Evergreen’s

Urban Watersheds Forum 2014

Connecting watershed stewards in BC’s Lower Mainland

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This program is made possible by our funders:

And our partners:

Evergreen is a national non-profit working to inspire action to green cities. We believe we can solve even the most pressing urban environmental issues by bringing diverse people together, inspiring them with possibilities and engaging them in identifying solutions and taking action. The need has never been more urgent.

To help create greener, more sustainable cities, we focus on four key areas: Children and Nature, Food, CityWorks and Greenspace.

As part of our Greenspace initiatives, we are proud to deliver the Uncover Your Creeks program. A regional watershed education program designed to connect communities with nature and one another through hands-on watershed restoration and dialogue.

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“My favourite part of the forum was the opportunity to hear from and connect with watershed stewards from around Metro Vancouver.” – Forum participant

Why an urban watersheds forum?

Through Uncover Your Creeks and other programs, Evergreen is fortunate to work

with municipalities, academic institutions, First Nations, non-profits and volunteers

from around the region.

When we started digging into watersheds in the Lower Mainland, we were shocked

and thrilled at the amount of stewardship of varied scope and scale taking place.

It became apparent that dedicated, skilled, knowledgeable stewards from around

the region were lacking opportunity to tell others about their work. The objective of

the 2014 Urban Watersheds Forum was to fill that communication gap with

dialogue, a needs and yields assessment and a Regional Stewardship Map.

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The information collected through the activities is presented in this report.

The forum activities were intended to provide as many opportunities as

possible for sharing information. The forum took place over two days – one

day dedicated to dialogue and the second to a field trip to local restoration

sites.

Day 1:

• Traditional welcome from Shamentsut Slhanay from Squamish Nation

• Themed Information

• Open Space dialogue sessions to answer burning questions

• Keynote address from DG Blair, Director of the Stewardship Centre for BC

• Pecha Kucha-style stories from

• Carmen Rosen, Artistic Director, Still Moon Arts Society

• Aliya Dossa, Youth4Tap Co-Founder

• Sarah Primeau, Landscape Architect, space2place landscape

architects

• Diana Eddowes, Program Manager, Earthwatch

Day 2:

• Field Trip to Creekway Park and Lower MacKay estuary

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“It was great to hear thoughts from such a wide range of people and disciplines.” –Forum participant

Who was there?

The highest value of the forum was held in the participants themselves. Watershed stewards joined us from across the Lower Mainland, sharing their experience, perspective and passion. Stewards came from across sectors, watersheds and municipalities.

With representation from:

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers

Fraser Basin Council

WWF Canada

City Park Stewards Volunteer

Douglas College

SFU

UBC, IRES, SCARP

Metro Vancouver

City of Vancouver

Langley Environmental Partners

City of Burnaby

Community Mapping Network

Delta Farmland & Wildlife Trust

Institute for Urban Ecology

David Suzuki Foundation

Instream Fisheries Research Inc.

City of North Vancouver

Seymour Salmonid Society

Tri-City Green Council

Georgia Strait Alliance

City of Coquitlam

Youth 4 Tap

City of Surrey

Port Moody Ecological Society

False Creek Watershed Society

St. George Rainway

BCIT

BCSEA

Connecting Environmental

Professionals

Jericho Stewardship Group

Stewardship Centre for BC

South Coast Conservation Program

Stoney Creek Environment

Committee

Canadian Freshwater Alliance

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Diving into Urban WatershedsTo maximize opportunity for small group conversation and to allow participants to delve into some pressing urban watershed issues, participants rotated through themed stations. At each station, participants engaged in a different activity designed to provoke dialogue and action and directed by a skilled volunteer. The themes were Climate Adaptation, Diverse Urban Ecosystems, Health and Watershed Consciousness, Citizen Science and Watershed Research, Urban Water Managementand Stewardship.

The information collected at each of the stations is presented in the following pages.

It is intended to illustrate the concerns, questions, opportunities and challenges held by watershed stewards from around the Lower Mainland. You can see some of the major themes that arose from these conversations on page X.

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Station 1: Climate Adaptation

Innovation in the City“One way make adapting

to climate change smoother is to improve communication between

experts and communities.” - Forum

participant

Globally, different climatic zones will be affected by climate change in

different ways, but locally there are predicted impacts we can expect. The

extent to which these impacts will affect us – their intensity and duration - is

not known. We can, however, plan to build resilient communities that can

withstand the predicted impacts.

We asked participants to visit a list of predicted impacts of climate change in

Lower Mainland watersheds and respond with ways to adapt to each impact.

