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living water smart bc

    WHEN WE ARE PART OF A NETWORK, EVERYONE GOES FURTHER: “Our world seems to be getting more wobbly, more unstable, more uncertain. We can support each other to make everyone’s work easier by creating a knowledge network,” stated Rémi Dubé, former senior manager in local government


    “Over time, the Metro Vancouver region has regressed from a situation where many things were in alignment to one where few are in alignment. A post-pandemic reality is organizational amnesia compounded by more and more information but less and less knowledge and understanding. Today’s frontline staff are finding it more difficult to share their knowledge and vision, perhaps due to a political climate that is less receptive to data-based solutions. Deep knowledge is being ignored or dismissed at an alarming rate. Cooperation will help buttress this wobbly world,” stated Remi Dube.

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    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “All regions were dealing with challenges associated with watershed monitoring. Each was at a different point along the watershed health continuum. Each region had something unique to contribute,” stated Kate Miller about the period 2012 – 2017 covered in Part E of the Chronicle


    “Communities were struggling with the Watershed Health issue. Inter-regional collaboration helped five regions understand what the other regions were doing, what works and what does not. We viewed the issue through complementary lenses that together formed a complete picture. Each region had something unique to contribute to the mix. For the Cowichan Region, it was climate change adaptation,” stated Kate Miller who co-represented the Cowichan Valley Regional District on the 2014 Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative Leadership Team.

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    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “We must all be leaders who selflessly have a vision, and we must then act to make the vision a reality,” stated Lois Jackson, Chair of the Metro Vancouver Regional Board, during the golden period (2006-2011) covered by Part D of the Chronicle


    “There are many champions in local government; and it is important that we recognize and celebrate what they are doing. This is all part of creating our future. The Board approved realigning the goals, strategies and actions in the updated Liquid Waste Management Plan with policies and positions in Living Water Smart,” stated Lois Jackson. The golden period from 2006 through 2011 was a defining period for making a difference regionally through the power of collaboration, partnerships, and alignment of levels of government. Energy released by the Georgia Basin Initiative in the mid-1990s played out consequentially.

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    GEORGIA BASIN INTER-REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE: “I think it is great that the Partnership for Water Sustainability is the keeper of the Georgia Basin Intiative legacy and that what we started in the 1990s continues. A lot of the work that we did to put the GBI idea and the structure together is still in place,” stated Mike Harcourt, former Premier of British Columbia


    When he was Premier, Mike Harcourt was the political champion for a TOP-DOWN AND BOTTOM-UP network approach to collaboration in BC. A defining moment for local governments during his time as Premier was the launch of the transformational Georgia Basin Initiative in 1994. One can draw a straight line from that time to the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Educational Initiative.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION ON VANCOUVER ISLAND: Formed in 2006, CAVI morphed into the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Educational Initiative in 2012, thereby expanding the “coalition of the willing” to include the Metro Vancouver region


    “The Ministry of Environmentlooks forward to aligning efforts with the Partnership to further advance implementation of the Beyond the Guidebook initiative; and provide communities with the tools and knowledge to protect and/or restore watershed health. The Ministry’s renewed emphasis on the rainwater management component of Liquid Waste Management Plans has created an opportunity to demonstrate how to integrate regulatory compliance and collaboration,” wrote Cairine MacDonald, Deputy Minister of Environment, in a letter to the Partnership (September 2012.

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    SETTLEMENT, ECONOMY AND ECOLOGY IN BALANCE IS MISSION POSSIBLE: “It is a top-down and bottom-up strategy. First comes the vision. Then community involvement. Support from municipal decision makers follows next. Finally, communities must apply ‘Design with Nature’ as a consistent future approach to development,” stated Eric Bonham in a series of keynote calls to action at Vancouver Island forums


    “The CAVI vision is based upon a model of collaboration among the various sectors of society on Vancouver Island, including business, industry, government, academia and community. The vision has emerged from the challenging mantra ‘what do we want Vancouver Island to look like in 50 years’ as first articulated at the Water in the City conference in 2006 and is founded upon the underlying principle of long-term water sustainability. How we get there relies on a change in mind-set. The CAVI role is to facilitate that change. This is mission possible,” stated Eric Bonham.

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    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “Consensus is about framing the problem correctly, being realistic about the options, and getting to the right answer,” stated Clint Hames, mayor of Chilliwack during the crucible period (1997-2005) covered by Part C of the Chronicle


    “Getting to the right answer is the right thing to do. Otherwise, the solution will not solve the problem,” stated Chilliwack Mayor Clint Hames. The City was a partner and served as a feedback loop during development of Stormwater Planning Guidebook for British Columbia. In the 2000s, leaders ventured into uncharted territory. Great changes took place. The Chronicle is a sweeping narrative. The 3rd installment covers 1997 thru 2005. It weaves quotable quotes to tell the story of what led up to publication of the Guidebook in 2002, and the impact of what followed in the wake of publication.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION IN THE COWICHAN REGION: “What is possible for climate resiliency in the Cowichan? We are at this really unique moment in our community about what is possible, how do we drive it, who is going to drive it,” stated Cindy Lise, co-lead for the Cowichan Climate Gathering, a collaborative initiative for collective impact


    “I have been doing collective impact work in the community for more than 10 years. It takes time, it really does. It is only NOW that it is really starting to have a profound impact on some of the other initiatives that we are doing. It is really hard to do really hard work unless you trust and have a relationship with the people doing the work.We know it takes a sustained effort and a sustained backbone or people at the helm to drive it. And so, for this big climate gathering piece, we are at hello! But some of the work behind it is decades in,” stated Cindy Lise.

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    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “You work with the politics of the day, and you have to be savvy. You must read your politicians,” advises Carrie Baron, former Drainage Manager with the City of Surrey, in Part B of the Chronicle


    “What are their pressures? Try to make what you need to do fit their pressures,” stated Carrie Baron. “It is about perseverance and trying to work with the system to move good ideas forward.” Three words define Carrie Baron’s engineering career: leadership, innovation and science. She was consistently on the leading edge in advancing green infrastructure and protecting stream health. “The lucky part was that the people who set the groundwork at the lower levels all advanced to senior levels where their duties were bigger than drainage. But they all had that base knowledge.”

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    GEORGIA BASIN INTER-REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE: “We have shown that this partnership model works where the community groups collect the data and we can ensure that it is of a quality that meets government standards,” stated Ally Badger, biologist with Aquatic Research & Restoration Centre of the BC Conservation Foundation, and coordinator for Vancouver Island Community Flow Monitoring Network


    “Monitoring flow involves much more than throwing a datalogger in the stream. Getting reliable and useful data takes a lot of effort and hands-on work. Stewardship groups have the passion, interest and people power to actually go out there and do the hands-on work. They just need a bit of help. I coordinate groups and distribute the training and help coordinate people to actually do the monitoring.It is an adaptive approach to see what works, learn the lessons, and then figure out how to overcome challenges that we have experienced along the way,” stated Ally Badger.

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