Green Infrastructure

banner

Tag:

Peter Law

    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PERIOD FROM 1997 THRU 2005: “The Stormwater Planning Guidebook’s premise that land development and watershed protection can be compatible represented a radical shift in thinking in 2002,” stated Peter Law, Chair of the Guidebook Steering Committee


    “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.

    Read Article

    TIER ONE CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: Bill Derry, one of the first stormwater utility managers in the USA, convinced his local government colleagues to co-fund creation of the Center for Urban Water Resources Management at the University of Washington


    “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.

    Read Article

    TIER ONE CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “When I reflect on the history of ‘green infrastructure’ in BC, much of what has transpired over the past three decades can be traced back to who was in the room on October 10, 1997 at the UBCM workshop in Richmond,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC


    “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.

    Read Article

    TIER ONE CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: In 1988, the inaugural Real Estate Foundation Board of Governors appointed Tim Pringle as their first Executive Director, a position he held for 20 years. In 1991, the Governors adopted his recommendation to adopt a philosophy that “use and conservation of land are equal values”


    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.

    Read Article

    TIER ONE 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.

    Read Article

    TIER ONE CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Michael Geller is another outsized personality. He put his stamp on the UniverCity sustainable community atop Burnaby Mountain. This is the project that had the profile to put the Metro Vancouver region on the international map as a leader,” stated Kim Stephens


    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.

    Read Article

    TIER ONE CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: The Ministry of Agriculture’s Ted van der Gulik initiated and led the inter-governmental Water Balance Model Partnership because the water balance consequences of urbanization in the uplands are felt in the agricultural lowlands!


    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.

    Read Article

    RIPARIAN AREA REGULATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: With development of EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, the Partnership for Water Sustainability honours the memory and legacy of the late Erik Karlsen who did so much for streamside protection in British Columbia


    The 2014 investigation and Striking a Balance report by the BC Ombudsperson identified “significant gaps between the process the provincial government had established when the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation was enacted and the level of oversight that was actually in place.” Erik Karlsen was concerned about the Ombudsperson’s findings. In 2015, he created a matrix to explain how to integrate two foundational concepts – Daniel Pauly’s “Shifting Baseline Syndrome” and Richard Horner and Chris May’s “Road Map for Protecting Stream System Integrity” – that provide a path forward for restoring riparian integrity.

    Read Article

    DESIGN WITH NATURE GOING FORWARD (GRAPHIC): Erik Karlsen’s “integrating matrix” is a foundation piece for EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, which is a pillar for asset management that protects and restores riparian area integrity


    A stream in a natural condition is supported by a riparian ecosystem. In urban, suburban and rural settings around BC, however, riparian ecosystems have been reduced to riparian zones. Diminution due to fragmentation results in a loss of a riparian network’s ecological services. This has become the norm because the intent of BC’s Riparian Areas Protection Regulation has been compromised over time. The consequence of land use intrusion is a Riparian Deficit. EAP provides local governments with a methodology, metrics and a path forward to tackle the Riparian Deficit and thus restore riparian integrity.

    Read Article

    LAND DEVELOPMENT AND WATERSHED PROTECTION CAN BE COMPATIBLE: “1997, a presentation on the science of land use change by Kim Stephens and Bill Derry helped an inter-ministry working group realize that we needed more than a setback to protect aquatic habitat. The science shows that communities also need to tackle what is happening on the land that drains to streams,” stated Peter Law, Chair of the former Guidebook Steering Committee, on the 20th anniversary of Guidebook publication (June 2022)


    “I found the opportunity to ‘look beyond the stream’ and address poor water quality from drainage runoff in the Waste Management Act. The opportunity resided in the non-point source provision for Liquid Waste Management Plans. The term non-point source pollution was used by my colleagues in the Waste Management Branch to highlight poor quality of runoff from developed and/or developing lands. But this provision was not being applied to the issue of how land is developed. So, I asked my colleagues, why not use this mechanism to connect the dots between changes to the land and impacts on streams,” stated Peter Law.

    Read Article

    Next Page >