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“We have to move beyond the technical and the engagement of local governments towards a universal commitment to sustainability on Vancouver Island. Taking the greater context, we are now ready to take the next step towards engaging the public, business, schools and community organizations in a united front to play their respective role in sustainability initiatives based upon the fundamental requirement of water sustainability,” stated Eric Bonham. “Why not follow the leadership of Chemainus,’the little town that did’, and expand the vision to ‘the island that did’.”

“Farmers are saying it is not the big storms that cause them problems. Rather, it is all the little storms. All the water from the uplands is just enough that the farmers cannot get on their land and plant or harvest their crops,” stated Ted van der Gulik. “(Development in the uplands) is affecting the way we are trying to manage agriculture. So we need to change the way we are doing things in the uplands. It is about replenishing the groundwater.”

Launched in 2002, Leadership BC is a BC Chamber of Commerce initiative to build local capacity. Nanaimo and Ladysmith were the pilot projects for this provincial initiative. The two were subsequently amalgamated to form Leadership BC – Central Vancouver Island. “Our mission is to seek out and cultivate potential and emerging leaders. The program goal is to prepare community leaders across BC to take an active role in moving their communities forward by working with them to foster a better understanding of how the issues impacting their communities are interconnected and by forging stronger relationships among community and regional leaders,” stated Patrick Ross.

“I have been following the incredible successes you have been experiencing on the west coast. I would really like to take this opportunity to CONGRATULATE ALL of those who have been involved in this most recent ‘breakthrough’, the Bowker Creek Blueprint. This is truly impressive and hopefully you are sharing it with other parts of Canada, as well as abroad. Many will be fascinated with the ‘governance’ issues alone. This example of what can be done will serve as a positive model for many,” observed Eva Kras.

“Change is slow in the urban environment. It usually happens with re-development of individual lots as buildings wear out or as population density increases. With re-development comes opportunity for creek restoration or creek day-lighting. Having a detailed plan and long-term vision will help all partners be ready. The Bowker Creek Initiative has produced a plan – the Bowker Creek Blueprint – that includes policy recommendations,” wrote Tanis Gower.

“To initiate change so that we do business differently means we set the vision based upon community values, support the vision with information and education, provide practical tools, seek partnerships and engage local decision makers,” states Eric Bonham. The Bowker Creek Blueprint incorporates significant and considerable input from municipal staffs and community members; reflects work undertaken and experience gained since the BCI was established in 2004; builds on existing resource materials; and creates a plan of action at two scales: watershed; and creek sections.

“Publishing stories in advance meant that we could achieve three outcomes: progressively establish expectations; enable participants to tell their stories in their own words; and provide a written record of our ‘convening for action in BC’ history as we created it. The weekly stories on waterbucket.ca website also provided the Bowker Creek Steering Committee with flexibility to issue news releases (complete with web links) to inform target audiences,” stated Kim Stephens.

STORY #1 The Bowker Creek Initiative demonstrates HOW a ‘regional team approach’ can enable action at a watershed scale that results in coordinated and integrated changes on the ground. It has been a lengthy, intensive and expensive process. The lessons learned can be transferred and adapted to other settings. “Effective sharing of their experience can potentially accelerate the change process elsewhere in the Georgia Basin,” observed John Finnie,

STORY #2 The Bowker Creek Forum is an important milestone for Georgia Basin sharing and collaboration. It connects champions from the Capital Region to champions from Metro Vancouver. “In the City of Surrey, we are moving to a broader watershed objectives approach to capturing rain where it falls. Then we can better protect our streams. Once we know what we want our watersheds and neighbourhoods to look like, the next step is to decide what the tools are that will get us there,” stated Remi Dube.

STORY #3 The role that community groups have played in Blueprint development is impressive. “The Bowker Creek story is more than about producing a plan. It is about engaging the community. If the community is actively engaged, they will take greater responsibility for delivery. There is greater alignment now than ever before regarding community goals and the 100-year action plan for watershed restoration. There is a strong vision in the community with many committed champions,” stated Ian Graeme.