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“Throughout British Columbia, an amazing network of volunteer groups is working to protect, restore and enhance local streams,” states Eric Bonham. “Teamwork for the common good is a powerful and often transformative experience, particularly when a longer term vision for a local creekshed engages multiple interests, disciplines and local government. Today, the scope of involvement and influence of stream stewards is expanding beyond the creek channel. What happens on the land matters to streams.”

“They can integrate climate adaptation into the activities and actions of engineered and natural asset management – or flipping it around, integrate asset management into the activities and actions of climate adaptation. Getting it right starts with recognition that hydrology is the engine that powers ecological services. But getting it right depends on provincial and local government alignment to require ‘design with nature’ standards of practice for servicing of land,” wrote Tim Pringle.

“Streamkeepers and municipalities both have a great deal of unexercised power and capacity to collaborate in the interests of the common good. You have only started; and in so doing, you can move outside the limitations of formal, established governance structures,” stated Bob Sandford. “It is the way to move out from under that, to build new governance pathways. And pathways to real power that can allow you to make change possible in a much shorter period of time. You have proven that, if you change your attitudes, changes in practice follow almost immediately. So, I ask and urge you to carry on.”

“The long-term vision for transforming a sawmill site into a valuable habitat corridor could also transform the city’s most troublesome flood liabilities into an eco-asset corridor for the whole community,” wrote Vanessa Scott. “The Comox Valley is approaching a watershed moment in land restoration, and all of British Columbia can learn some important lessons here. Led by wild salmon and local passion, Kus-kus-sum highlights how public engagement and storytelling is a key driver underlying restoration.”

“Each of us has helped to make change and pave the way for more people to join in, and for more people to be asked for their input and to have something worth saying,” stated Zo Ann Morten. “For those of us who started out ‘to save the world’, well it has been a tough slog, and we aren’t there as yet. But we can take pride in being in a better state then if we had all stayed home and ate bonbons on the couch. Ah, the hard work of hope! We do have the pieces to do better to embrace a water-first approach.

“Looking through the ‘worth lens’ has been transformational. We concluded that less emphasis should be placed on monetization of ecological services. It is more realistic to focus on investment of resources – that is, time and money – as well as aspirations of motivated stakeholders,” stated Tim Pringle. “For this reason, the Ecological Accounting Process (EAP) examines the investment of resources already made by stakeholders, as well as their aspirations concerning the maintenance and management of ecological services.”

In the works for years, the Centre is intended as an immersive and highly engaging place for visitors with a strong connection to the natural environment. “As we celebrate 50 years of Metro Vancouver Regional Parks this year, we continue to enhance our expansive portfolio of parks, park reserves, greenways and ecological conservancy areas,” said Metro Vancouver Chair Greg Moore. “This addition will be a valuable hub for future generations to enjoy, connect with, and learn about nature.”

“While it’s customary here to lament the sheer amount of precipitation our city gets, the fact is that rain, and the waterways through which it flows, play an incredibly important role in our region’s beautiful and diverse ecosystem – an ecosystem that requires ongoing monitoring and maintenance to ensure the sustainability of the surrounding environment and wildlife,” wrote Glen Parker. “Perhaps because rain is thought of as a force of rejuvenation and renewal, we often neglect to think about how stormwater can actually endanger our ecosystems and fish populations.”

We all learn from stories and the most compelling ones are based on the experiences of those who are leading in their communities. Local government champions on the east coast of Vancouver Island are sharing and learning from each other through inter-regional collaboration. “In the RDN, we have seven basin-scale ‘water region’ areas for planning and communication purposes,” reported Julie Pisani. “We profiled streams in each of those water regions, where stewardship groups have been collecting water quality data.”

“Community stewardship volunteers are demonstrating what it means to embrace ‘shared responsibility’ and take the initiative to lead by example. MVIHES secured funding from multiple agencies and developed the Shelly Creek Water Balance & Sediment Reduction Plan,” stated Peter Law. “The challenge for MVIHES is to facilitate the community’s journey from awareness to action, expressed as follows: Once a community as a whole acknowledges that there is a problem, and also understands why there is a problem, what will the community do about it?”