What became apparent is that many potential adaptations would increase

our resilience with respect to multiple impacts. Below and on the following

page, responses have been summarized into the most innovative adaptations

and the most frequently suggested, respectively.

ImpactsSea Level Rise

Extreme High and Low Flows

Less Snow Cover

Warmer summers and

winters

Wetter fall and winter

Drier spring and summer

More frost-free days

Change in flora and fauna

Toward resilience

Innovative AdaptationsRainwater catchments

Site-specific runoff targets

Assisted migration of native plants

Passive energy in homes

Permaculture practices for land use

New ways to share information and

communicate

Carbon and Water pricing and

taxation

Stormwater hydroelectricity7

Population

Growth

Land use

variability

Sea Level Rise

Basic Human

Needs

Climate Change

Need for connection

with people and

nature

Amount of

water on

earth

Weather

Limited Funds

Differing

values

Urban space

and paved

surfaces

Lost species

and habitat

Size of

watersheds

Natural Disasters

Laws of Nature

Change is

constant

Municipal leadership Water use

Responsible waste disposal

Daylighting and restoration

Civic Engagement

Emergency Preparedness

Willingness to change

Species at Risk

Value of culture

Education and awareness

Share best practices

Social Media as a tool

Black and Grey water separation

Community Art

Environmental injustice

Holistic communities

Citizen Science

VoteTap

water

Local

campaigns

Be a steward

Accept risk, support innovation

Native

plant

gardens

Advocacy

Water

re-use Water

conservation

Education and

awareness

Rainwater

collection

What are the elements of urban

watershed management that

cannot be changed?

What influence

can communities

have?

What influence

can individuals

have?

Station 2:Diverse Urban Ecosystems

Connection in the urban sphere

We asked participants to share with us the things they value. What we

learned was that diversity – of the biological, social and economic worlds

- makes a healthy urban system.

We learned that watershed stewards in BC’s Lower Mainland prioritize

seven aspects of urban systems and feel connected to the system

through a variety of activities, interactions and opportunities.

Education• Local ecological

knowledge

• Nature

Interpretation

Nature in the City• Access and proximity

• Recreation

• Visible water and streams

• Human connection to

nature

Human and Environmental

Health• Adequate, clean water supply

for humans and environment

• Clean air

• Healthy local food

• Functioning forest systems

Biodiversity• Intact, resilient

ecosystems and habitat

• Wildlife

• Healthy soil

• Wetlands and natural

stormwater attenuation

Spirituality• Peace, quiet and

clarity

• Calm

• Source of life

Community

Connection• Inclusive, engaged,

responsible citizens

• Family and friends

• Diverse community

resources

• Art and creativity9

What are our common values?

Naturally, when we asked participants to

value things, the conversation eventually

moved toward the economy; how can we

place a dollar value on ecosystems,

relationships, spirituality and health? Or should

we at all?

There were some unifying themes in the

discussion. We’ve posed those themes here as

questions that we invite you to consider in the

context of your organization, community or

watershed.

• Is it possible to place a value on nature?

• What is the cost of pollution? Can we put a

dollar value on it?

• What is the difference between cost and

value?

• How much, if anything, are we willing to pay

for a healthy environment?

• What do things like reduced ecosystem

services and privatization of water utilities

mean for the future of our urban

watersheds?

• What is the value of uninterrupted habitat?

• What links exist between monetizing

ecosystems and our health?

• Does reduced access to nature threaten

our spirituality and culture?

• Does placing a monetary value on nature

lead to its commodification?

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Station 3: Health and Watershed Consciousness

Interacting with our watersheds

Watershed consciousness can mean different things to different people; to Evergreen it means …

• Intellectual and spiritual awareness of

watersheds and how they are connected to our well being

• Relationship between watersheds and humans now compared to before urban development

• Our experience and interaction with watersheds within and outside our cities

Our connection to watersheds is often linked to our health. It’s been shown that we can gain health benefits from interacting with healthy natural spaces. For example, in Japan, patients are prescribed walks in the forest – or forest therapy – to improve their physical and mental health.

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“My watershed connects people to place.” Mark Sloat, City of Burnaby

We asked participants to draw their interaction with their watershed today contrasted with their interaction with their watershed in 50 years.

The results showed a creative, informed, innovative and passionate citizenry who acknowledged ecological, social and economic aspects of a healthy watershed and, based on what we have the power to do in our cities, predicted some of the ways our watersheds might be different in the future.

Some common visions for the future included:

• Incorporating green space for humans and animals into urban environments

• Reducing pollution

• Reconnecting habitat; and

• Maintaining clean drinking water sources.

