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“If we can at least grow the literacy of the population, who can then confidently demand certain things from their councils, that is bottom-up and very organic. We are using the upcoming tour for World Green Roof Day as a way to test where Vancouver civic political parties stand on green roofs. World Green Roof Day is on June 6 every year. It is basically a social media wave that starts in Australia, with the hashtag #WGRD following the sun around the world, ending here, more or less! It is a great way for anyone to generate green roof pride in our region,” stated Christine Thuring.

“In this year of the election, I am particularly encouraged by the fact that the mayors in the Metro region have spoken out. The mayors are hearing it and their constituents are now hearing it because their constituents are in the neighbourhoods and they are affected by it. It is a unique opportunity because it hits everybody literally where they live, literally where they live! That creates a very dynamic crucible politically for us because livability is on the table, definitely on the table. Everybody is thinking about this now. So everybody is going to be interested,” stated Patrick Condon.

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. “We must all be leaders who selflessly have a vision, and we must then act to make the vision a reality. The Board approved realigning the goals, strategies and actions in the updated Liquid Waste Management Plan with policies and positions in Living Water Smart,” stated Lois Jackson.

“Decision makers need to have a picture of what regional government and regional planning have been able to achieve. We should expect that changes would be made with an understanding of what the current system would be capable of achieving. Since the creation of the Livable Region Strategic Plan, the focus and content of regional planning have evolved in response to change. This is a beneficial process that has brought new ideas and new participants. It has strengthened the impact and permanence of the regional planning process,” stated Ken Cameron.

“Ken Cameron is giving back. He is putting the story behind the story of regional planning on the record. He is passing on knowledge through op-eds, conference presentations, and university lectures. He explains that in 1996 Municipal Affairs Minister Darlene Marzari deemed that the Livable Region Strategic Plan for Metro Vancouver had been prepared and adopted under the provisions of the Province’s growth strategies legislation. Unlike Ontario and other provinces, he adds, BC does not have an approval role with respect to local government plans,” stated Kim Stephens.

“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.

Christina Gemino titled her master’s thesis The Silent Death of Agriculture in Metro Vancouver. “The non-sanctioned expansion of industrial use on agricultural land was a factor that drove my research. It can forever change the agricultural land base. There was a 121% increase in ALR parcels with industrial use from 2016 through 2022. It should be ZERO percent. You can build warehouses and industrial stuff pretty well anywhere you have a piece of property. You cannot build a farm by bringing in soil. We have to find other places for this other stuff,” stated Christina Gemino.

“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.

In “Views of the Salish Sea”, Howard Macdonald Stewart documents that, too often in his career as an advisor to the United Nations, he experienced a vital paradise that had become an environmental desert due to ‘business as usual’ decisions. He wrote the book to help readers better understand past decisions and their consequences. “The pressure on this ecologically vulnerable area will only intensify. Will we continue with Business as Usual or implement Wise Use in the Salish Sea? The first step is to understand the complex story of the region,” stated Macdonald.

“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.