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Georgia Basin inter-regional education initiative

    CONFRONT THE PROBLEMS, OPERATIONALIZE SUSTAINABLE SERVICE DELIVERY: “Arnold Schwabe has written an outstanding article. He sets the scene, defines the problem, and closes with a call to action. The way he weaves his storyline makes it a ‘must read’ article,” stated Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia


    “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.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: Living Water Smart in British Columbia: “Confront the problems, operationalize sustainable service delivery!” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in February 2025)


    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.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Counterbalance Artificial Intelligence with Natural Intelligence!” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in February 2025)


    “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.

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    REMEMBERING BARRY JANYK, POLITICAL CHAMPION FOR SMART DEVELOPMENT: “The legacy of Barry Janyk is that his efforts elevated our profile and credibility with local government elected representatives. In the 2000s, he got us onto their radar screen and that enhanced our ability to influence them,” recalled Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC


    The edition of Waterbucket eNews published on January 28, 2025 celebrated the contributions of the late Barry Janyk (1952-2024), former 4-term mayor of the Town of Gibsons. He was outspoken, funny and fearless in following his passions and advocating for the causes he believed in. One of those causes was “Smart Development”. Because he believed in doing the right thing, he played a leadership role in setting the green infrastructure movement in motion a generation ago. He was an influencer in a profound and public way. He helped change history.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Remembering Barry Janyk, political champion for Smart Development” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in January 2025


    Bruce Milne was elected mayor of Sechelt the same year Barry Janyk was first elected to council, in 1996. “He held us all to account for the next three years, to make sure we really did make some change,” said Bruce Milne. “Elected officials who weren’t as confident sometimes found a lack of space left over for less confident people to be difficult for them, but it was never a problem when he was actually advocating for Gibsons or the Sunshine Coast.” Barry Janyk’s environmentalism was a pillar not only of his life, but his time in office.

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    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “Knowing what we know about the past three decades, the re-set is not as simple as going from an X to a tick mark in each column of the table of cascading factors,” stated Ray Fung, a past-chair of the Green Infrastructure Partnership


    Nine cascading factors that must be in alignment to implement a course correction. At the top of the list of cascading factors is political leadership and commitment to the shared vision. Leadership boils down to a willingness to act and bring together other champions willing to provide the type of energy and organizational drive that overcomes inertia. “The current reality is that you have to build new political commitment and basically start all over again in a new crucible phase…where you coalition-build to develop a new shared vision, etc.,” stated Ray Fung.

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    WILL 2025 BE THE YEAR OF THE RE-SET AS DECISION-MAKERS BUILD ON LESSONS FROM THE PAST? – “Deep knowledge is rapidly being lost. Organizational amnesia is the consequence, and this creates risks and liabilities for communities,” stated Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in the season opener for Waterbucket eNews


    “Re-set means implement a course correction so that governments would maintain and manage engineered and natural assets as interconnected components within a system that includes the people who live there. What would success look like? At a high level, the community writ large would buy-in to the need and financial case for funding SOLUTIONS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE, EFFECTIVE AND PRAGMATIC. That is the point of departure for setting in motion changes that are for the common good,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia Will 2025 be the year of the re-set?” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in January 2025


    “Like it or not we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history. And everyone here will ultimately be judged – will ultimately judge himself – on the effort he has contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which his ideals and goals have shaped that effort,” stated Robert Kennedy in 1966. Considered his greatest speech, it popularized the phrase ”may you live in interesting times”. The phrase is ironic because “interesting” times are usually times of trouble.

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    DOWNLOADS FOR THE FALL 2024 SEASON OF THE LIVING WATER SMART SERIES: “Storytelling is among the oldest forms of communication,” stated Professor Rives Collins, author of ‘The Power of Story: Teaching Through Storytelling’


    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”.

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    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “Few people know how important the Fraser Valley is to food security for British Columbia. The question is…does anyone care, really?” – Ted van der Gulik, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability, and former Senior Engineer in the Ministry of Agriculture (6th installment in a preview series)


    “The fertile Fraser Valley is some of the best farmland in Canada and can grow a lot of the food that we need. To get to food security in BC, we need to increase the irrigated area from 200,000 to 300,000 hectares. If we invest in the infrastructure needed to supply water from the Fraser River, one-third of the additional 100,000 could be provided in the Fraser Valley. But we are slowly losing our land base for growing food. And it is not because land is coming out of the Agricultural Land Reserve. Rather, it is all about what is happening on the land within the ALR,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

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