Category:

“Held every five years as a 3-day event, the BC Land Summit is a watershed moment for showcasing new ideas. The Partnership delivered a 2-part program to introduce Blue Ecology and the Ecological Accounting Process. Because the audience comprised players involved in the land professions, the Partnership hopes that the summit will prove to be a seminal moment in sparking an attitude change about land and water. Time will tell,” stated Kim Stephens. “Everyone on the team delivered. The storylines flowed. The audience engagement was terrific. That is THE MEASURE of success!”

“Absorb, communicate. and refine the communication. I am very focused on the 3-year transition strategy because Year One was just trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible. And so, in Year Two I think it is time to begin that communication process. And Year Three will be refining that communication process. In Year One, it was a juggling process with many moving parts and trying to keep them all in balance. And so, we look forward to sharing our EAP experience at the BC Land Summit,” stated Anna Lawrence.

“Zoe Norcross-Nu’u, a marine scientist who previously taught at the University of Hawaii Maui College, is in her second decade with Comox Valley Regional District after joining in 2012. Her responsibilities revolve around the Comox Lake Watershed Protection Plan. At the end of our conversation, Zoe connected her reflections about Hawaii and interweaving Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to Blue Ecology, the water-first approach that bridges cultures. Zoe represents the Comox Valley Regional District on the Partnership’s Watershed Moments Team,” stated Km Stephens.

Ray Fung, a founding director of the Partnership, captured the mood of the summit with this summation: “The Partnership is seen as a resource that is stable, that is there, and that people can draw upon. I liked the comment that THIS IS A MOVEMENT. I find that is really inspiring to not see ourselves just as a network. We leave the summit inspired to figure out how the FORM of the Partnership will follow the FUNCTION. We can learn things from expanding our perspective. Part of that holistic approach includes the SPIRITUAL as well as the physical connection to the land.”