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    VANCOUVER ISLAND SYMPOSIA SERIES ON WATER STEWARDSHIP IN A CHANGING CLIMATE: “The Symposia Series is a building blocks process. Each event builds on the last and points the way to the next,” states Paul Chapman, Series Chair


    The rhythms of water have changed faster than climate scientists had anticipated: winters are warmer and wetter; summers are longer and drier. “The symposium format provides a neutral forum for local elected representatives, local government staff, stewardship groups and others to ‘convene for action’ to improve where we live,” stated Paul Chapman. “The Symposia programs are built around success stories – inspirational in nature, local in scale, and precedent-setting in scope and outcome. In short, these precedents can be replicated and/or adapted in other communities.”

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    DOWNLOAD THE “SERIES AT A GLANCE” to learn about the programs for each event in the Vancouver Island Symposia Series on Watershed Stewardship in a Changing Climate


    “The over-arching message for the Vancouver Island series is applicable to any region. Simply put, it is to focus on improving where people live through implementation of good strategies. These will provide communities with a path to success. There are two guiding principles. First, reconnect hydrology and ecology – because what happens on the landscape matters to streams! Second, shrink our destructive footprint while growing the restorative footprint – because sustainable is attainable,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    WATERSHED MOMENTS, THE VIDEO TRILOGY: “In 2020, the Watershed Moment team succeeded in our mission to create a broadcast quality legacy resource. We are thrilled that Shaw Cable has televised the trilogy multiple times across Vancouver Island. It is the resource that keeps on giving,” stated Paul Chapman, Chair, Vancouver Island Symposia Series on Water Stewardship in a Changing Climate


    COVID has changed and challenged how everyone does outreach and peer-based education. The Watershed Moments team turned COVID into an opportunity to create a legacy educational resource – the Watershed Moments video trilogy. In 2021, the 3-part series was broadcast twice by Shaw Cable – first in January-February and then again in August-September, reported Jocelyn Matwe, producer with the Shaw Spotlight Nanaimo team. Each time the broadcast cycle was three times.

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    IN MEMORIAM: “While continuing with his numerous other duties, Kim Hyatt graciously agreed to come aboard as a team member to support the Watershed Moment Series because its unifying theme, Reconnecting Hydrology and Stream Ecology, aligned with Kim’s expertise and passion,” stated Nick Leone, a colleague in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, when he reflected on the late Dr. Kim Hyatt’s commitment to integration of applied research, community science and collaboration across government levels, and in partnership with community conservation and stewardship interests (June 2021)


    Kim Hyatt made significant contributions to DFO in significant and lasting ways, including his work on the Wild Salmon Policy, advice relating to salmon restoration and recovery under the Columbia River Treaty and climate change impacts to salmon populations. His passion for discovery and excitement for innovation resulted in a number of long-standing relationships with First Nations and external organizations—relationships that Kim built on trust, commitment, and honest communication.

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    PARKSVILLE 2019: ‘Convening for Action’ symposium started strong with Dave Derrick stream restoration workshop and walkabout, and finished strong with Storm Cunningham presentation on restorative development; remarkable 40% response rate by delegates confirmed that the key educational objectives were fulfilled


    Attract an audience balanced across sectors. Demonstrate the power of collaboration between the stewardship sector and local governments. Create an environment for sharing and cross-fertilizing experiences. Those were the objectives. “I just wanted to say thanks to you and everyone behind the great symposium! Great job!! It was an exciting few days, and I left feeling inspired and even somewhat empowered about finding ways to protect water. The importance of ecological services really hit home for me. There is lots of great work happening out there – thanks to all the organizers for bringing it all together,” said Laura Beckett,

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    NANAIMO 2018: “The vision for restorative development is an idea whose time has come – and a set of videos uploaded to YouTube provide a permanent record of this watershed moment,” stated John Finnie, Chair, Nanaimo 2018 Symposium Organizing Committee


    “The program was structured as three modules to enable the audience to have an informed conversation,” stated John Finnie. “Context is everything. Hence, two co-keynote presentations in Module A set the context and primed participants for a town-hall sharing and learning session in Module B about restorative development. In the afternoon, a set of four reflective presentations introduced building blocks for achieving Sustainable Watershed Systems.”

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    WATER STEWARDSHIP & RESTORATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN A CHANGING CLIMATE: Unifying theme for Vancouver Island Symposia Series is the power of local government collaboration with the stewardship sector


    “A goal of restorative land development would be to restore the integrity of the natural water balance. If this work is done right, it should be possible to: first, halt ecosystem decline; and after that, bend the trend-line in an upwards direction,” states Paul Chapman. “Guided by a whole-system, water balance approach, restorative land development would reconnect hydrology and ecology. Connecting dots, then, a key message is that restorative land development results in sustainable stream restoration.”

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    ORAL HISTORY EXTENDS THE PERIOD OF RECORD AND OUR UNDERSTANDING: “Blue Ecology is an ecological philosophy, which emerged from interweaving First Nations and Western thought. It is meant to be a companion because it augments existing Western science hydrology rather than displacing this knowledge.” – Michael Blackstock


    “In my mind, traditional knowledge and western science are just different ways of recording, or documenting, and communicating the same information. I believe there is an analogy between Indigenous oral history, and a statistical approach called Bayesian analysis,” stated Neil Goeller. “We are lucky when we have 60 years of reliable records, possibly extending out to 100-plus years. When I reflect on the short-term context for hydrometric data collection in BC, there is no doubt in my mind that Indigenous knowledge would expand our horizon and help us make sense of the numbers in a larger context.”

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    BLUE ECOLOGY IS A CALL FOR AN ATTITUDE CHANGE: “We need to teach children and, for that matter, learn ourselves how to respect and celebrate water’s role in our world. Hydrologists are encouraged to embrace the companion Blue Ecology water cycle that is meant to enhance Western science’s hydrological cycle by providing a holistic cultural context,” stated Michael Blackstock, Independent Indigenous Scholar (January 2022)


    “I view Western science and Indigenous ways of knowing as sovereign entities. A great deal of energy goes into rationalizing, promoting, and protecting an epistemology. However, now we need to acknowledge that we don’t have all the answers. We can build a collaborative epistemological framework if we transcend sovereign contemporary narrative’s boundaries, and literally mine each epistemology for gems that can be interwoven in a collaborative manner. Curiosity about other cultures draws us into a better understanding,” stated Michael Blackstock.

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    POSTPONED TO JANUARY 20, 2022: rescheduled date for Blue Ecology Virtual Seminar on “Creating a Climate for Change”


    “In terms of looking for that hopeful path, we have turned from ‘climate change’ to ‘climate for change’ – meaning that all these stressors are making people recognize that we have to do things differently. The door has been kicked open by flood, heat, wind and waves so that the question is being asked: how do we do better? We have this opportunity right now, because the ground has shifted, to bring people to a hopeful path,” stated Paul Chapman when he announced postponement of the Blue Ecology Seminar after Michael Blackstock underwent emergency surgery only days before the original November 18, 2021 seminar date..

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