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“Zooming out to view the past three decades as a whole, the period 1997 through 2005 was the crucible for the golden period that followed from 2006 through 2011. The era is bracketed by the passage of the Fish Protection Act in 1997 and the Green Infrastructure Consultation Workshop held in May 2005. These were literally watershed moments.A large cast of characters was involved. We were venturing into uncharted territory. We pushed the boundaries of knowledge and experience. We learned together,” stated Kim Stephens.

British Columbia’s Fish Protection Act in 1997 was a response to the Coho salmon crisis. When it was enacted, it established a North American first because it did what nobody else had done. It established a provincial regulation to protect stream corridors in urban areas. “What we saw was, things will get worse if we do not change our ways. ‘The combination of streamside regulation and Washington State research directly influenced the stormwater component of the region’s first Liquid Waste Management Plan,” stated Robert Hicks.

“Transformation is often fraught with danger for both the change agents themselves and their organizations. It is like dancing with a tiger – with the outcome frequently uncertain. So why would you want to engage in a dance with a force that would as soon eat you as dance with you? The underlying reason is simply that our common future depends upon it,” wrote Brian Nattrass and Mary Altomare, authors of Dancing with the Tiger. Their analogy provides relevant context for the third installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver for the years from 1997 to 2005.

In a magazine article titled Stormwater Paradigms, Andy Reese insightfully looked back at why we pursued stormwater management in ways which unknowingly – at the time – foreclosed opportunities for more sustainable, livable communities. Andy Reese traced nine such shifts against the backdrop of social change. “We only reluctantly change our ways and agree with someone else’s paradigm,” observed Andy Reese. The article inspired the BC team of Erik Karlsen, Robert Hicks and Kim Stephens to collaborate with Andy Reese to introduce a tenth paradigm.

“In 1990, the Metro Vancouver region initiated a growth strategy embodying many Smart Growth principles. Two former premiers, Mike Harcourt and Gordon Campbell, were planning influencers. When I was manager of policy and planning, I would tell my staff that we have been put in charge of the planning for the life support system for this region. We cannot own it but we can leave it to our children. To build a better place, we need people who understand the state of mind that lay behind the success of the Livable Region Strategic Plan,” stated Ken Cameron.

“Fundamental change in the scope of rainwater and stormwater planning, development standards, construction and operations will only happen if there is a broad understanding as to why the changes are needed, what they are, and how they can be practically implemented. Publicly-supported decision-makers will determine the timing and phasing of change. The ability of consumers and the development community to adapt will then set the pace of change, which will not take place with a single event. Success in one area will be transferred to others,” wrote Erik Karlsen.

“With the change in provincial government in 2001, the Guidebook steering committee recognized the need to be bold yet strike a balanced tone. We were successful and had support that cascaded down from the highest levels. Prior to 2002, the lack of a science-based bridge meant there was a disconnect between policy objectives and site design practices. The Guidebook integrated breakthroughs in hydrological and biophysical understanding to bridge the gap between policy and site design. It introduced achievable Performance Targets,” stated Peter Law.

Many individuals have played important roles in the green infrastructure movement. “A lot of this was off the sides of people’s desks originally. And then we turned it into something real…and real valuable,” stated Ed von Euw, former Senior Engineer at Metro Vancouver. But whose efforts were make or break during the crucible period? Seven individuals stand out for their ability to change the game. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. That expression captures the collective contribution of the group of seven. They are described as Tier One champions.

“Working with local governments in British Columbia in the late1990s, I came up with the phrase ‘a shared vision of science-based watershed management’ to guide our work. A variety of perspectives need to be integrated in reaching consensus on shared achievable goals for watershed and stream corridor management. For this reason, we must understand how adults take up new ideas,” stated Bill Derry. For 20 years, he chaired the Washington State stormwater committee. They framed eight key questions. These defined areas of research by graduate students.

“My collaboration with Erik Karlsen played out in multiple ways during the period 1997 through 2005. High profile among these was Patrick Condon’s vision for the Headwaters Project in East Clayton. Erik brought the three of us together for a meeting at the Simon Fraser University campus in downtown Vancouver. Headwaters was still very much at the idea stage. I left the meeting committed to help Patrick bring the idea to life. That’s the kind of magic spell that Erik Karlsen cast when he brought people together,” recalled Kim Stephens.