Green Infrastructure

CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION IN METRO VANCOUVER – PART E – FOR THE PERIOD 2012-2017: “Open minds, overcome inertia, implement effective standards of practice for urban watershed health in BC,” stated Richard Boase, career environmental champion in local government

April 21, 2026 - Posted in Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver (1994-2024), The Journey is Chronicled in Six Parts

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 April 21, 2026 featured the fifth installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver. Part E covers the period 2012 through 2017. This sweeping narrative weaves quotable quotes to provide the reader with a perspective on Metro Vancouver collaboration with four other regional districts bordering the Salish Sea.

While it was a defining period for inter-regional collaboration, something happened in Metro Vancouver to change the trajectory. After 2017, the gap between understanding and implementation widened rather than being bridged.

ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

The Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation brings to life an exciting period in local government “convening for action” history. The storyline weaves quotable quotes by those who were in the frontlines of the green infrastructure movement, and reveals their stories behind the story.

How do you overcome inertia? Peer-based learning plus collaboration across boundaries!

“Creating change is not easy. We talk a lot about barriers that must be overcome. But the real issue is inertia. It takes effort and energy to get everyone moving in the right direction. And it requires a willingness to take calculated risks,” emphasizes Richard Boase.

“By 2012, we had good reasons for optimism when we looked ahead. A network of champions in local government was in play. The design with nature message was sinking in. The Province had the Partnership’s back. We had political support in five regions. Overcoming inertia seemed just around the corner.”

Then what happened?

In the moment, the period 2012 through 2017 was defined by “hope and optimism.” With the perspective of time, however, the period is more appropriately characterized as one of “unfulfilled promise.” After 2017, a series of events changed the trajectory for overcoming inertia. But that is the story for another day. In the meantime…

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER – by Kim Stephens

“Why is knowing this history important?” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

“What can we learn from the period 2012 through 2017?”

“What takeaways and insights should we apply in 2026? Will we?”

Context is everything. Polarization, COVID and AI. This harmful combination impacted the trajectory for what might otherwise have been achieved through peer-based learning and collaboration across boundaries.

A decade later, restoration of urban watershed health is an “unfulfilled promise.” Why? Because inertia stymies universal, consistent implementation of effective standards of development practice.

Vision for settlement, economy and ecology in balance is still our Mission Possible

“It matters how we share information to ensure concepts are conveyed to, and understood by, the people who need to know. Solutions to the issues of our time lie in WHAT stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories. That is the value of the Green Infrastructure Chronicle as legacy resource.”

“Coming out of the 2006 through 2011 “golden period”, peer-based learning and collaboration had demonstrated what could be. When all the players know their role in relation to the goal, together we can create the future we all want. We continue to remind our audiences that is how they can achieve mission impact.”

Open minds, overcome inertia, implement effective standards of practice

“Ten guiding principles flow from local government experience gained through the Convening for Action in British Columbia program. These principles are actionable, essential ingredients for achieving Mission Possible which is settlement, economy and ecology in balance.”

STORY BEHIND THE STORY OF THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CHRONICLE: Open minds, overcome inertia, implement effective standards of practice for urban watershed health in BC

The Green Infrastructure Chronicle covers the period between 1994 and 2024. At 700-plus pages, it is a tome. By definition, tome means it is both unusually large and unusually important. The Chronicle is oral history and the storyline is a work-in-progress because the story is not finished.

Since the 1990s, drainage has been a galvanizing issue for sustainable development. The cumulative impacts of land use changes on stream function are proven. Streamside protection regulation is a fact of life. We understand how to turn problems into solutions. But we keep failing to overcome inertia.

Georgia Basin IREI builds on a long and rich history

The Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative is the foundation for the initiatives described in Part E of the Chronicle. Launched in 2012, the IREI is a unique mechanism for inter-regional and inter-governmental collaboration. The Georgia Bason Initiative seeded the idea for it in1994.

Complementary regional lenses produced a complete picture of the Urban Watershed Health issue

Entering the 2010s, watershed and stream health and rainwater management were priorities for communities on the east coast of Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland region.

Metro Vancouver, Capital Region, Cowichan Region, Nanaimo Region and Comox Valley regional districts are IREI founding members. Each region had a vision and goals for water and watershed sustainability. This commonality was the point of departure for sharing and learning from each other.

Annual milestones in a collaborative process

Communities were struggling with the question of how best to move forward on the Watershed Health issue, particularly in light of a changing climate and financial drivers to provide higher levels-of-service at reduced levels-of-cost. Inter-regional collaboration helped each region understand what the other regions are doing, what works and what does not. ‘

“Beyond the Guidebook 2015” is the centrepiece of the story about the period 2012 through 2017

Outcomes resulting from collaboration across boundaries are documented in Beyond the Guidebook 2015: Moving Towards “Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management”. But Beyond the Guidebook 2015 is much, much more.

At one level, it is a progress report on “convening for action” in the five Georgia Basin regions bordering the Salish Sea. Overarching, however, is that it includes a road map for integrating watershed thinking into municipal asset management.