Recently I had the opportunity to travel with a group of Ivey undergraduates to Backus Woods and the Big Creek National Wildlife Area. We met there with the CEO and staff of Nature Conservancy of Canada and leaders and technical experts of the Canadian Wildlife Service. It was a magical day of walking in the forest and wetlands and we learned a lot about the ecology of these very special Canadian places. I am sure the students will remember it for years to come. I know I will.
But ecology was not all we learned. We also learned about the challenges that managers in organizations face as they work to protect and maintain these special places. It was a story of what I came to think of as ‘positive complexity’.
Complexity is a notion the students had already confronted in our class. We had discussed how many of the problems that jointly involve the private and public sectors are in the class of ‘wicked’ problems. Wicked problems are known for their complexity and their resistance to straightforward solutions. We had spoken of the work of Waterloo political scientist Thomas Homer-Dixon on complexity. Specifically, we had discussed the concern, expressed in his book entitled “The Ingenuity Gap”, that we might not have the ingenuity to fully comprehend and maintain our world’s increasingly complex systems and the resilience to deal with their inevitable failures.
In Backus Woods we learned that with its challenges, complexity also brings opportunities. The creation of Backus Woods and the Big Creek NWA required the collaboration of many partners including three levels of government, firms, private individuals and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Building a common vision, aligning disparate incentives, and overcoming legal, social and financial obstacles were all required to make these special places a reality. The complexity of the required process is daunting.
Yet the complex process needed to realize the vision of Backus Woods and Big Creek had broader benefits. The shared vision needed to conserve these properties is long lasting and transferable to other conservation projects. The army of supporters and experts involved can be mobilized to work in other areas. The understanding the partners gained can change attitudes about the environment and build trust that enables further community collaboration.
Tackling the complex task of conserving Backus Woods and the Big Creek NWA required leaders with ingenuity, determination, and persistence. The students got a glimpse of that leadership as we walked through the towering trees of the old-growth Carolinian forest. It was a lesson that will stay with them as they build their careers and take their place among community leaders.
by Paul Boothe