Archive:

2016

“When a ‘design with nature’ ethic guides community development, the drainscape becomes a rainscape,” explains Daniel Roehr, founder of the Greenskins Lab at the University of British Columbia


“DRainscapes” is a three-minute animation that explains the link between a single yard and the watershed system. “Finding ways to share the tools of our profession with wide audiences is increasingly necessary. It defines our ability to quickly adapt to our increasingly erratic environment, as citizens and cities implement the tools we have created to mitigate the impacts of development and climate change,” states Daniel Roehr.

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Ecological Accounting: “The emphasis is on ‘civil services’ that provide a municipal function,” says Tim Pringle


Tim Pringle coined the phrase ecological accounting protocol to make clear the distinction vis-à-vis ecological economics. “The purpose of the proposed accounting protocol is to enable comparison of engineered infrastructure to natural systems by means of common units of measurement and value,” states Tim Pringle. The need for measurement and valuation is paramount.”

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Introducing the “Asset Management Continuum for Sustainable Service Delivery in British Columbia”


“Implementation of asset management along with the associated evolution of local government thinking is a continuous process, not a discrete task. We needed a way to illustrate this diagrammatically, and thus communicate, what the journey by a local government to the eventual Sustainable Service Delivery destination would look like. This led us to the concept of a continuum,” stated Glen Brown. “Over time they can achieve the goal of sustainable service delivery for watershed systems.”

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What Emanuel Machado, Town of Gibsons Chief Administrative Officer, learned at the “2015 World Forum on Natural Capital”……


At the World Forum held in Scotland last November, Emanuel Machado shared the story of the Town of Gibsons Eco-Asset Strategy with an international audience. “After two exciting days, I walked away with a sense that we in Canada, and BC in particular, are heading in the right direction and, perhaps, even leading in some ways. In terms of how best to address natural capital in the context of cities and urban areas, Canada is ahead of the game.”

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Salmon-Safe BC promotes understanding and protection of the land-water connection


“Salmon-Safe is now active across the entire Pacific Northwest region with more than 38,000 hectares of urban and agricultural land certified from Northern California to British Columbia. Following introduction to BC in 2011, Salmon-Safe has certified more than 45 agricultural properties and recently in 2015 certified the first urban site in BC – the Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC) Head Office in Vancouver,” stated Naomi Robert.

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“Adapting to climate change means investing in the right infrastructure,” says former BC Premier Mike Harcourt


“Proactive recognition of the risks we face offers Canadians the opportunity to direct policies and investment in ways that support a more resilient future… we can draw upon a variety of tools located at different levels of government and authority,” says Mike Harcourt. “Ingenuity in how we fund and incentivize resilient, green infrastructure development is essential, starting now. Part of adapting to climate change means adjusting the way governments make decisions, and create policies.”

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Watershed Health: game-changers enable local government action in BC


“Looking into the future, collaboratively developed Water Sustainability Plans can integrate water and land use planning and can be combined with other local, regional or provincial planning processes to address water-related issues. “The scale and scope of each plan – and the process used to develop it – would be unique, and would reflect the needs and interests of the watersheds affected,” states Jennifer Vigano.

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Report: Canada’s municipal infrastructure at risk of rapid deterioration


The report uncovered that reinvestment rates in Canada’s municipal infrastructure are not meeting target rates, despite continued efforts on the part of municipal governments. “What this survey shows is that we need to repair our existing infrastructure. Our infrastructure is aging and we need to accelerate the rate of renewal,” stated Kealy Dedman, President, Canadian Public Works Association.

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Australian research shows that neighbourhood greenery has a positive influence on the value of a property


“If Australians are obsessed with property prices, they should welcome investment in green infrastructure, because it is unambiguously good for their real estate values. Consensus among Australia’s leading urban green space experts from the private, government and academic sectors suggests that neighbourhood greenery has a positive influence on the value of a property, and research is beginning to back that up,” wrote James Dunn.

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Australian “Green Infrastructure Economic Framework” puts a dollar value on green infrastructure


“If we make a certain investment, what are the long-term non-financial, social returns we can get from that? We’re thinking about this as an economy, and the framework is a way to try to put a dollar value on the things that can come with green infrastructure – because its role and value has not been well understood in Australia, certainly when compared to more established ‘grey’ infrastructure,” said Professor Roger Jones.

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