Living Water Smart: Context for moving from ‘boundaries’ to ‘commonalities’ in the Comox Valley

January 20, 2010 - Posted in articles for period 2008 thru 2010, Legacy Record, Living Water Smart in BC

NOTE TO READERS:

Following release of Living Water Smart in 2008, the government of British Columbia maintained livingwatersmart.ca as a stand-alone portal to support the Living Water Smart program. Implementation was a provincial government priority that involved 11 ministries and many water and land managers and users.  

In the early years, the Living Water Smart portal showcased the stories of those leading change on the  ground in British Columbia. Some projects were complete, or had a short life of two to three years, while other commitments were to be implemented over a much longer time period. The article below was posted on the Living Water Smart website.

On the BC Ministry of Environment website (in 2020), Living Water Smart is now just a dropdown under the topic area “Water Planning and Strategies”. This reflects the fact that Living Water Smart way-of-thinking is fully integrated into the business as usual.

Water for Life and Livelihoods

The ultimate goal of Living Water Smart is to establish expectations that, in turn, will influence the form and function of the built environment. If land and water practitioners are then successful in bringing the water for life and livelihoods vision to fruition, this will create a legacy for those who follow in their footsteps.

In 2008, the Cowichan Valley Regional District and the City of Courtenay both volunteered to host the Vancouver Island Learning Lunch Seminar Series, in part because of the opportunity it offered to play a leadership role provincially.

2008 Comox Valley Learning Lunch Series

Organized under the umbrella of Convening for Action on Vancouver Island, known by the acronym CAVI, the Cowichan Valley series was held during the June – July 2008 period.

The Comox Valley series, hosted by the City of Courtenay, then followed during the September – November 2008 period. Participating local governments represented some 250,000 people.

Living Water Smart Vision

The following policy statement in Living Water Smart provided the backdrop for this pilot program.

• By 2012, all land and water managers will know what makes a stream healthy, and therefore be able to help land and water users factor in new approaches to securing stream health and the full range of stream benefits (page 43, Living Water Smart)

Springboard to Regional Team Approach

“In 2008, the initial CAVI objective was to test an approach to providing continuing education where people work. The Learning Lunch Series then went beyond that objective because it created the springboard for a regional team approach in both the Comox and Cowichan valleys,” reports John Finnie, CAVI Chair.

According to Kevin Lagan, Director of Operational Services for the City of Courtenay, “Council recognized that a common understanding of challenges and solutions would result in consistent expectations at municipal front counters across Vancouver Island. Council also recognized that hosting the series would have a better payback than selectively sending a few staff to conferences.”

Think Globally and Act Locally

“To be successful, we need to work outside our normal boundaries; and we need to proactively communicate and work with others,” continues Derek Richmond, Manager of Engineering with the City of Courtenay.

“Working with the CAVI team, we designed the Learning Lunch curriculum to help us determine how we can achieve the desired outcomes that flow from the over-arching policy statement on page 43 in Living Water Smart, namely: create liveable communities and protect stream health.”

The Four Cs

“If we are to have a truly successful regional team approach, we need to think globally and act locally. We need to think of ourselves as a team, not as individuals within silos; and we need to break down boundaries through communication, collaboration, cooperation and coordination.”

“In the Comox Valley, we now have a great opportunity to move ahead with implementing the real elements of ‘integrated planning’. We have recognized the need, realized the benefits, talked about examples of where this has happened and we are coming to grips with more clearly defined ways of how to facilitate this on an ongoing and consistent basis.”

“The 2008 Learning Lunch Series set in motion an inclusive process at the ground level that continued with the 2009 Learning Lunch Series, hosted by the Comox Valley Regional District,” concludes Derek Richmond.