FLASHBACK TO 2005: Organized by Don Moore (1959-2008), the “Let It Rain Conference” Showcased a Vision for Green Infrastructure in BC
Leading Change in the Metro Vancouver Region of British Columbia
“We are working towards building a community on Burke Mountain that has an innovative and leading edge approach to rainwater management. The ‘Let it Rain’ conference is an opportunity for all of us to learn from our peers to help us better complement nature and not replace it,” explained Don Moore in 2005. At the time, Don Moore was Manager of Environment with the Wesbild Corporation, developer of the Westwood Plateau community in the City of Coquitlam, BC. That community is home to over 15,000 residents.
“As a major land owner in the area Wesbild is committed to utilizing sustainable, best management, stormwater practices in the development of its land. Wesbild’s approach will embrace evolving Low Impact Development (LID) strategies, a ‘design with nature’ philosophy, to create a greener community and achieve a sustainable interface for stream protection.”
“Our goal was to fill the room, and we did. The room capacity at Douglas College was 125 and almost every seat was filled,” stated Don Moore after the event.
The First ‘Engineered’ Rain Garden
“The late Don Moore (1959-2008) was a commonsense practitioner; he was not captive to terminology. Part of his legacy is being the catalyst for looking at drainage differently in 2004,” states Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability.
“In 2005, Don Moore had a vision for making green infrastructure the ‘new business as usual’. He seized the moment and partnered with Dr. Val Schaefer of the Douglas College Institute of Urban Ecology to organize the Let It Rain Conference. His accomplishments included constructing the first ‘engineered rain garden’ in British Columbia. This was built at the Wesbild offices on the Westwood Plateau at the end of 2004.”
“We describe it as ‘the first engineered’ because it was constructed in accordance with design guidelines developed for Metro Vancouver. Don came up with a practical way to monitor the performance of the rain garden, thereby providing some of the earliest data on the effectiveness of landscape-based measures for rainfall capture. He presented his findings at the Let It Rain Conference.”
“Don’s hallmark at this stage in his career were his ‘green infrastructure’ initiatives, which he enthusiastically promoted at each of his development sites, including Turtle Mountain (Vernon) and Burke Mountain (Coquitlam),” recalls David Desrochers, his longtime friend and former colleague at the City of Vancouver.
To Learn More:
To read the complete story posted elsewhere on the Rainwater Community-of-Interest, click on Leading Change in BC: 10 years ago, the late Don Moore showcased a vision for green infrastructure at the “Let It Rain Conference”.