will turn ideas into action by building capacity and understanding regarding integration of long-term, strategic planning and the implementation of physical infrastructure.”

“Future planners, engineers, scientists, politicians and citizens alike will be called upon to demonstrate both vision and pragmatism, working as a team towards consensus, commitment and collaboration for the common good. Such collaboration is essential and must cross all political and community boundaries given that climate change is no respecter of such creations. The Partnership has accepted this challenge and its implementation,” stated Eric Bonham.

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.

One of the challenges of our time is that “loss of continuity” is happening just when continuity of understanding is needed most. Without an understanding of what went before, those who follow will not know what they do not know. This is why stories behind the stories are important. We share our world view through our stories and storytelling. It is not the technical stuff that carries the day. It is the stories about the technical stuff that carry the day. Stories unite us. We learn from stories. One must look back to see ahead. But it is more than that. It is also the ability to adapt.

“After the Climate Gathering, we had stacks of evaluation and I wrote a report. We really listened to participants and what they wanted to see moving forward, what the event meant to them. What we heard was that nobody wanted it to be a one and done. So, as a community and a nitty gritty planning team, literally that event was pulled together by the collaborative process of partnerships that got us the little bits to make one big bit. We are all coming from different places. To develop a terms of reference, we asked ourselves three questions,” stated Cindy Lise.

Grounded in the cultural ways of the Indigenous partners, the Cowichan Region Climate Gathering originated as an outreach initiative of the regional district’s watershed protection program. It morphed into something much, much bigger. “Hope lies within the spheres of influence for local governments — whether they are Indigenous OR non-Indigenous,” stated Michael Blackstock. The event brought together champions from three worlds…local government, First Nations communities, stewardship groups…to learn from each other, unite and build relationships through a network of networks.

Zbigniew Grabowski has made the leap from university professor and researcher to executive director of a watershed alliance. “My work is about a new paradigm that addresses root causes of water quality issues by moving away from the modernist project of humans as separate from nature. Because academic systems are not really lined up with deep transformative action, I was not able to develop an intersectoral program based on the doctoral work that I had done.I just needed to jump ship and start swimming with the current that I want to swim with.”

“There are so many benefits associated with watercourses that go well beyond moving water from A to B. This understanding is reflected in our Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. Without our watercourses, Surrey would feel different. It would not be the place that it is. In the uplands, it is the biodiversity piece. And going beyond just setting a corridor to ask, how can we enhance that corridor to maximize the biodiversity value it bring. We have been fortunate to have political support to allow us to try things,” stated Samantha Ward.

Political commitment is a theme that weaves through and permeates the stories behind the stories of innovators who have led by example. Without leadership at the top, plus everything else being in alignment, change is unlikely. Staff champions in local government can only carry things so far. Most of all, there must be political commitment. “Elected officials saw rainwater management as something positive we could grab onto and run with. And this helped create champions and build committee support for green infrastructure,” stated former mayor Darrell Mussatto.

“My role is that of a regional coordinator. I coordinate groups and distribute the training and help coordinate people to actually do the monitoring. The idea is that you could have other regional coordinators around the province or anywhere applying this model that we have created. We hope to be able to expand the network in the future. But it is taking longer than we thought it would. It is an adaptive approach to see what works, learn the lessons, and then figure out how to overcome challenges that we have experienced along the way,” stated Ally Badger.

“As Parliamentary Secretary, I had a visionary document and strong personal support from Minister Marzari at the top,” stated Joan Sawicki. “And I had Erik Karlsen’s on-the-ground connections with Basin communities and their issues. All I had to do was run with it. And that’s what we did! Most of my work was just going out to communities. We were a very small staff – Judith Cullington, Charmaine Hall, and Brent Mueller. We were a small group but, with Erik’s energy and access to just about everybody everywhere, he created the illusion of something much larger.”

Erik Karlsen had a remarkable impact on the shape of BC communities. For a generation of elected representatives, he was a familiar face in the local government setting. Erik Karlsen had an unparalleled network of connection with Georgia Basin communities – and most importantly, a high degree of trust with those communities. The legacy of Erik Karlsen is rippling through time through the work of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in leading the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Educational Initiative, successor to the Georgia Basin Initiative.

“Living Water Smart was a government commitment plan, 17 years ago with 50 commitments signed off by the government of the day. Many public servants have worked over many years to deliver on those commitments. But government administrations change, ministers change, priorities change, budgets change. That process carries on its own world. What matters is that the Living Water Smart story has stood the test of time and continues to resonate. Everybody pulled a piece of yarn out of that plan and knit a sweater,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.