MOVING TOWARDS WATER BALANCE: “Budgets can be aligned with best practices, ecological know-how and boots in the stream to steward the critical infrastructure that is our watersheds,” stated Paul Chapman, Executive Director, Nanaimo & Area Land Trust
Note to Reader:
The Summer 2023 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter includes an essay co-authored by Paul Chapman and Kim Stephens, the Chair and Co-Chair, respectively, of the Watershed Moments Symposia Series. The essay is structured in two parts, with Wally Wells as the common thread. This is a story of what is achievable when individuals and organisations commit to a shared vision and mission, truly collaborate in good faith, and align their efforts for the common good.
Reflections on Sharing a Mission with Wally Wells
“Wally Wells brought his enthusiasm for the Courtenay Eco-Asset Symposium to the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust (NALT) boardroom. He began to connect the dots for us between asset management and ecology. The meeting over coffee, with members of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC, set us on the route we continue to follow today,” wrote Paul Chapman, Executive Director of the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust.
The Symposia Series
“Beginning in Nanaimo in 2018, the idea for what has now become the Watershed Moments Symposia Series, started as a modest idea to highlight the successes and challenges of water stewardship in the Nanaimo area. This meeting brought together service providers, regulators and stewardship groups and began the nascent discussion of our common interests in water stewardship.”
“Our discussions lead to an expanded common vocabulary. Sustainable Service Delivery, Eco-Assets and Eco-Asset Management, the Ecological Accounting Process, Municipal Natural Asset Inventory, Riparian Deficit, and watershed stewardship are some of the words in our new common tongue. The rabid environmentalist, the cold-hearted accountant and the aloof engineer could come together and focus on a common goal – Water Balance.”
To Learn More:
To read the complete 2-part article, download the Summer 2023 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter.
