Vancouver Island Water

The 4-person panel will share their experiences in trail-blazing watershed education for youth. Michael Blackstock of the Blue Ecology Institute is joined by Linda Brooymans, Steph Cottell and Tina Willard-Stepan. Blue Ecology, the interweaving of Indigenous and Western water stewardship knowledge is the over-arching theme for the event. “It is with humbleness and deep appreciation that we invite Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers to share their wisdom and help us on the path to better water ways,” stated Steph Cottell.

“The Blue Ecology Virtual Seminar is a bridging event to the next full-scale symposium which will be in 2022. The seminar will introduce Blue Ecology the idea as a way of interweaving Indigenous and Western perspectives to achieve a vision for ‘water reconciliation’ in British Columbia. We just happen to be trying to piece them together as a seminar and eventually as symposium! We must ensure that we do not rush the process. We must get the process right, and that what we deliver is the water reconciliation piece,” stated Paul Chapman.

The “slice-and-dice” approach to science does not account for the interaction of variables within a system. Nor does it distinguish between preciseness and accuracy. “An image of a committee with their hands on a thermostat popped into my mind. And they are trying to adjust it. There is so much arrogance in that, and so much naivety at the same time, to believe that we actually have the ability as a global human society to turn this dial plus or minus 0.1 degrees. The reality is that we do not have that ability,” stated Michael Blackstock.

In late 2017, NALT was approach by a grade 7 teacher and challenged with devising a way to include a marsh adjacent to the school grounds in the stewardship education of the students. “Now embedded as a core component of NALT outreach and education, it is our hope to foster a culture of stewardship through our program by giving students as many opportunities as possible during their time at their school to learn about and explore their local streams and wetlands,” stated Linda Brooymans.

“The Comox Valley Regional District has developed teaching materials to support students in learning about their connections to the Comox Lake watershed, learning what makes a watershed healthy, and learning how to conserve water by using it efficiently at home. The resources are informed by the Watershed Protection Plan, and the Connected by Water project vision, all within the framework of the British Columbia Ministry of Education Curriculum,” stated Christina (Tina) Willard-Stepan.

“It is vitally important that youth learn about their local watersheds, and how to protect, steward, and restore them. And so the Best Water Ways: Watershed Literacy, Stewardship, and Restoration initiative was born. The learning suite was inspired, designed, and developed within the Unceded Traditional Territory of several Hul’qumi’num speaking communities that are part of the far-reaching Coast Salish Nation. Local Indigenous Ecological and Cultural Knowledge in today’s classrooms is invaluable,” stated Stephanie Cottell.

“In the 1970s, the whole-system approach was a core element of my engineering education. This paradigm-shift reflected an emerging awareness of the unintended consequences of land and water servicing practices. In recent decades, however, I believe my profession has only paid lip service to whole-system thinking. In water systems planning and operation, my observation is that whole-system practice is the exception, not the rule. Indigenous peoples remind us that everything is connected. And that is why interweaving our two ways of knowing is foundational to Water Reconciliation,” stated Kim Stephens.

“You never quite know what is going to create a moment for someone that will shift their understanding forever. But we must do our best to make sure that we are presenting the opportunities for those moments to be created. I came to see celebration of the 10th anniversary as an opportunity for the City of Victoria to recommit to the Blueprint plus bring awareness of it to the forefront of people’s understanding of the city that they live in, and the difference that their actions can have on the watershed,” stated City of Victoria Councillor Jeremy Loveday.

“Victoria is a fully developed city. Because most of the work happening within the city is redevelopment which is increasing density, it is so important for us to be looking for opportunities to integrate rainwater management with landscaping features, and maximize the use of space for multiple benefits. The idea of multi-functional landscaping is key because we don’t have as much room for wetlands and riparian areas,” stated Brianne Czypyha.

“I thank everyone who helped bring this about, particularly the Saltair Water Advisory Committee, which provided a needed perspective and helpful advice. I also specifically thank the local, provincial and federal bureaucrats and politicians who patiently listened to my pleas for support and who ultimately caused our application to succeed. It is full steam ahead to bring our water system into compliance and to meet the Island Health installation deadlines,” enthused Lynne Smith. The Saltair grant was a decade in the making, and resulted from the determined efforts of a band of community volunteers.