Archive:

“As the world gets more complex, we just simplify it to two dimensions. It is EITHER-OR. There is no complexity. I think that is a human reflex. My response to that is the concept of Natural Intelligence. There is untapped intelligence out there in nature. It is on our doorstep, but we are not even talking about. As I was writing my chapter for the Bloomsbury Handbook, I came up with this idea of Natural Intelligence. My hope is that the book will elevate the idea within academia and perhaps start a global conversation that trickles down and triggers a re-think,” stated Michael Blackstock.

“It is all about storytelling. Keeping things simple; not getting caught up in academic theory or jargon. Making things simple and accessible is what is going to resonate. The more we can help people understand they have the power to do what we are talking about, right now, in whatever role they are in…and the more they open their minds to it, and the more they practice and exercise those muscles…their work will become easier. It will become more effective. And it will become more fun. Shining a light on that path is what we can help to do,” stated Jane Wei-Skillern.

“I did my PhD in the Pacific Northwest to get educated about indigenous world views. I drew a lot of inspiration from Michael Blackstock’s Blue Ecology work on how we can intertwine indigenous knowledge with western scientific methods. Now I am trying to figure out what that means in the context of the US Northeast. I became familiar with Michael’s Blue Ecology framework paper when I was at Portland State University. The PhD program was about doing experiments in interdisciplinary fellowships that tackled real-world problems, not just academic problems,” stated Zbigniew Grabowski.

“Though it may sound like a bold claim, my mission is to be a bridge between the humanities and science studies,” stated Serpil Oppermann. “We have to rethink the traditional humanist idea that storytelling is all too human and that humans are the only species with the ability to tell stories. WHAT IF the world we cohabit with a myriad of nonhumans is also expressive and is story-filled? HOW MIGHT our understanding of nature change if we recognize nonhuman stories conveyed in codes, signs, colors, gestures, and signals, as stunning narratives? Solutions are in the stories.”

“When I was on the faculty at the Harvard Business School, I began my research into the concept of a networked approach that is more focused on network-building and trust-based relationships, and less about building an organization to get to your mission impact. People learn from and are inspired by stories. Work is easier, more effective and more fun when people collaborate. The big idea is to try and seed a culture change and shift in climate-conservation work to one that really values the power of relationships and networks,” explained Jane Wei-Skillern.

Developing and crafting the Water Sustainability Act was a difficult and challenging job, as there are many views on water. Provincial staff consulted far and wide. The end result is legislation that had broad-based support. There are many water management issues that need to be resolved and the Act established a process that can address many of them. “A decade later, some people have qualms and issues with the Water Sustainability Act. Quite often they are minor things. It is easy to throw darts when you don’t know what you don’t know. That is what I see happening,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

“The Water Act had evolved over many years. We recognized the limitations of the Water Act. And I really appreciated that government was willing to go out on a limb to replace it. We looked at replacing priority rights with a different form of water allocation. But the decision was, continue the foundation of priority rights. The WSA respects priority rights BUT there is a provision that if you get into a situation where communities rely on a small amount of water for essential household needs, there is a provision to allow that to happen,” stated Valerie Cameron.

“If you were to do a search of hydraulic connection, you would find it worked in through the entire Water Sustainability Act. You cannot impact a stream nor an aquifer hydraulically connected to a stream. But even if the FITFIR system is there, there is still that essential household use and critical environmental flows that need to be protected before you start going down the seniority line to cut water use. So, if there is not enough flow in the stream and the Comptroller sets a critical environmental flow,, that takes priority over the oldest licence,” stated Mike Wei.

“We are adapting asset management to a changing world. One of the big priorities for me this year is to just start bringing Asset Management back to reality. To say, we are all facing the same struggles. Let’s talk about what those struggles are, instead of just believing that we have the solution to it. The theme that I am now promoting is this, just tell us your story because people can learn from stories. It does not have to be perfect. We know it is not perfect. But do not be afraid to tell the story. Passing on knowledge really is about the stories,” stated Arnold Schwabe.

Percy McGauhey was an early proponent of an interdisciplinary approach for making better decisions. Buried in his textbook published in 1968 is this gem: “Ideally, the alternatives on which a final political decision is made in the field of water resources management should come from a team of experts from the several disciplines concerned. Historically, however, no such team has been utilized.” His hierarchy of decision making was the source of inspiration for the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s cascading approach to outreach and continuing education in the 2000s.