Green Infrastructure

The issues BC communities face in the 2020s are no different than they were in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. They just grow more complex and more urgent with each decade of ineffective action. The Chronicle is about leaders who champion settlement, economy, and ecology in balance! A key message is: learn from a history of local innovations to face today’s critical choices.

The desire to mitigate environmental impacts is a driver for a ‘green infrastructure’ movement that is water-centric and is founded on a natural systems approach. Beyond the Guidebook 2007 defined a clear distinction between natural and engineered green infrastructure. “Two complementary strategies can ‘green’ a community and its infrastructure: first, preserving as much as possible of the natural green infrastructure; and secondly, promoting designs that soften the footprint of development,” wrote Susan Rutherford.

“Collaboration between the Partnership for Water Sustainability and Asset Management BC is a success story. We are companion initiatives flowing from the Province’s Living Water Smart policy framework. Both entities were operationalized in 2010 with a mandate to implement action items spelled out in Living Water Smart. We embrace and commit to Shared Responsibility in order to move ideas and approaches forward through the 4Cs – Communicate, Cooperate, Collaborate, Coordinate,” stated Kim Stephens.

During the period 2003 through 2010, the Green Infrastructure Partnership played a prominent role in leading change and assisting with implementation of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia. “I see my years of chairing the GIP as helping to get the ball rolling and ideas disseminated, on green infrastructure, all of which has subsequently been taken up by others to a much greater degree of implementation and success. Our efforts in the first decade of the 2000s moved the state of-the-art of green infrastructure to a more mainstream level,” said Paul Ham.

The era from 1994 through 2017 was one of relentless progress in advancing an ecosystem-based approach through the Georgia Basin Initiative, the Water Sustainability Action Plan, and the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative. With the perspective of time, we can see that uptake peaked in 2011 because regional priorities changed. Profound friction defined the 2018–2024 era: a global pandemic and a toxic social climate drove a mass exodus of experienced talent. These challenges created a new reality.

“We had a vision, a work plan, board resolutions of support from five regional district partners, and funding from the federal and provincial governments. Our mission was to make real the vision for Sustainable Watershed Systems through Asset Management. Everyone saw the benefits of less flooding, less stream erosion, more streamflow when needed most. A program goal was to accelerate implementation of new practices through inter-regional collaboration. Desired outcomes would be avoidance of an unfunded liability and adaptation to a changing climate,” stated Richard Boase.

“The issues facing communities in the 2020s are no different than they were in the 2000s and 2100s. Population growth, housing affordability, weather extremes. Everything in a system is connected. The issues just grow more complex and more urgent with each passing decade. Rather than describe milestones year-by-year, we take a different tack with the chronicle of the years 2018 through 2024. We identify and elaborate on key themes that would resuscitate an ecosystem-based approach to land redevelopment in the Metro Vancouver region,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Few people know that the irrigated land area in the Fraser Valley is already 1.4 times that of the Okanagan. British Columbia would have to increase irrigated land area by 50% to attain food security. The Fraser Valley alone could provide two-thirds of the area needed,” stated Ted van der Gulik. Why include food security in this chronicle? The answer is that it is part of the bigger picture that transcends how communities drain land at the local scale. And food security and water and watershed security are inextricably linked.

“Passing on the oral history of local government is a lynchpin for mitigating risks that might otherwise result from organizational amnesia. This term describes how organizations lose their memory of why or how to do things. Context and history really do matter because it takes a career to develop perspective and understanding of what works and what does not. It is one thing to pass the intergenerational baton. It is another to accept it and embrace the experience and wisdom that goes with it,” stated Derek Richmond.

“Until we come to grips with where and how we build and manage our resources in the first place, we will find a sustainable water balance elusive and possibly not achievable. For a long time now, the issue has not been a question of knowing how to achieve a particular watershed objective. The real problem, one we may never solve, is reaching agreement on what our objectives should be. We are dealing with ecosystems and soft targets. Engineers cannot deliver sustainable watershed systems by themselves, and neither can scientists,” stated Charles Rowney.

“The Indigenous perspective is that elders have a responsibility to pass on knowledge and understanding. However, responsibility is a two-way street because minds must be open to accepting the inter-generational baton and embracing the wisdom that goes with it,” stated Michael Blackstock. Passing the baton requires a mechanism and commitment to build bridges of understanding from past to present to future. This is the reason why Michael Blackstock’s Blue Ecology message about interweaving two ways of knowing is timely for restoring balance in a wobbly world.

“Rather than just diving in, start with getting the lessons learned from what others have tried first. What is working for them. What is not. Then start your strategy. If the process is strategic and well thought out, as well as practical and implementable from the start, then it is just a matter of sticking to it until you deliver a strategy, plan or program across the finish line. Beware of getting sidetracked and going down rabbit holes. Develop a really good strategy coming out of the gate and stay super focused. You can always circle back later,” stated Melony Burton.

“It matters how we share information to ensure concepts are conveyed to, and understood by, the people who need to know. Coming out of the 2006 through 2011 golden period, peer-based learning and collaboration had demonstrated what could be. What can we learn from the period 2012 through 2017? What takeaways and insights should we apply in 2026? Will we? Why is knowing this history important?Context is everything. Polarization, COVID and AI. This harmful combination impacted the trajectory for what might otherwise have been achieved,” stated Kim Stephens.