Green Infrastructure

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Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative

    HISTORY OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Many individuals have played important roles in the green infrastructure movement in British Columbia. The late Erik Karlsen was the common thread and a source of inspiration for implementing an ecosystem-based approach in the built environment,” stated Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability


    “Erik Karlsen bridged the worlds of municipal affairs and environmental stewardship. For a generation of elected representatives, his was a familiar face in the local government setting. He was influential and his influence was far reaching while he was alive. His rippling through time through the work of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in leading the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Educational Initiative. He was a thought leader and change agent. Erik Karlsen has a special place in the history of the Partnership. His memory lives on,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH: “Sustainable and resilient are complementary terms that draw attention to the future and help focus thought and action. However, use of resilient more clearly shines the spotlight on Context, Intent and Results,” stated the late Erik Karlsen, former Director of Growth Strategies in the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs (3rd in a series)


    Erik Karlsen had a remarkable impact on the shape of BC communities. This came through his influence on BC planning law and policy, his even greater influence on adoption of new planning practices, and his role in building professional networks that shaped community planning. He was tireless at building networks and at mentoring professionals. He was always where the action was – where creative and innovative energies were flowing. His ability to gravitate to that action – and to ‘morph’ into whatever current political form it was taking – was a real feature of Erik’s career.

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    CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH: “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, former 4-term mayor of Gibsons (1st in a series)


    The context for the Partnership for Water Sustainability celebrating the life of Barry Janyk is the Smartstorm Forum Series. This transformational series fueled a movement and galvanized an ecosystem-based approach to rainwater management and green infrastructure within the Georgia Basin bioregion of southwestern British Columbia. Barry Janyk, who was then mayor of Gibsons, infused the SmartStorm Forum Series with his passion. He was the political champion who carried the green infrastructure torch to the Metro Vancouver Regional Board and then to UBCM.

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    ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE SERVICE DELIVERY: “We have no more excuses. The concept has been around long enough for staff and elected officials to have an awareness of the issues. We need to move past our anxiety and confront the problems,” stated Arnold Schwabe, Executive Director with Asset Management BC


    “Inability to effectively communicate the purposes of local government as defined in legislation… Community Charter for municipalities and Local Government Act for regional districts…has had an unintended consequence – and that is, distrust of staff on the part of elected officials and taxpayers. So, what do we do? We reset. It is clearly a time of change. I think it is an appropriate time for local governments to reflect and self-evaluate the services they provide and how they provide them. This isn’t about blame. It is about putting pieces together,” stated Arnold Schwabe.

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    CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: Barry Janyk, former 4-term mayor of Gibsons, was an early political champion whose efforts as an influencer elevated the profile of the green infrastructure movement in the urban regions of BC


    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.

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    GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INFLUENCER IN THE METRO VANCOUVER REGION: “My passion is about driving positive change. Being committed to goals. Setting long-term objectives. And committing to those until they are delivered. That is what gets these big items over the finish line,” stated Melony Burton, Manager of Infrastructure Planning with the City of Port Coquitlam


    Melony Burton’s actions in driving positive change are guided by her no-nonsense approach to keeping it simple, practical and implementable. She is results-based and has a history of accomplishment with three local governments. Her responsibilities encompass the entire infrastructure portfolio. “I have leveraged my career into a position that allows me to have more influence and positive change. This came, in part, from channeling the frustration at being limited in the role I was in. When you are comfortable, you are not motivated to make a change,” explains Melony Burton.

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    ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE SERVICE DELIVERY: “If your foundation is weak, it is not going to get you anywhere. That is the nub of the problem …organizational amnesia has weakened foundations,” stated Arnold Schwabe, successor to Wally Wells as Executive Director of Asset Management BC


    “So, what do we do? Really, it is about focusing on those areas of restarting and refreshing. And everybody, especially elected officials, having the courage to start making the change that is coming. I want to believe all the things are in place for change to occur, for a reset to take place,” stated Arnold Schwabe. “We have no more excuses. The concept of Asset Management has been around long enough for staff and elected officials to have an awareness of the issues. We need to move past our anxiety and confront the problems.”

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    FLASHBACK TO 2011: First published reference to the term “Sustainable Service Delivery” in the Asset Management BC Newsletter was in the title of an article contributed by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC


    “With respect to landscape-based rainwater management, an Integrated Rainwater Management Plan is a vehicle for local government to strategically connect the dots between land use planning, development and infrastructure standards, and asset management. And by ‘designing with nature’, a local government could make a very strong case for having a higher level of service – with ‘assets’ that appreciate, not depreciate, at a lower life-cycle cost,” stated Carrie Baron of the City of Surrey.

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    1 – LESSONS FROM THE PAST INFORM THE FUTURE IN METRO VANCOUVER: Stream Systems and the Metro Vancouver region’s Liquid Waste Management Plan


    “The stream systems component of the region’s first two LWMPs drove changes in practice through the 2000s. The ecosystem-based approach emerged because of the need to remedy stream channel and corridor erosion and flooding. The unintended consequences and costs of land use practices were unfunded liabilities. Once the Minister of Environment approves an LWMP, it is legally binding. Thus, the LWMP is potentially an effective mechanism for influencing what we do within watersheds. The third LWMP is a window of opportunity to get it right,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    2 – LESSONS FROM THE PAST INFORM THE FUTURE IN METRO VANCOUVER: Protecting stream integrity and managing risks depends on going beyond just doing enough


    Between 2014 and 2022, the BC Ombudsperson published the Striking a Balance series of reports on riparian enforcement. Jay Chalke linked loss of riparian integrity to failure by local governments to employ adequate oversight of stream systems. In the late 2000s, the hollowing out of the environmental agencies meant they withdrew from former oversight and enforcement roles.

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