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Ian McHarg

    SHORT-TERM GRATIFICATION VS INTER-GENERATIONAL LEGACY: “It really is important for us to be focused on the future. We have mapped out the next 10 years with Action Plan 2.0, but our vision really needs to remain focused on a much longer time horizon. 10 years is not enough. 100 years is what we need to be looking at.” – Randy Alexander, General Manager for Regional and Community Utilities, as quoted in the story of the Regional District of Nanaimo’s Drinking Water and Watershed Protection program, published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in March 2021


    “Externally, we have been successful at forging, developing and maintaining strong long-term partnerships; and realizing that we are all in this together. Our success depends on our ability to leverage our resources with those of others to achieve common goals, and to understand what those common goals are. The DWWP program has found that its natural role is to bring together diverse groups; and to identify what those common goals are so that we can efficiently pool our resources and focus our joint efforts to achieve results,” stated Randy Alexander.

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    NANAIMO REGION’S JOURNEY TO A WATER-RESILIENT FUTURE: “We are proud of our accomplishments over the last 10 years, and our vision remains focused on the future. The Drinking Water & Watershed Protection program helps us make informed decisions today, and create the framework for sustainable decision making for the long term,” stated Tyler Brown, Board Chair, Regional District of Nanaimo (April 2021)


    Strong and enduring political leadership is a critical success factor. Over the past two decades, successive Regional Boards have handed the DWWP baton to their successors to carry on the mission. “The DWWP regional service was created explicitly to protect water at a watershed scale. The program is a leading example of how local governments can drive innovation and be a powerful influencer in watershed sustainability. Our recently adopted Action Plan for the next 10 years will allow the program to continue to innovate, better protect our water, and extend its reach,” stated Tyler Brown.

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    FLASHBACK TO 2015: “The Comox Valley consists of 26 watersheds. Each of us has a role to play to ensure these watersheds remain healthy for generations to come,” stated Judith Walker, Village of Cumberland planner, at the Joint Staff Training Workshop hosted by the Comox Valley Regional District


    In 2008, the four Comox Valley local governments volunteered to be a ‘demonstration application’ for exploration of a regional team approach to ‘designing with nature’, guided by the watershed health target in Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. “It does not matter how far away you live or build from a creek, lake, bog or the ocean – you are in a watershed,” stated Judith Walker. “The four local governments in the Comox Valley are striving for consistent application of outcome-oriented actions.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > The Whole-System Approach – “The City of Parksville recognizes the importance of sharing a vision in order to get things done; and commends the Symposium organizers for recognizing the power of partnership and collaboration,” stated Mayor Ed Mayne when he welcomed delegates to Parksville (April 2019)


    “We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg as far as where water is going to be going over the coming years. We have to start turning this situation around NOW. Not in 5 years. Not in 10 years. It needs to start today. We need to start making things better,” stated Mayor Ed Mayne. “Operation of the Englishman River Water Service is guided by the mission statement which reads: An environmentally sensitive use of water to improve fish habitat and domestic water supply. At a time when the climate is changing, it is a delicate balancing act to achieve both outcomes when summers are getting longer and much drier.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > The Whole-System Approach – “Engagement of community through stewardship is a credible formula to be encouraged and mainstreamed at every opportunity,” stated Kim Stephens when he explained how the symposium program built on Nanaimo 2018 takeaways


    Collaboration, teamwork and a recognition that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is the energy that stokes creativity and determination. When this combination of citizen talent is aligned with a local government that is both visionary and focused, outstanding achievements are not only possible, but realistic. “Expressed as a formula, Community Empowerment + Sustainable Partnerships with Local Government = Foundation Piece for Restorative Development,” stated Kim Stephens. “An informed stewardship sector is a catalyst for action.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > The Whole-System Approach – “It is not a sprint. We are in it for the long haul; and we all need to recognize that we are in it for the long haul. I wonder what Ian McHarg would think if he could be with us today, 50 years after he wrote Design with Nature,” stated Bill Derry when he delivered the opening keynote on behalf of Kitsap County’s Chris May, Surface & Stormwater Division Director (April 2019)


    The ‘salmon crisis’ in the 1990s was the driver for pioneer research at Washington State University that correlated land use changes with impacts on stream health. The resulting science-based understanding opened the door to the Water Balance approach to rainwater management in BC. “Data are fine, but you must be able to show decision-makers and the public that we are making a difference and being cost-effective with funding,” stated Bill Derry. “You must be able to develop and tell stories. If you can tell stories well, that is how to make the biggest difference.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Understand How Rain Reaches a Stream – “Prominent scientists say 2018 marks a turning point in human history. We may have crossed an invisible threshold into a new climate regime,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC, when he provided a whole-system context for the mini-workshop on surface and groundwater interaction (April 2019)


    “The new normal in BC is floods and droughts – along with longer, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. What happens on the land matters to streams. To make better decisions, we must first understand how rainwater reaches a stream. Not many people have that understanding. And that includes engineers,” stated Kim Stephens. “Only when everyone involved has that basic understanding of what happens when that rain drop reaches the ground, will we be able to do the things that we need to do to reconnect hydrology and ecology, and in so doing, go ‘back to the future’!”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Understand How Rain Reaches a Stream – “Stewardship groups have local knowledge about local water resources; and are the most invested and most connected to the land base,” stated Neil Goeller, when he and Sylvia Barroso conducted a mini-workshop on surface and groundwater interaction (April 2019)


    “Participation in streamflow data collection is a way to educate streamkeepers about creekshed hydrology, in particular correct data collection techniques and their importance for refining the water balance and understanding what the numbers mean. This would create understanding that would enhance their effectiveness as champions for reconnecting hydrology and ecology,” stated Neil Goeller. “My vision is to develop relationships and partnerships with stewardship groups, local governments, federal government and First Nations to expand our collection and understanding of data.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Make Better Land Use Decisions – “Value the water balance services provided by nature. The worth of a creekshed is a package of ecological services made possible by the hydrology. Looking through the ‘worth lens’ leads to a fundamental shift in philosophy,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC, in his context presentation for the morning session on Day Two of the Symposium (April 2019)


    “The goal of making the world ‘less worse’ does not go far enough. Rather, we have it within our power to undo previous damage and make the world better. Shrink our destructive footprint while growing our regenerative footprint. The process of restoring our planet and revitalizing our communities is becoming a rigorous discipline, with the proper education and tools,” stated Kim Stephens, when he quoted from the work of Storm Cunningham, to set the context for Day Two of the Symposium.

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