Vancouver Island Water

Michael McCarthy represented the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations. Afterwards, he observed that: “All of us on Vancouver Island are connected by water; in my language we have a word, “hee-shook-ma-tswak,” which means we are all one.”

Green Value means thinking about and realizing land use strategies that accommodate settlement needs in practical ways while protecting the ecological resources upon which our communities depend. Understanding green value approaches means having positive options for managing growth, the design of communities, buildings and sustaining the ecology.

“How will Vancouver Island accommodate a doubling of the population and what will the Island look like then? This question set the tone for the discussion that followed. According to Bonham, “The point I was making is that we have it in our hands to create our future, because what we do on the ground sets the pattern of development for generations. Also, change in standard practices does not happen overnight. It takes time,” stated Eric Bonham.

The “Meeting of the Minds” initiative has a Vancouver Island focus and is designed to facilitate the move from talk to water-centric action. This outcome will be achieved through an island-wide communication information exchange network.

Drawing on his decades of experience as a municipal engineer, Rick Lloyd challenged the audience to ‘think outside the pipe’ and issued a call to action to engineers to design with nature rather than trying to conquer it.

“There are a number of initiatives on Vancouver Island that are focusing upon the theme of sustainability and a water-centric approach to community development,” reports Eric Bonham. “The Vancouver Island section of BCWWA has encouraged such linkage and sought out partnerships to reinforce the common theme of water-centric sustainability based upon an island wide communications information exchange network.