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The goal is to turn local governments on to the practical reality that designing with nature holds out hope for communities and cities to function better, to our lasting benefit. “As the leaders appointed to design the Sustainable Region Initiative, we view you as critical partners in affecting positive change with regard to infrastructure design in the region,” stated Mayor Goldsmith-Jones.

“Conserving the existing, improving or adding ‘topsoil’ to a site is one means of achieving on-site source control of rainwater. Adequate depth of good quality topsoil on new or existing (re)developments has many benefits. Upping absorbency, the topsoil layer assists community rainwater management infiltration objectives and supports strategies to conserve water which may be in scarce supply,” states John Sidnell.

The 'Law & Policy' and 'Technical' primers are built on the experience the Green Infrastructure Partnership has gained, since 2004, in promoting green infrastructure approaches to development in BC. “Topsoil is the interface between rainwater management and drought management. Soil depth creates a sponge,” says Ray Fung.

“We realized there could be a benefit to providing municipal staff and the professional design community with a succinct statement of all of the legal, policy and technical ‘essential elements’ necessary to successfully implement a specific green infrastructure objective,” states Susan Rutherford.

“Two complementary strategies can ‘green’ a community and its infrastructure: first, preserving as much as possible of the natural green infrastructure; and secondly, promoting designs that soften the footprint of development,” explains Kim Stephens.

“Experience shows that intra-region communication among local government practitioners is the exception rather than the rule. Showcasing Innovation creates opportunities to have conversations where learning takes place,” stated Paul Ham.

APEGBC6 – Susan Rutherford (120p)
The philosophical underpinning of the green infrastructure approach is a design with nature way-of-thinking and acting. This is very intuitive. It is about ensuring that when we plan our communities, we keep the ecological systems that we rely upon in the forefront of our thinking.

Emphasis is on educating stakeholders regarding the benefits of a design with nature approach to community planning and land development, and facilitating adoption of this approach.

The coming together of a group of change agents in October 1997 set in motion a chain of events that has reverberated through time.

The seminar informed local government and land use practitioners about senior government expectations for applying a Beyond the Guidebook approach to implement ‘green solutions’ that actually protect stream health.