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Convening for Action in British Columbia

What happens on the land matters. Apply ‘cathedral thinking’ – a far-reaching vision, a well thought-out blueprint, and a shared commitment to inter-generational implementation – to create a lasting water sustainability legacy. Convening for Action is a British Columbia process that is about moving from defining the problems (the ‘what’), to determining options (the ‘so what’), to taking action to achieve results (the ‘now what’), and after that, to replicating in other communities (the ‘then what’).

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WATER SUSTAINABILITY ACTION PLAN: Community-of-practice for ‘Convening for Action in British Columbia’ – “Having the waterbucket.ca website as a communication platform allows the Action Plan partners to ‘tell our story’ and ‘record our history’ as a work-in-progress,” stated Ray Fung (2006)


“Convening for Action is a provincial initiative that supports innovation on-the-ground. From the perspective of those leading and/or participating in regional programs, having this community-of-interest provides the opportunity to ‘tell our story’ and ‘record our history’ as a work-in-progress,” states Ray Fung. “It will turn ideas into action by building capacity and understanding regarding integration of long-term, strategic planning and the implementation of physical infrastructure.”

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DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCE: The Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia – Our Story (March 2018)


“Future planners, engineers, scientists, politicians and citizens alike will be called upon to demonstrate both vision and pragmatism, working as a team towards consensus, commitment and collaboration for the common good. Such collaboration is essential and must cross all political and community boundaries given that climate change is no respecter of such creations. The Partnership has accepted this challenge and its implementation,” stated Eric Bonham.

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Green, Heal and Restore the Earth: Ian McHarg’s “Design with Nature” vision has influenced implementation of British Columbia’s Water Sustainability Action Plan


In his 1969 book, Design With Nature, Ian McHarg pioneered the concept of environmental planning. “So, I commend Design with Nature to your sympathetic consideration. The title contains a gradient of meaning. It can be interpreted as simply descriptive of a planning method, deferential to places and peoples, it can invoke the Grand Design, it can emphasize the conjunction with and, finally it can be read as an imperative. DESIGN WITH NATURE!,” wrote Ian McHarg.

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PATH FORWARD FOR GROUNDWATER IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Unless it is legislated, it is not a priority for government,” states Mike Wei, former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights


“Unless you have legislation that tells you what the important requirements are, it is very hard to go forward. Legislation drives scientific questions; in turn, science informs legislation. It is not a one-time thing, but rather iterative. The science forward approach which some academics advocate is a good idea but has practical challenges. One of the challenges with science forward is if it is not legislated, it is not a priority for government. Also, you do not know what the hydrologic values are going to be 30 years from now. So it is very hard to figure out what questions to ask,” stated Mike Wei.

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DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Look beyond water flowing downhill” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in March 2024


“It got my attention when Mike Wei pointed out that the 1200 aquifers in BC are typically tiny. The median size is about twice the area of downtown Vancouver. And so they are ignored because they are not viewed as important. But you live and die at that scale. So, what is the path forward that Mike Wei suggests? Well, it has three elements that make sense to me: deploy the legislative framework to ask the right questions; use the battleground watersheds for scientific research; and protect the local interest and do it well, and do it well everywhere,” stated Kim Stephens.

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DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Hope and optimism do make a difference” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in March 2024


“The Comox Lake Watershed Protection Plan is truly a collaborative outcome. And most importantly, it is currently fully funded, although without a dedicated watershed service, this funding depends on the support of our elected officials. Because the advisory group represented a broad variety of interests, the plan has a very high level of community support. The watershed plan is a living document. We made that clear upfront. We also committed to revisiting the content as necessary to keep the plan relevant and to address changing conditions,” stated Zoe Norcross-Nu’u.

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KEEP IT SIMPLE, PRACTICAL AND IMPLEMENTABLE: “When an organization is not functioning very well, you fix it one piece at a time. After that, you can finetune the pieces,” stated Pete Steblin, former City Engineer and City Manager


“It takes a decade to create a good culture in an organization. But you can destroy it in a year with the wrong political leadership. To keep it going, you must continue to do good things. It takes good ideas. But it also takes a Council that is supportive of the good ideas. And it takes money to follow through and implement those ideas. Instill a culture of continuous improvement and giving back to the community so that the community elects good, well-meaning people. It is a cycle. If you keep that cycle going, there is no end to it,” stated Pete Steblin.

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DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Collaboration – steppingstone to a culture of appreciation” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in March 2024


“Hire excellent people. Then let them make the operational decisions. Council always makes the policy decisions, but always with the advice of staff. Ask the right questions to make sure you are comfortable with recommendations,” stated Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart. “We are trying to get people working together. It is a fragile balance. In the age of social media, the Council reality is that, on a whim, the public can make changes based on information that is not accurate. If the public ever loses confidence in either Council or Staff, we could end up with a wrench in the works.”

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DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Floods and droughts – Water protests human betrayal” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in March 2024


“As far as my research into water is concerned, I finally realized that in human-water entanglements, the human is an elemental episode in an endlessly revisable text without words, which is water. That way of thinking comes from my post-modern background in English literature. My professor Raymond Federman had said that but he referred to the world rather than water as a text. I thought, what if I just say that we humans are just an elemental episode. In the big picture, after all, we are latecomers in geological history,” stated Serpil Oppermann.

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DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Convening for action at BC Land Summit – Going beyond doing just enough” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in February 2024


“Our land ethic has consequences for water and the land it runs through. Atmospheric rivers and droughts, the situation is dire. At the summit, we will shine the spotlight on examples of policies and tools that enable local governments to implement a restorative approach. The water balance is out of balance. Time is of the essence. Science, applied research and experience underpin WHY WE ARE SO POSITIVE in terms of our philosophy that we can turn things around,” stated Richard Boase.

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DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: ” Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Build the network to achieve mission impact” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in February 2024


“In the early 2000s, 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. The network emerges around a common goal, rather than a particular program or organizational model. The community mobilizes the resources from throughout the network and does this based on existing relationships in the community,” stated Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern, co-author of The Networked Nonprofit.

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CONVENING FOR ACTION IN METRO VANCOUVER: “More than ever, we need stronger champions and people who believe in what they are doing at heart,” stated Ramin Seifi, former General Manager of engineering and planning with Langley Township in the Metro Vancouver region


“A presentation many years ago by UBC professor Patrick Condon put me on the path to integration. Patrick’s storytelling made me realize that everything we do has an effect somewhere else. What Patrick said in his presentation was eye-opening and oh so impactful,” recalled Ramin Seifi. “Patrick Condon was ahead of his time in connecting dots. He inspired me to think about HOW we could integrate departments and disciplines in order to have a holistic view of our community; and then, HOW to implement a vision that would be self-fulfilling and self-sustaining over time.”

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DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Instill a culture to support champions” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in February 2024


Ramin Seif is a visionary leader. At the Township of Langley Township, he carved out a one-of-a-kind role as general manager of a portfolio that combined planning and engineering. His dual role was an essential ingredient in enabling organizational integration, horizontally and vertically. “What we do as individuals, as engineers, as community builders to effect change is very much dependent on education, raising awareness, and developing a culture. And I think that is the story of Langley. We developed a culture that future generations can now take forward,” stated Ramin Seifi.

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