Archive:

2014

Managing Water Workshop draws attention to "VI 2065: The Vision for Vancouver Island in 50 Years"


“We designed the Managing Water Workshop to spark a conversation and ultimately inform a shared vision for Vancouver Island. To achieve any resemblance of food security for Vancouver Island will require a major shift in the way we are managing our agriculture lands today, how we protect them in the future, and acceptance of the need to secure water for the production of food on these lands,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

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FLASHBACK TO 2009: The Future is Now Because Yesterday’s Policies and Expectations for Green Communities are Evolving into Today's Standards and Practices


Provincial programs provide direction as to where the Province wants to go with Living Water Smart and the Green Communities Initiative. “At the end of the day, planners and engineers and other disciplines must come together to determine the issues and solutions. No statute will help them do that. Living Water Smart is about motivating and inspiring everyone to embrace shared responsibility,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.

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Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia posts PowerPoint presentations for "2014 Managing Water Workshop"


“Our collaboration with the Irrigation Industry Association paid dividends and opened eyes. Participants from local government were exposed to a practical side of water use in the urban environment. It gave them an appreciation of the impact on municipal, potentially either good or bad, depending on whether outdoor irrigation systems are well-constructed or poorly constructed,” stated Peter Law.

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Managing Water Workshop: Strong technical program plus tradeshow attract large crowd to Victoria venue


Drawing from both the local government and irrigation industry sectors, the workshop registration total was 105. “The turnout from the irrigation industry in providing a strong tradeshow component is a clear indicator of the value that they saw in supporting the workshop. The strength of the technical program attracted an attendance from up and down the east coast of Vancouver Island, as well as from the mainland,” stated Karen van der Gulik.

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"CAVI has had another successful year," writes Chair Derek Richmond in the 2014 Annual Report of the Partnership for Water Sustainability


“Since the launch of CAVI in 2006, the primary focus has been information sharing and education. The depth of experience within the CAVI group has enabled it to intuitively know what works and why. By building on the essential concept of thinking and planning on a watershed basis, timing is right to integrate and expand this concept as the foundation of the ‘vision’ for Vancouver Island,” wrote Derek Richmond.

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In 1995, the University of BC’s Dr. Daniel Pauly coined the phrase "Shifting Baseline Syndrome" to explain why environmental degradation is incremental


“Every generation will use the images that they got at the beginning of their conscious lives as a standard and will extrapolate forward. And the difference then, they perceive as a loss. But they don’t perceive what happened before as a loss. You can have a succession of changes. At the end you want to sustain miserable leftovers. And the question is, why do people accept this?,” stated Daniel Pauly.

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Water and the Urban Environment – Adapting to a Changing Climate


“Soil depth is a primary water management tool for use by local government to adapt to a changing climate. A well-designed landscape with healthy topsoil helps communities through both wet and dry times. Soil is a sponge. It holds and slowly releases rainwater. This can limit runoff during rainy weather; and reduce irrigation water need during dry weather,” states David Hislop.

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Agriculture and Water – How Will Climate Change Impact the Future on Vancouver Island?


“Agricultural Land Use Inventory data facilitates local government planning for agriculture, monitoring of trends in their communities, and evaluation of proposed regulations. It has been used to determine potential conflicts along Urban/ALR edges, crop practices along riparian areas with endangered species, and consequences of proposed changes to setbacks and minimum lot sizes,” states Corrine Roesler.

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FEATURED PRESENTER: "It is no accident that we gather around water coolers and watering holes," says Angus McAllister, pollster and researcher


“Through my polling research, I have learned that people are hardwired to water, at both the functional and emotional levels. It is no accident that we like to gather around water coolers and watering holes. Water brings people together. It is a natural starting point for any conversation about common interests, and by extension, our shared future. Stories unite us. Water does it,” states Angus McAllister.

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"Interest in the vision for moving towards settlement, economy and ecology in balance provides an incentive to attend our AGM,” says Tim Pringle, Past-President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability


“We continue to influence practitioners with thought provoking truths: use and conservation of land are equal values; healthy human settlement systems and ecological systems are inter-dependent; and, settlement in balance with ecology can lead to enduring prosperity. We make available tools and support services that enable practitioners to focus on water sustainability as an essential form maker of our communities,” states Tim Pringle.

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