Participants expressed the need for innovative problem solving, public education and engagement and accurate valuation of water as an ecological good.

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Station 4: Citizen Science and Watershed Research

What do the data say?

As watershed champions we are all familiar with how critical watersheds are to communities, cities, fisheries, agriculture and industry. Ongoing research helps us understand what we can do to prioritize watershed health and function. By including community members in local research initiatives, they gain a better understanding and connection with their watersheds.

We asked participants to

imagine the current state of their watershed and brainstorm its strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and obstacles they have encountered or might encounter. You can see the results on the following page.

What role do researchers and

citizen scientists play in capitalizing on these strengths and opportunities? And addressing these weaknesses and obstacles?

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Station 5: Urban Water Management

What’s your role?

In Metro Vancouver, “Traditionally, stormwater management dealt mainly

with conveying the excess runoff through a drainage system to the nearest

waterway. Today, stormwater management is evolving to integrate

stormwater infrastructure planning with relevant municipal planning

processes - such as Official Community Plans, Neighbourhood Concept

Plans, recreation and parks plans, and even strategic transportation plans -

to address impacts of rainwater on community values.” –Metro Vancouver

At station 5, we asked participants to share with us the types of influence they

have, as individuals and members of communities, over urban water

management. Consider the responses on the following page – is the same true

in your watershed?15

# o

f R

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ren

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s to

Ad

ap

atio

n

Potential adaptations to predicted climate changes in

Metro Vancouver

Water ConservationReduce Impermeable

SurfacesNaturalize waterways and shorelines

Capture rainwater in barrels,

catchments and rain gardensConstruct and restore natural and

stormwater wetlandsInvasive species management

Residential greywater useXeriscaping

Improved legislation for stormwater management including infrastructure

upgrades

Limit development in floodplains and other sensitive areas

Critical Environmental Flows

Station 6: Stewardship Map

Action and collaboration in the community

At the Forum, participants shared information about their projects,

organizations and watersheds; we put all of that information on a map.

Missed out adding your project or organization? Want to edit your

contribution? You can do that – just click here to visit the map.

The Uncover Your Creeks collaborative online space is where watershed

stewards, volunteers, neighbours and seekers of information can learn

about urban watersheds, initiatives in the Lower Mainland and how they

can get involved. You can visit us at www.uncoveryourcreeks.ca.

I live in the ___________ ____________ watershed.17

The power of community in the city

Through the station activities, watershed stewards from around the Lower Mainland shared

their thoughts on some of the most pressing urban issues today. Many noteworthy questions, conversation points and concerns were expressed and captured through each of the activities, which demonstrate that, as a group, citizens of the Lower Mainland have a thorough understanding of urban watersheds and what their future could look like.

Some of the broad-scale ideas that arose across themes included:

Deep concern for future of ecosystems and human health in urban watersheds.

Desire for innovative solutions to pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change, conservation and habitat preservation at the household, neighbourhood, municipal and regional scales.

Desire to gain and share more information and encourage an informed, engaged, active citizenry in the Lower Mainland.

Yearning for meaningful interactions with nature for health, recreation and spirituality.

A need to combine intact and resilient ecosystems with long-lasting infrastructure

A desire to utilize and support the art community for engagement and awareness

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Over the day and a half of

the Urban Watersheds Forum, many connections, commonalities and opportunities to work together were identified.

On the other hand, the

problems we face in our

watersheds remained. The Open Space session allowed participants to bring forward issues they wanted to address in a safe, collaborative and constructive conversation; it allowed them to build on what they had uncovered during morning activities with more in-depth explorations into important topics.

Open space works by the

participants creating the

agenda and hosting conversations. An empty schedule is provided and the spaces populated with the most pressing issues in the room.

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Defining problems and generating solutions:

Open Space conversations

The participant-generated and lead conversations varied widely.

Summary points indicate the key aspects of each conversation:

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Indigenous/”decolonial” planning1. Importance of relationship building

2. Indigenous communities must develop the process in collaboration from

the start, not just be invited later or not at all

3. Decolonization + planning = recognizing that people are gaining from

the theft of lands

Water metering1. Water pricing should reflect actual costs and encourage conservation

2. Water metering is essential as a first step in raising water consciousness

3. Make water usage information more relevant, frequent and able to

encourage a change in behaviour

Building the water movement1. Conservation pricing as part of the Water Sustainability Act

2. Makre sure watershed-scale groups are doing the planning

3. Need more education and outreach in public space

How to encourage environmentalism in youth1. Educate about the full urban water cycle

