CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PERIOD FROM 2006 THRU 2011: Ted van der Gulik had a vision and provided leadership when he brought three levels of government to the table in July 2002 to create an intergovernmental partnership to develop the Water Balance Model
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story.
The edition published on February 24, 2026 featured the fourth installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver. Part D covers the period 2006 through 2011. This sweeping 116-page narrative weaves quotable quotes to provide the reader with a sense of the level of activity and how this activity generated green infrastructure momentum in the Metro Vancouver region.
How would the Metro Vancouver region absorb another one million people and remain livable? That was the defining question in the 2000s. The Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation brings to life an exciting period in local government “convening for action” history. There was critical mass to implement changes in development practices.
The following extract is from Section 1 of Part D and is the 4th in a set of 4 extracts. Section 1 is titled Learn by Doing, Adapt to Create Livable Communities.
1. LEARN BY DOING, ADAPT TO CREATE LIVABLE COMMUNITIES: Roadmap – What the reader will learn
“The spotlight in Part C shone brightly on the initial success of the Water Balance Model Partnership. In Part D, the story of what the Green Infrastructure Partnership set in motion is front-and-centre. After 2008, these companion initiatives became pillars of the outreach for the Province’s Living Water Smart and Green Communities programs,” wrote Kim Stephens, author of the Green Infrastructure Chronicle and Executive Director with the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.
Convergence of two partnerships
“The two partnerships were formed within a year of each other, in 2002 and 2003. The Water Balance Model (WBM) Partnership came first because this scenario modelling tool was developed as an extension of the Stormwater Guidebook,” states Ted van der Gulik.
“Our initial successes raised awareness and interest such that the UBCM leadership gave us a platform at their 2003 UBCM convention. This resulted from the advocacy of Gibson Mayor Barry Janyk. Kim Stephens asked Chilliwack’s Dipak Basu to help tell our WBM story.”
Alignment led to creation of a legal entity
“Chuck Gale was in the audience. He saw the opportunity to leverage what we were doing to accelerate green development. He approached Kim and their conversation led to formation of the Green Infrastructure Partnership once Erik Karlsen, Dale Wall and I got involved,” continues Ray Fung.
“Bringing people together created energy and we achieved one milestone after another. Each turning point in the convening for action process added to our understanding of what Erik Karlsen said we needed to do to lead change. By 2010, it was clear to us that the time had come to create and consolidate the various partnerships within a legal entity, namely the Partnership for Water Sustainability.”
Roadmap for Part D of the Chronicle
To guide the reader, 18 milestones during the period 2006-2011 are organized under theme areas. These are building blocks. Each is a section in Part D of the Chronicle as shown in the roadmap below.
To Learn More:
Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Learn by doing, and adapt to create livable communities – convening for action in Metro Vancouver.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/01/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Kim-Stephens-on-Learning-by-Doing-Part-D_2025.pdf