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We share our world view through our stories and storytelling This is how we pass on our oral history. Storytelling is the way we share intergenerational knowledge, experience and wisdom. “Storytelling is the commonality of all human beings, in all places, in all times,” stated Professor Rives Collins, Northwestern University, author of “The Power of Story: Teaching Through Storytelling”.

“With an update underway in early 2023, Metro Vancouver staff reached out to me for historical perspective on the ‘streams and trees’ component of the region’s Liquid Waste Management Plan. Because I had been the chair of the advisory panel for the region’s second LWMP in 2010, this evolved into a knowledge-sharing process. What did you learn along the way, they would ask, and where did that lead each time. Because of their questions, what started out as a chronology of events grew into something much bigger in scope. The Chronicle is a tome,” stated Kim Stephens.

Ted van der Gulik was ahead of his time when he spearheaded development of the Agriculture Water Demand Model almost two decades ago. With this tool, British Columbia has been able to quantify what the province has versus what the province needs with respect to land and water for food security. “In the Fraser Valley, we are losing some of the best agricultural land in Canada and without even knowing it is happening.. All of us need to care about what happens on the land. That will require a mind-set change,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

“In 1992, I asked the BC Roundtable on the Economy and Environment to investigate the challenge of growth from a bioregional perspective. The idea for the Georgia Basin Initiative was seeded in their report titled Georgia Basin Initiative: Creating a Sustainable Future. The Roundtable findings were clear. We need to act quickly to avoid the situation faced by other large urbanizing regions, where unmanaged growth is degrading the environment and lowering the overall quality of life for the people who live there,” stated former premier Mike Harcourt.

“The starting point for EAP is Natural Asset Management. It lets local governments know the financial value of their streams as a Natural Commons Asset. EAP is a spatial view because the methodology is keyed to parcels which is as spatial as you can get. The EAP process allows local governments to transcend the numbers and explore the financial impact of land development choices. And it is also about solutions. Planners have a spatial way of looking at land use. So, I imagine that they would like to have a means of understanding a stream from a spatial point of view,” stated Tim Pringle.

“Natural Intelligence, aka NI, has emerged from Blue Ecology which itself bridges Indigenous Wisdom and Western Science. Blue Ecology is about creating a new form of knowledge by interweaving useful threads from two cultures. At the Asset Management BC conference, Michael Blackstock understands that he will be speaking to an engineering-centric audience whose world revolves around numbers and inanimate objects such as pipes and pavement. Taking nature into account is not something that comes naturally to a municipal asset manager,” stated Kim Stephens.

“In 1990, the Metro Vancouver region initiated a growth strategy embodying many Smart Growth principles. The Plan had four pillars: a Green Zone, complete communities, a compact region, and increased transportation choice. A year ago, a group of us met with regional planning staff to pass on our knowledge and experience. Our message was, use the strengths of the unique regional planning system you have. We did this in the interest of providing current staff with some personal background on the Livable Region Strategic Plan,” stated Ken Cameron.

“The RDN completed a natural assets inventory which identifies where we think all the natural assets are within the region. But we have not identified which have a definable service. With French Creek, we are hoping that we can identify some of those peripheral areas within French Creek, generate some M&M (maintenance and management) figures, and merge the inventory and asset management approaches. A measure of convergence is when you have a real number that you can use for pragmatic planning,” stated Murray Walters in explaining selection of French Creek.

“I came into the EAP process with a completely different background because my master’s degree is in Sustainable Leisure Management. So, it was a journey to get my head around the jargon and the different viewpoints and ways of thinking. This applied not only to the development of the EAP methodology but also to the different stakeholders. The 3-year transition strategy for embedding EAP at VIU has multiple layers and partnerships and there are many moving parts to keep in balance,” stated Anna Lawrence.

“Over my career, I have worked in four cities, and observed many cities across the country. This experience provides me with context. At the end of the day, good decision-making comes down to a good process. But it also relies on wisdom in terms of balanced advice. When there is a significant level of trust in technical recommendations, Councils rarely override them. Staff explains recommendations. The Council makes the decisions. Trust is fragile and can easily be broken. When trust is lost, decades of good work can be lost,” stated Pete Steblin.