Tag:

Jody Watson

LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The Bowker Creek Initiative is a network. It is a true community-driven collaboration made up of people with a lot of heart, grit, commitment, and dedication. They are dedicated to achieving the Bowker Blueprint vision,” stated Jody Watson, Supervisor of Environmental Initiatives with the Capital Regional District

November 28, 2023


The 100-Year Action Plan for bringing Bowker Creek back to life will be achieved through an intergenerational commitment to a shared vision. Key words that capture the essence of the Bowker story are perseverance, dedication, and TIME in capitals. Changes do not happen overnight. It is a journey and journeys take decades. “That is what makes the Bowker Creek Initiative the best. We are watching it implement organically and operationally, unlike how it was 10 years ago when we were always banging at doors and saying don’t forget about the creek,” stated Jody Watson.

Read Article

LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “In 1995, I got involved in a Local Area Plan that was under development and started advocating for changes in watershed and stream protection policies. To draw attention to the need for action, I organized a series of community walks and developed a ‘watershed tour’ slideshow and took it around the community,” stated Ian Graeme, community leader and founder, Friends of Bowker Creek Society

May 3, 2022


“Technical knowledge is not enough. You learn that technical competence alone is not going to get you there. That is what I want to pass on to people. If you have a technical problem, it is relationships that matter most. Strong relationships help make the Bowker Creek Initiative agile. We need agility because we do not have the time and resources. At one level, all of us are too busy. At another level, and given the challenges posed by the issues of the day, we need to move on opportunities very quickly. Over a career, you do learn that it is all about understanding people. Technical knowledge is incidental sometimes,” stated Ian Graeme.

Read Article

LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Work. See the barrier. Knock it down. As long as people continue doing that…..the 2003 Watershed Management Plan, the 2010 Blueprint, the 2020 Daylighting Feasibility Study, and so on will be kept alive that way,” stated Adriane Pollard, Manager of Environmental Services with the District of Saanich on Vancouver Island (March 2022)

March 1, 2022


“The intergenerational baton is being accepted. I believe the Daylighting Feasibility Study is the Bowker Blueprint for this next generation of municipal employees and community people. It is a ground-breaking document. It is meaningful. It causes us to focus and act. It gives us the knowledge to go forward. In terms of knocking down barriers, you really just have to look at what is the barrier and ask, what is holding us back and how do we address it? Be very focused and break the mold if you need to. Because that is what we did with the Blueprint, and that is what we have now done with the Daylighting Feasibility Study,” stated Adriane Pollard.

Read Article

LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Technical knowledge is not enough. You learn that technical competence alone is not going to get you there. That is what I want to pass on to people. If you have a technical problem, it is relationships that matter most,” stated Jody Watson, Past-Chair, when she reflected on the enduring success of the Bowker Creek Initiative in British Columbia’s Capital Region (September 2021)

September 28, 2021


“Strong relationships help make the BCI agile. We need agility because we do not have the time and resources (to implement the Bowker Creek Blueprint and 100-Year Action Plan). At one level, all of us are too busy. At another level, and given the challenges posed by the issues of the day, we need to move on opportunities very quickly. Over a career, you do learn that it is all about understanding people. Technical knowledge is incidental sometimes,” stated Jody Watson. She is widely recognized as the “the face of the BCI” because of her tireless efforts to bring a degraded creek back to life.

Read Article