Vancouver Island Water

WATERSHED MOMENTS, THE VIDEO TRILOGY SERIES: “We hope to seed and stimulate conversations amongst our viewing audience as an outcome of watching the series. The important consideration is that each participant will have reached their own conclusions based on what they got out of the three sessions, and what resonated with them individually,” stated Richard Boase, Partnership Vice-President and series moderator, when he reflected on desired outcomes for Watershed Moments, the Video Trilogy Series (September 2020)

Note to Reader:

The Partnership for Water Sustainability and NALT, the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust, have reimagined the 3^rd Annual Symposium on Water Stewardship in a Changing Climate as a “video trilogy series” for online delivery via YouTube on Nov 19 / Nov 26 / Dec 3 (from 10:00AM to 11:30AM).

The focus of Watershed Moments, the Video Trilogy Series is on the whole-system approach, connecting land and water, and restoring water balance in altered landscapes. At the conclusion of each video, viewers will be able to chat in real-time with the presentation team.

The Registration Fee for the series is a a nominal amount – $30 for stewardship groups and $50 for all others!

TO REGISTER, VISIT https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2020/Third-Water-Stewardship-Symposium-Reimagined

The video shoots are done, and post-production editing has begun. Below, Richard Boase reflects on his moderator role in a bold and exciting venture. His set of takeaways for the trilogy series will inform the curious! Richard Boase is with the District of North Vancouver. He is also the Partnership’s Vice-President.

Actionable Visions: Watershed Moments, the Trilogy Series, is Designed to Seed and Stimulate Conversations

“We are fortunate to have Richard Boase as the moderator for our Watershed Moments video trilogy,” stated Paul Chapman, Chair of the Vancouver Island Water Stewardship Symposia Series. “Richard has a deep understanding of the subject matter resulting from three decades of stewardship work through a local government lens, has an innate ability to ask the questions that get to the heart of the matter, shares his enthusiasm with panelists and audience alike and sometimes even surprises the organizers with impromptu action items. In no small part, we owe the success of the Water Stewardship Symposia series to Richard’s deft involvement from planning to presentation.”

An Overview

“Three module teams totaling twelve individuals are on camera in the Video Trilogy Series. Every team member is passionate about what she or he does. This is what we hope and believe will inspire series viewers to apply what they absorb from each of the team conversations. But the video series is not a magic wand. It won’t result in overnight change. Humans are not wired that way. It is therefore best to view the series as an important milestone in a journey. We hope to bring others along with us,” states Richard Boase.

“Success will follow because the series will have seeded participants with information that allows them to carry on and follow a path that is right for them. It may well be a path that we may not have thought about, and that is okay. The important consideration is that each participant will have reached their own conclusions based on what they got out of the three sessions, and what resonated with them individually.”

ON NOVEMBER 19 – An inter-regional team representing four regional districts will have a conversation about “BC’s Climate Reality, Inter-Regional Collaboration & Actionable Visions”

“The team for the first video has five dynamic women. What I like about them is the breadth of scenarios and experience among the four regional districts they represent. They are all in very different situations. But what is common to all is their unwavering desire to make things better.

“When someone has chosen to make a career in municipal or regional government, it tells me that they have a real interest in making change and seeing it happen locally, where they live. What I see with the five women is a strong sense of local commitment and integrity to making positive change in and around their immediate surroundings.”

MASKED / UNMASKED: On November 19, this local government team representing four Vancouver Island regions kicks off the Video Trilogy Series with a facilitated conversation about “BC’s Climate Reality, Inter-Regional Collaboration & Actionable Visions” > Julie Pisani (Nanaimo region), Darry Monteith (Comox Valley),Jody Watson (Capital Region), Kate Miller (Cowichan Valley), and Zoe Norcross-Nu’u (Comox Valley)

ON NOVEMBER 26 – Tim Pringle and Emanuel Machado, two thought leaders, will share their insights as they elaborate on “Natural Assets as Ecological Systems and Services”

“Local government is challenged, almost on a daily basis, to make ends meet between balancing the budget and providing the type of environment the community expects and wants. Local government responsibilities span community safety (i.e. protection of residents from flooding and other natural hazards) and protection of a well-functioning, beautiful, healthy environment.

“Yet there is not a deep understanding among the public that these outcomes can be achieved with complimentary companion programs featuring green infrastructure that work in balance together. There is still a widely held view that hard engineering, in the form of pipes and concrete infrastructure is the only way in which we can make our communities safer, when in fact new science is telling us that natural green systems are far more resilient.

“That’s the gap that the work of Tim Pringle and Emanuel Machado is attempting to fill with their focus on how natural assets help support delivery of core local government services, while doing so much more. That is what participants will learn from the second video. Nature has given us the tools to deal with the climate challenges that we know are coming. That’s an important thing to remember.”

David Mackenzie / Kim Stephens / Emanuel Machado / Richard Boase / Tim Pringle / Paul Chapman

ON DECEMBER 3 – A team representing federal and provincial environmental agencies will open eyes with a conversation about the “International Year of the Salmon – Will Lightning Strike Twice?”

“The third module is the cornerstone of the Video Trilogy Series. Science-based understanding is the foundation for everything that needs to be done to reconnect hydrology and ecology in an altered landscape. And that is why it is strategic that we have federal and provincial participation in the series in the persons of two distinguished scientists – Dr. Kim Hyatt and Dr. Peter Tschaplinski.

“With an understanding of the science, communities would have the basic knowledge to be able to do what they need to do to restore an altered landscape. From local restoration work to lobby efforts directed at new policy, communities across the province can be better equipped with knowledge delivered by the Province and Federal governments.

“That is what was really exciting for me about this module. It has helped me envision how the provincial and federal governments can play a leadership role by committing time and money to ensure the resilience of both salmon and people.”