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articles for period 2013 thru 2020

Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable: Overcoming Barriers to Watershed Plan Implementation


“Planning for capacity is proving especially important as the Roundtable looks forward to implementation of its Lower Coquitlam River Watershed plan over the coming years. The logistics of actually implementing watershed-wide initiatives spanning multiple jurisdictions make for uncharted territory in this watershed, however the Roundtable looks forward to taking on this new challenge and building the capacity needed to effectively do so,” states Marni Turek.

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Beyond the Guidebook 2015 showcases “The Story of Convening for Action in the Metro Vancouver Region”


“The Convening for Action in Metro Vancouver initiative was launched through the Green Infrastructure Partnership, in 2005,” reports Ray Fung. “Metro Vancouver experience then informed implementation of the Vancouver Island program (commencing in 2007). For the past decade, cross-pollination of ideas and approaches has been ongoing among local government leaders.”

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Beyond the Guidebook 2015: Time-Line looks at Metro Vancouver milestones through the “convening for action” lens


“Green infrastructure practices have moved from pilot project to neighbourhood and watershed scale approaches. I believe that, in some substantive way, our Green Infrastructure Partnership efforts a decade ago advanced the cause of sustainable development and moved the state of-the-art of green infrastructure to a more mainstream level,” stated Paul Ham, Past-Chair (2005-2008).

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Beyond the Guidebook 2015: Coquitlam’s Melony Burton reflects on ‘Regional Team Approach – Tackling Big Goals Together’


“We respectfully challenge each other’s ideas to come up with solutions that are far more robust than any one of us could develop in isolation. There are big, audacious visions and goals for reform in watershed health and stormwater management,” wrote Melony Burton. “Collectively, we bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, ideas and organizational resources to the table to tackle big goals together. This is how the hard stuff gets done.”

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Towards a Watershed Health Legacy: A Description of the Plan for Inter-Regional Collaboration through 2017


“The IREI has been a place for sharing ideas that inspire and educate others working towards the same objectives,” states Melony Burton. “By talking about projects and initiatives in each region, we have collectively discovered what is working and where some of the challenges still reside. I have walked away from every session with practical and exciting ideas to implement in my own organization.”

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Shifting Baseline Syndrome: “Why we all need to care about Watershed Health,” Kim Stephens informs Metro Vancouver elected representatives


“The reason we all need to care about Watershed Health is that another million people are expected to call Metro Vancouver home by 2041. The ‘salmon crisis’ in the 1990s galvanized awareness in BC that our baseline was shifting, suddenly and dramatically. In the local government setting, a learn-by-doing process is opening minds and building confidence that we can re-set the baseline. It will take time, commitment and perseverance,” stated Kim Stephens.

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FLASHBACK TO 2006: Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series launched in Metro Vancouver


“The Showcasing Innovation Series is a provincial pilot. When we talk to practitioners in local government, it doesn’t matter what the region, the message is the same…they tell us that they are too busy to communicate with their colleagues in neighbouring municipalities. Yet the irony is that there is much to learn by sharing information with each other. At the end of the day, it seems that it takes a third party to bring people together,” said Paul Ham.

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