2. Talk about tough issues early

3. Innovative engagement strategies

Communication and community involvement1. Casual human interactions to build community

2. Beauty and fun to motivate involvement and connections

3. Move beyond fear-based culture and legislation

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Open space conversation summaries, continued:

Incentivising and encouraging green infrastructure (2 conversations)1. Encouraging with financial incentives

2. More education and communication to public, developers and politicians

about multifunctional value

3. Establish more collaborative partnerships (e.g., academia and gov’t)

Water quality sampling1. Need for collective group to assess data and determine parameters

2. Explore validity of citizen science

3. What happens to the data??

The Economic Value of Natural Systems1. Potential to establish a value system for natural resources like air and water

2. Required global shift in perspective allowing natural systems to be viewed as

critical

3. Low recognition between health and well-being and healthy natural

systems. How to link actions, ecosystems and health?

Making watersheds a top priority for municipalities1. Creating one resounding voice from the community

2. Meaningful community engagement in OCP and ISMP processes

3. Follow through on (ISMP) plans with accountability to community

“The forum was not limited to those with existing knowledge.” – Forum participant

At the forum, we asked participants

to share with us their Needs and Yields. Needs are the things they’re looking for to be successful or push their project or organization to the next step – e.g., reach more volunteers, create partnerships, educate a broader group. Yields are the things they can offer – e.g., social media expertise, monitoring skills, coordination capacity. Needs

and yields were shared with participants. You can see some examples from the forum below.

We all make contributions to our

watersheds. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge and share your strengths, resources and skills with the community. Need something? Ask your neighbour or fellow steward, visit the stewardship map, resource library, or contact us and we can do our best to help you or connect you with someone who can!

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What I need to do my work better…

Funding for Citizen Science

Network of stewards in Fraser Basin

Internship on Watershed governance

Map of Metro Vancouver Watersheds

Less red tape at City Hall to activate

climate adaptation initiatives

Community support for budget

changes for daylighting

Stronger relationship with municipality

What I have to offer…

Species at Risk stewardship

Watershed Management Plans

Facilitation Skills

Volunteers, water sampling equipment,

tools and resources

Social Media expertise

Freshwater health assessments

Creativity and art linked to watershed

awareness

To bring context to our Day 1 dialogue and to get everyone outside, we visited

two of Metro Vancouver’s most recently restored urban stream systems.

Our first stop was Creekway Park with Nick Page from the Vancouver Park

Board. We learned that the restored stream is the first phase of a project

intending to meet the social, environmental and cultural needs of the

community. The stream will eventually be connected to the upstream

Sanctuary in Hastings Park and to Burrard Inlet downstream, providing a

connection between foreshore and upland habitat.

You can see an interactive map of the plans for Creekway Park and the

surrounding area.

The Field Trip: Site 1Creekway Park

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Our second stop was the Lower MacKay estuary in North Vancouver with

Ken Ashley from the BCIT Rivers Institute and Angela Negenman from the

City of North Vancouver.

Historic encroachment on the estuary by industry had severely limited its

hydrological and ecological functions. These changes negatively

affected salmon and trout populations in the MacKay River system.

Restoration of the estuary is being undertaken by Dr. Ashley and his

students of Ecological Restoration and includes reshaping the channel,

revegetating and guarding against invasive species. This will be the first

of three estuaries restored on the north shore of Burrard Inlet with the help

of many partners.

The Field Trip: Site 2The Lower MacKay Estuary

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What’s next?

We appreciate support from our partners and volunteers, who encourage the evolution of our programming. The next steps for Evergreen’s Uncover Your Creeks program include:

• Launching a collaborative online space - uncoveryourcreeks.ca – to provide a platform for connection between stewards, provide resources and share watershed stories.

• Sharing what we’ve learned at the forum with government, academic and community partners

• Continuing to facilitate on-the-ground action in Lower Mainland Watersheds

• Facilitating public discussions about climate adaptation in urban watersheds

What’s your role moving forward?

We encourage you to share your watershed stories via our blog! Email us with your watershed story.

Talk with your friends, neighbours and colleagues about your observations, vision and concerns for your watershed. By including different perspectives in the conversation, we can inject innovation, collaboration and depth to our strategies for the future.

Take action – follow your passion! Stewardship can mean different things to different people. Be active in your watershed in the ways that are meaningful to you.

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Thank you!

We would like to thank all of the Urban Watersheds Forum participants for

contributing their time, expertise and passion to making the day a

success.

We would also like to thank our team of bright and keen volunteers – from

left to right, Lucy, Joni, Jessica, Ace, Joyce, Abi and Ran - without whom

the day would not have been possible! 26