CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PERIOD FROM 2006 THRU 2011: “When convening for action, our goal is to inspire practitioners to focus on the best possible outcomes by designing with nature, not destroy it,” stated Kim Stephens
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 1st 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: Convening for Action in Metro Vancouver
“During the period 2006-2011, the leadership teams for the intergovernmental Water Balance Partnership and the cross-sector Green Infrastructure Partnership aligned efforts and collaborated to deliver program elements under the umbrella of convening for action,” wrote Kim Stephens, author of the Green Infrastructure Chronicle and Executive Director with the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.
“With hindsight, this was a golden period when the influence of the Georgia Basin Initiative peaked. Success built on success and the successes came in rapid succession. There was a shared sense of purpose, optimism and commitment.”
“It was a defining period for making a difference regionally through the power of collaboration, partnerships, and alignment of levels of government.”
“Corino Salomi of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DF) and I served on the leadership teams for both partnerships. I was there in my program coordinator role for the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia.”
“In the 2000s, Gordon Campbell had our back. He gave us the opportunity to show how on-the-ground partnerships could inform provincial policy. And we ran with it. The Water Sustainability Action Plan was the proof of the pudding.
“The Action Plan was my responsibility to develop and deliver. It was the springboard to Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan. The Living Water Smart VISION transcends government and guides the work of the Partnership to this day.”
Green Infrastructure Partnership Steering Committee
Absent from the steering committee photo below are Dale Wall and Meggin Messenger of the Ministry of Community Development.
Table of Contents for Part D
“We structured Part D in eleven segments to tell the stories behind the story for the years between 2006 and 2011. It provides the reader with a sense of the level of activity and how this activity generated green infrastructure momentum in the Metro Vancouver region,” concludes Kim Stephens.
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