Rainwater Management

banner

Tag:

Kim Stephens

    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION IN METRO VANCOUVER: “SO WHAT are the ways we inform, inspire and enable people to work together through partnerships to ACT NOW?” asked the late Erik Karlsen, former Director of Growth Strategies in the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs


    When Erik Karlsen brought people together, he would cast a magic spell. When he asked you to get involved in an initiative, of course you said yes! A thought leader and change agent, Erik Karlsen turned networking skills into an art form. He had an unparalleled network of connection with Georgia Basin communities – and most importantly, a high degree of trust with those communities. He has a special place in the history of the Partnership for Water Sustainability. was a mover and a shaker in the public service. His legacy is embodied in the continuing work of the Partnership.

    Read Article

    STORYTELLING PLATFORM FOR SHOWCASING AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH TO RAINWATER MANAGEMENT: “waterbucket.ca is a powerful communication platform. It allows Living Water Smart champions to record and share their history even as they are creating it, thus promoting peer-based learning,” stated Mike Tanner, founding chair of the intergovernmental waterbucket.ca partnership


    The vision for an ecosystem-based approach to land use originated with the Georgia Basin Initiative, a call to action in 1994 to achieve settlement, economy and ecology in balance. “To inspire improved practices in all aspects of land development and water resource management, waterbucket.ca provides universal access to stories about the champions who are leading change. The 20th anniversary of the waterbucket.ca website is an opportunity for celebration as well as reflection. waterbucket.ca has matured into a valuable legacy resource,” stated Mike Tanner.

    Read Article

    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION IN METRO VANCOUVER: “The pressure on this ecologically vulnerable area will only intensify. Will we continue with Business as Usual or implement Wise Use in the Salish Sea? The first step is to understand the complex story of the region,” Dr. Howard Macdonald Stewart, author of Views of the Salish Sea, published in 2017


    In his book, Howard Macdonald Stewart documents that, too often in his career as an advisor to the United Nations, he experienced a vital paradise that had become an environmental desert due to ‘business as usual’ decisions. He wrote the book to help readers better understand past decisions and their consequences. “Many books have been written about individual communities and industries around the great waterway, but none have examined the region as a geographical unit with its own dynamic systems, which can best be understood as an interrelated whole,” stated Macdonald.

    Read Article

    OVERCOMING FEAR AND DOUBT TO BUILD A COMMUNITY ATOP BURNABY MOUNTAIN: The UniverCity sustainable community atop Burnaby Mountain was the catalyst for “reinventing hydrology” by developing the Water Balance Methodology to protect Stoney Creek


    “I got a call from Don Stenson, Director of Planning with the City of Burnaby. He said there is one thing that I want you to never forget… STORMWATER. What does stormwater have to do with anything, I thought. I knew about contaminated soil and geotechnical issues. But stormwater? I had never encountered the word. But there is no doubt, he went on to say, that it is going to be very important that whatever you build on top of that mountain, the stormwater flows into Stoney Creek must be no worse than they are today,” stated Michael Geller.

    Read Article

    RESTORING RELATIONSHIPS WITH ECOSYSTEMS AND WITH EACH OTHER: “The point is not to write the book and say, yay that’s it. What’s next? We’re trying to promote the book because it starts the conversation about Nature-Directed Stewardship to build that connectivity back to nature,” stated Sean Markey, university professor and co-author of Nature-First Cities


    “If we are to challenge how urban development has taken place without a deep understanding of our connection to nature, what is a strategy for bringing nature back into cities? How do we put nature first without pushing people aside? The answer is that it is about bringing a body of methodology and practice as to actually how to do it. Nature-First Cities is not a heavy academic book. We wrote it to be inspirational. We challenge readers to understand why we have become so disconnected from nature and what happens when we start to rebuild that connection,” stated Sean Markey.

    Read Article

    FROM THE ARCHIVES (2016): “Ecosystem-based adaptation is a novel approach to planning and adaptation that prioritizes ecosystem services, enhancing biodiversity, as well as human health and wellbeing,” stated Julia Berry when she presented her research findings to the Metro Vancouver Stormwater Interagency Liaison Group


    Julia Berry applied original thinking to core concepts and produced an evaluation framework for Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). Her thesis is a foundation piece in a building blocks process that stretches over time. Publication of Nature-First Cities in 2024 is the latest milestone in that process. “Adapting to climate change will require a combination of approaches, from man-made infrastructure to holistic approaches. British Columbia’s Stormwater Planning Guidebook promotes a holistic approach to rainwater management,” stated Julia Berry.

    Read Article

    NATURE-FIRST CITIES AND URBAN ECOSYSTEM-BASED PLANNING: “The authors condense key lessons from a vast landscape of research into a compelling decree for cities to transform and thrive,” stated Cherise Burda, Executive Director, City Building Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University


    Nature belongs in cities, but how do we put nature first without pushing people aside? Nature-First Cities reveals the false dichotomy of that question by recognizing that people and nature are indivisible. This new book is a guide to building urban ecosystems. “Prepare to be entertained, educated, and stirred to advocate for nature-oriented cities. Brewer, Hammond, and Markey, discontent with band-aids and wishful thinking in the face of planetary crises, address the core of what threatens our survival,” stated Cherise Burda.

    Read Article

    FROM THE ARCHIVES: “Even though we no longer have the forest we once had, with Green Infrastructure we can help the urban landscape act more like a forest,” stated Dr. Jen McIntyre of Washington State University (2016)


    “At Washington State University, I study urban stormwater runoff and its impacts on aquatic animals. The really exciting thing about the research that we are doing, and the results we are getting, is that it gives people hope. Green stormwater infrastructure really can be part of the solution,” stated Jenifer McIntyre. “Our research shows that for all experimental combinations, the bioretention system ELIMINATED the toxicity. Not reduced. Completely eliminated! Rain gardens can save salmon.”

    Read Article

    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION IN METRO VANCOUVER: “Technical people have to demonstrate cost-effectiveness in order to transform political acceptability into political will to implement change and spend money,” stated former Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk, political champion and moderator for the SmartStorm Forum Series (1999-2001)


    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.

    Read Article

    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION IN METRO VANCOUVER: “Once per decade, there is an opportunity to look back to see ahead. The streams and trees component of the region’s third Liquid Waste Management Plan is a window of opportunity to reverse past failures and get it right this time,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership for Water Sustainability


    “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.

    Read Article

    Next Page >