Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Watershed Health and You – “It is important to keep engaging with community. Communication is key,” stated Dr. Gilles Wendling, when he explained the innovation in engaging the community in Englishman River applied research to better understand surface water-groundwater interaction (April 2019)
Note to Reader:
The Parksville 2019 Symposium has been captured in its entirety in a comprehensive set of videos that have been uploaded to the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s YouTube Channel for ease of access by those who are curious and/or interested to learn about what transpired on April 2-3-4 in Parksville, British Columbia.
Module B on Day One was titled ‘Watershed Health and You’. A 5-person team primed the audience with overview-type presentations. The Englishman River was selected as the Day One panel theme because it is a great story of long-term collaboration; and with the MVIHES stewardship group playing a catalyst role to facilitate restorative outcomes.
GILLES WENDLING’S TOPIC: Groundwater & Surface Water Interaction in the Englishman River Watershed: One Water – Always Moving.
In addition to Gilles Wendling (surface water-groundwater interaction), the panel comprised Peter Law (stream stewardship), Vaughan Figueira (municipal water supply), Domenico Iannidinardo (forestry), and Julie Pisani (water quality).
“Flux is a core concept because an aquifer is not an underground lake. Water is always moving. Community involvement in a monitoring program was a foundation piece, and one of several innovations, for characterizing surface and groundwater interaction in the Englishman system – e.g. the connections between land, aquifers and river are illustrated using ‘butterfly’ images,” stated Gilles Wendling.
View Gilles Wendling’s 8-minute presentation:
What Do You Wonder?
The story of Parksville 2019 is told in a magazine-style narrative titled “RE-CAP AND REFLECTIONS”.
The “re-cap and reflections” document was written for two audiences – first and foremost, for those who attended Parksville 2019 and wish to have an accessible and quotable reference document at their fingertips, so that they can share the story with others; and secondarily, for those who have heard about Parksville 2019 and are curious to learn more about the ‘story behind the story’, so that they may understand why this event represents a watershed moment for so many who were there.
About Parksville 2019
Close to 200 delegates attended this 3-day event. Parksville 2019 comprised a field day followed by a 2-day symposium. The program objectives for Parksville 2019 helped to inform and establish expectations. It was a matter of providing context and then being clear and succinct about the desired takeaways.
To provide relevance for streamkeepers, the theme for Day One was Sustainable Stream Restoration. To capture the attention of those in local government, the theme for Day Two was Restorative Land Development.
To Learn More:
Download a PDF copy of the Re-Cap and Reflections document at: https://waterbucket.ca/viw/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/Parksville-Symposium_re-cap-and-reflections_May2019.pdf
Download a PDF copy of the presentation by Gilles Wendling titled: Groundwater & Surface Water Interaction in the Englishman River Watershed: One Water – Always Moving.
