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Robert Hicks was the internal champion at Metro Vancouver for creating the Water Balance Methodology and Model for scenario comparison purposes. Such comparisons were transformational in helping decision makers visualize HOW their municipalities could meet watershed targets and mitigate population growth and climate change. “Metro Vancouver had the budget to fund the early work on the Water Balance Methodology and thus bridge the source control information gap. What we learned from the 50-year scenario comparisons became a foundation piece for BC’s Stormwater Planning Guidebook,” stated Robert Hicks.

“The story of my forest hydrology research over the past 30 years is actually a traumatizing story,” stated Younes Alila. “Most of the landscapes in British Columbia and most of our watersheds are sitting at a very heightened risk when it comes to hydrology and geomorphology. The risks are greater than we were led to believe by government, industry, and professionals. Now the genie is out of the bottle regarding RISK and LIABILITY. Once they know about the science of extremes and frequency, professionals have a duty to protect the public and properly advise policy makers.”

“When we brought four groups together in 2003 and founded the Green Infrastructure Partnership, the term green infrastructure was not in the local government lexicon, whether in BC or beyond. We essentially adapted Smart Growth principles, albeit in action-oriented soundbites, to create a new mind-map with six objectives for designing with nature,” stated Ray Fung. “Designing with nature captures the essence of climate change adaptation. Adaptation is about responding to the changes that will inevitably occur. Adaptation is at the community level and is therefore about collaboration.”

“Moving into the 2000s, the Green Infrastructure Partnership was bringing practitioners together in Metro Vancouver to have conversations about innovation. It was the convening for action process that built confidence among practitioners to introduce these approaches. It was a peer learning network that the Partnership was building. And that was one of the strands to introduce infrastructure innovation and build more sustainable regions. It was a conversation between practitioners who said, I tried that and this is how it worked or did not work, or this is what I learned,” stated Dale Wall.

“There was a clear understanding and consensus on the challenges – that the Georgia Basin was one of the most ecologically diverse regions and also one of the most threatened. There was trouble in paradise. All communities knew they were under intense pressures and that we had to do something about it. With a strong Minister of Municipal Affairs, Darlene Marzari, the ‘settlement side’ of land use planning went straight into regional planning and the Growth Strategies Act. We also had been given a clear vision along with sustainability principles,” stated Joan Sawicki.

“The story behind the story is about the importance of embedding knowledge of EAP into the youth who are going to be the future of our local governments. The framework that we have set up ensures this will happen. There are lots of partnerships that exist for selfish reasons. But the EAP Partnership is selfless, and from all angles. It is a leap of faith for member local governments. Partnership for Water Sustainability commitment to passing the baton is unwavering,” stated Graham Sakaki when he spoke about the 3-year transition strategy to embed EAP at Vancouver Island University.

“It is really heartening to observe the recent renewed interest in what I think of as ecosystem-based planning and is now often called green and blue systems in cities,” stated Susan Haid. “It sounds simple, but it is heartening because this has NOT really been a key theme in the public dialogue for some time. The pandemic has reminded us of the importance of green space and access to nature. It is even more important now because in 1997 we did not have the kind of weather extremes such as atmospheric rivers and heat domes that we are now regularly experiencing.”

“When the regional districts on the east coast of Vancouver Island present a united front, it is so much stronger than us trying to speak as an individual local government, especially for a small one within a larger provincial context when you are one among many. In a provincial context, we are just one tiny voice. Coming together as neighbouring regional governments has strengthened our relationships and increased inter-regional communication and sharing of methodologies, ideas, strategies and information–all our communities are benefitting!” stated Zoe Norcross-Nu’u.

“We are implementers. Blue Ecology reinforces the attitude change that is necessary to support widespread use of tools and resources that the Partnership has been pioneering for more than two decades to help local governments design with nature. We have both been at this a long time. From experience, we have seen and know why the situation on the land has not been changing for the better. Our call for restorative action is this: design in concert with nature and make better decisions around our landscapes,” stated Richard Boase.

“The network emerges around a common goal, rather than a particular program or organizational model. The community mobilizes the resources from throughout the networ based on existing relationships Once a network is up and running and proves itself to be effective, it becomes the primary vehicle for change, rather than the individual organizations themselves. Once you put committed people in a room together and build trust amongst them, and allow them to experiment and learn, that is when amazing and wonderful things happen,” stated Jane Wei-Skillern.