Convening for Action in British Columbia

“Convening for Action is a provincial initiative that supports innovation on-the-ground. From the perspective of those leading and/or participating in regional programs, having this community-of-interest provides the opportunity to ‘tell our story’ and ‘record our history’ as a work-in-progress,” states 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!,” wrote Ian McHarg.

“The Melting Glaciers, Healthy Watersheds and You panel is about education and raising awareness. One of the foundational programs with the Whistler Lakes Conservation Foundation is our monitoring and reporting program. Monitoring and reporting aside, it is not just about the science. It is about people. We know we can’t manage what we don’t measure. That’s why quantitative lake data provide a baseline from which changes can be observed and acted on over time. However, we cannot always measure everything that matter,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.

“If you are importing food, you are importing water. It is that simple. Also, our agricultural land in BC really is not as secure as everyone thinks. You can see all kinds of activities that do not support food production that are going on within the Agricultural Land Reserve. BC has two powerful tools for achieving food security. The Agricultural Land Use Inventory program is input to the Agriculture Water Demand Model. This is a powerful combination. These tools yield accurate data about agricultural land use and water need in all regions of BC,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

“Once you start understanding where your food comes from, and what you are eating, it opens conversations into all kinds of water and land issues. Almost always, Canada’s own exposure to weather extremes are lower than the other places we depend on…especially the USA. When we look at trade and food coming into a country, we always look at the national level. This is the first time it has been done at a provincial scale. And we know where food is coming from within the USA. Our food systems need to be transformed,” stated Kushank Bajaj.

Many individuals have played important roles in the green infrastructure movement in British Columbia. But whose efforts have truly been make or break? Seven individuals stand out as first-order champions. They rose to the moment in ways that were complementary. They changed the game in profound ways when British Columbia was at forks in the road. Michael Geller is one of the seven whose leadership circa Year 2000 fuelled the early green infrastructure movement.A supporter of innovation, he put his stamp on the UniverCity sustainable community atop Burnaby Mountain

“The Cowichan Region Climate Gathering was an opportunity to celebrate the incredible climate action work in the region,” stated Cindy Lise. “The planning team aimed to strengthen the important relationships that allow us to build a stronger and more aligned collective approach to caring for our environment and increasing our resiliency to the changing world. There are many benefits to sharing, coordinating and collaborating in our own region, and the Cultural ways of being teach us that there is so much more that we could do.”

“Nature-First Cities is not a heavy academic book. We wrote it to be inspirational. We challenge readers to understand why we have become so disconnected from nature. There is that broader picture around rehabilitating that sense of connectivity with people and nature in cities. The other aspect of Nature-First Cities is the practicality. We put together what we call a 3-part process of how you actually do this. We showcase the science and methodology for doing nature-based stewardship, and what it would look like in two jurisdictions,” stated Shawn Markey.

Herb Hammond likes to remind audiences that the forest sustains us; we do not sustain the forest. I am a forest ecologist. I have worked primarily with Indigenous peoples for the past 40 years to help them advocate for a more ecosystem-based approach to using the land and protecting it. That experience has resulted in the development of what I now call Nature-Directed Stewardship. And this is incorporated in the book as well. Our planning system relies on identifying a network of ecosystems that become ecological reserves,” stated Herb Hammond.

“The collaborative nature of the working relationship between Asset Management BC and the Partnership for Water Sustainability, combined with our shared commitment to Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery, transcends our memorandum of understanding. We share a mission and represent complementary audiences and perspectives within local government. Wally Wells, founding Executive Director of AMBC, has successfully passed the baton to Arnold to carry on the mission to operationalize sustainable service delivery,” stated Kim Stephens.

The article by Arnold Schwabe is structured in four parts. First, he introduces an historical perspective. Then he foreshadows how he envisions Asset Management BC will adapt to what is happening in local government. After that, he states the “purposes” of local government. He closes with a discussion on why he believes the precursors of change are in place for a re-set. “We have no more excuses. We need to move past our anxiety and confront the problems. I would like to say taxpayers are unhappy but that would be an understatement. They are angry,” he says.

“Natural Intelligence is an idea that resonates because it is intuitively obvious. I believe it is that simple. Natural Intelligence is another angle on interweaving Western science and Indigenous knowledge because it explores what Indigenous knowledge is based on. Blue Ecology is a Natural Intelligence approach. Natural Intelligence is a form of Indigenous wisdom…which is knowledge of Natural Intelligence and how to live with it and how to be harmonious with it,” stated Michael Blackstock.