Convening for Action in British Columbia

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Blue Ecology

    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “Erik Karlsen was the secret sauce who convened the fantastic streamside regulation discussions that created collegiality between municipalities,” recalls Susan Haid, adjunct assistant professor at the University of BC


    Susan Haid has played a leadership role in trailblazing an ecosystem-based approach to community planning in British Columbia, first with the City of Burnaby and then with Metro Vancouver. This approach also took root in her subsequent experience in the District of North Vancouver and the City of Vancouver. “In many ways, what I am teaching comes back to the same kind of framework around ecosystem-based planning which Erik Karlsen and others were advancing in the 1990s, and which is synonymous with watershed-based planning,” stated Susan Haid.

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    ARTICLE: “Look beyond AI, Artificial Intelligence, to solve your problems” – (Asset Management BC Newsletter, Winter 2024)


    “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.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Natural Intelligence – a new paradigm for water stewardship” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in September 2024


    “We need both a mindset change and an attitude switch to get through times of crisis. Blue Ecology points the way to water reconciliation between cultures…and with nature. Everyone seems to be focused on Artificial Intelligence, computers and the wonders of all that. But on our doorstep all along is Natural Intelligence. It is ignored because it is not understood,” stated Michael Blackstock. “Look beyond AI to solve your problems. There is this vast amount of wisdom out there that Indigenous peoples have seen forever…and that is Natural Intelligence.”

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    ARTICLE: “Critical thinking is a prerequisite for meaningful data collection!” (Asset Management BC Newsletter, Summer 2024)


    “Local governments need data that is meaningful for infrastructure asset management, but quality and usefulness have emerged as issues of paramount concern. Before collecting data, make sure you ask the right questions,” states Kim Stephens. “Be clear on why data is needed. What is the desired outcome? How will you use the information or data? Will it help you make better decisions? How much and what kind of data do you actually need? Does the cost meet the test of being affordable and effective? What are the tradeoffs between risk, complexity and cost?”

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION AT THE 2024 BC LAND SUMMIT: “The phrase attitude change goes to the heart of what the Partnership session will showcase at the Land Summit. With an attitude change, anything is possible,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Sustainability


    “At the BC Land Summit, the Partnership will deliver two 90-minute interactive sessions under the banner Going Beyond Just Doing Enough. In the first session, Richard Boase and Paul Chapman explain what the Blue Ecology vision for an attitude change looks like through the local government and stewardship sector lenses. In the second session, a team led by Tim Pringle presents the methodology and metrics for tackling the Riparian Deficit. Because local government Asset Management Plans need real financial values, EAP fills a gap,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE JOURNEY IN THE CITY OF DELTA: “Before, emphasis was on THE WHY. Now we are getting better at THE HOW,” stated Harvy Singh Takhar, Utilities Engineer with the City of Delta in Metro Vancouver


    “We have done a lot of back and forth on road designs. The streetscape enhancement ideology is being implemented at the forefront rather than through a review of utilities to see whether there any drainage concerns. The road designers are taking the initiative to incorporate curb cuts and even linear rain gardens. Their understanding of the need has evolved through internal collaboration. By working with the roads people on curb cuts, we have actually come up with variations. Our original detail was quite generic. Now we are able to implement it in various types of curb designs,” stated Harvy Takhar.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Delta’s rain garden program for streetscape revitalization” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in April 2024


    “Historically, drainage has been an afterthought in urban planning decisions. Neighbourhoods were developed without thinking about drainage in a broader watershed context. Circa 2000, however, the emphasis became let’s look at this on a watershed basis. For municipalities like Delta with well-developed infrastructure, this meant figuring out HOW to retrofit and redesign drainage systems. Road rights-of-way account for one-third of the land area of a typical urban watershed, Commitment to a rain garden program would make a material difference over time,” stated Hugh Fraser.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION AT THE 2024 BC LAND SUMMIT: “Streams need a place to be. If we cannot get our heads around that, we are not going to keep our streams,” stated Tim Pringle, a founding director and Past-President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability


    “Because nature is a system, you cannot slice and dice it. EAP recognizes this and is a financial tool to give streams the support they need to survive. EAP provides a value picture of a stream system as a land use. How are Blue Ecology and EAP interconnected? Blue Ecology emphasizes the social perspective for protecting watersheds and streams. EAP shows how to achieve that outcome. EAP builds on the ‘big idea’ that use and conservation of land are equal values. Where Blue Ecology and EAP come together is in recognizing the importance of water and ecological assets in those two contexts,” stated Tim Pringle.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The ecosystem-based approach is needed more than ever to adapt to weather extremes,” stated Susan Haid, career environmental and urban planner in BC local government, and adjunct assistant professor at the University of BC


    “In many ways, what I am teaching comes back to the same kind of framework around ecosystem-based planning which Erik Karlsen and others were advancing in the 1990s, and which is synonymous with watershed-based planning,” stated Susan Haid. “Titled Policy for a Sustainable Region, it is big picture and is about policy frameworks to influence urban design. A lot of it is case studies and reflection. But I also bring in resiliency and ecological frameworks, with lectures on what are the best practices going forward. I call these sessions SHARPENING THE EDGE.”

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Policy frameworks to shape urban design” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in April 2024


    “In late 1996, in came Erik Karlsen from the Province as the spokesperson for the first Fish Protection Act. He convened discussions with environmental, engineering and planning staff. Those were such fantastic discussions. There was a really good alignment and call to action on making streamside regulation work. It was a major advancement but a lot of stress as well. Streamside regulation was being portrayed as a huge land grab. There was a lot of back and forth to move from something that was site-specific to more of a hardline edict with the province,” stated Susan Haid.

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