LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Increasing awareness of Indigenous wisdom related to water and climate change supports the 10-year goals of the Cowichan Drinking Water and Watershed Protection program. Blue Ecology is a work plan element,” stated Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on February 4, 2025 features Michael Blackstock, independent Indigenous scholar and creator of the Blue Ecology ecological philosophy.
He provides historical context for core beliefs that shape our contemporaneous view of water. And he draws attention to the unintended consequences of going down the Artificial Intelligence rabbit hole. Because AI disconnects people from the natural world, Michael Blackstock presents Blue Ecology as a Natural Intelligence approach that counterbalances the AI hype.
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER
“The Partnership for Water Sustainability is all-in with our support for Michael Blackstock and Blue Ecology. In fact, our collaboration with Michael is living proof of what it means to walk the talk and lead by example when it comes to interweaving Indigenous and Western views of water,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
Natural Intelligence defined
Blue Ecology in the Cowichan initiative
“The umbrella for our current collaboration with the regional district is the Blue Ecology in the Cowichan initiative. Building bridges between two cultures is about a mind-set change. To quote Michael Blackstock, it costs zero dollars to change one’s attitude.”
Blue Ecology restores the human dimension to our understanding of how natural water systems function naturally
“Watershed Moments is an inter-regional initiative to advance Blue Ecology. The Cowichan Valley has participated since inception in 2018. What Blue Ecology offers local government is a foundation, and starting point, that has both Indigenous and non-Indigenous buy-in.”
In 2023, the Watershed Moments team produced a video documentary titled: Blue Ecology: A Pathway to Water Reconciliation and Resilience at the Local Scale. It was broadcast across BC by Shaw Spotlight on their community channels.
“The next evolution in the Watershed Moments series of symposia and videos is the proposed Cowichan Blue Ecology Circle Tour of Indigenous communities for staff and/or elected officials to learn of Indigenous watershed stewardship firsthand.”
“The Cowichan Region Climate Gathering held in December is the springboard to Step One of the Cowichan Blue Ecology Circle Tour. Stay tuned for a story in February about this amazing event, Michael Blackstock’s role, and the historical parallels with the Our River, Our Future Symposium which was a milestone moment for the Georgia Basin Initiative in June 1995.”
To Learn More:
To read the complete story download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Counterbalance Artificial Intelligence with Natural Intelligence!