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“What the cell is to the body, the site is to the region.” A quarter-century ago, that Patrick Condon quotable quote was a call to action to fundamentally change drainage engineering practice in British Columbia from Stormwater Management to interdisciplinary Rainwater Management. Patrick Condon thinks on a grand scale. Recognizing the need for collaboration on the ground as a fundamental part of designing sustainable communities, he pioneered public engagement methods. One of his many claims to fame is his skillful use of charrettes.

The Real Estate Foundation is a creation of the Province. Adoption of the philosophy that ‘use and conservation of land are equal values’ provided me with the mandate and authority to leverage Real Estate Foundation grant funding to effect positive land use change. That is the context for Real Estate Foundation leadership as a co-funder of the Headwaters Project in East Clayton. Process issues could have derailed the Headwaters Project. But the Real Estate Foundation provided the workaround and Erik Karlsen made the workaround work,” stated Tim Pringle.

In 1999, Barry Janyk had a vision which morphed into the SmartStorm Forum Series. He chaired the inter-governmental committee which initiated the series. He added political profile in his moderator role for the series. His tone-setting presentation to kickoff each event was titled: The Political Consequences of Doing the Wrong Thing: Why Elected Officials Must Consider Smart Development. “Technical people have to demonstrate cost-effectiveness in order to transform political acceptability into political will to implement change and spend money,” stated Barry Janyk.

The Pacific Northwest is a part of North America acutely sensitive to environmental issues. And with the ‘salmon crisis’ being such a dominant issue, people wanted action rather than more talk. There was a commitment by all those involved in the Burnaby Mountain project to leave a legacy for the next generation. “One of the real advantages we had at UniverCity is that I had the budget to try out new ideas. So, as far as I was concerned, Kim Stephens could do whatever he wanted to protect Stoney Creek,” stated Michael Geller.

Two game-changing provincial water tools for use in different settings are part of Ted van der Gulik’s incredible legacy. One is the Agricultural Water Demand Model suite of tools; the other is the urban-centric Water Balance Model for BC. “What exactly is it that we want to do? With the answer to that question clear in our minds, we can work backwards and figure out the steps in a plan to make it happen,” states Ted van der Gulik. That bold way of thinking and doing is the context for Ted’s actions in bringing together an inter-governmental partnership.