Thu, 13 Jul 2023
Tags: Community / PCAF

18 Community Grant Projects Receive Funding

Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society - Volunteers working on The Kootenay Lake Kokanee Salmon Spawning Habitat Research and Restoration Project

HCTF’s Community Grants (formerly PCAF) will be providing funding to 18 different projects working to complete volunteer-based conservation projects in BC. The Foundation approved $149,656 in grants this year for projects ranging from creek restoration to bat protection and monitoring. A full list of this year’s grant recipients is below.

You can find out more about HCTF’s Community Grants program here.

Mill (Harrop) Creek Kokanee Spawning Gravel Weir

SPONSOR: WEST ARM OUTDOORS CLUB

The West Arm Outdoors Club is undertaking a kokanee spawning habitat project in Mill Creek located at Harrop BC. Two gravel platforms will be constructed at the lower reach of Mill Creek before it flows into the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. Volunteers and local community members will build two engineered gravel platforms that are designed to support quality spawning gravel. Kokanee spawners will utilize the platforms and club members will work with the Ministry of Forests–fisheries to count spawner numbers.

Simpcw Caribou Lichen Collection

SPONSOR: SIMPCW NATURAL RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

Simpcw is undertaking a lichen collection project to aid in a supplemental caribou feeding program. The Project will deploy help from community members, while on a guided interpretive walks, volunteers will aid in lichen collection. The lichen, along with an ungulate grain feed, will supplement caribou diets during the winter to help improve overall health for the herd.

Whitebark Pine Community Cone Cleaning

SPONSOR: SIMPCW NATURAL RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

The Whitebark Pine Community Cone Cleaning Project will help conserve and restore whitebark pine populations, which are keystone species in high elevation forests of Simpcw Territory. Whitebark pine cones contain nutrient-rich seeds that are important food sources for wildlife and are critical to the tree’s reproductive cycle. Community members will help to remove the seeds from the cones, then clean and prepare the seeds to grow new trees for restoration planting. Some of the seed will also be retained by the community for food and medicinal use. The project will provide an opportunity for community members to get involved in conservation efforts, learn more about the importance of whitebark pine trees, and build partnerships between different organizations.

Revitalizing Lost Lagoon

SPONSOR: STANLEY PARK ECOLOGY SOCIETY

This project will revitalize Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park with six connected artificial islands and six floating logs for wildlife. The goal is to improve the natural infrastructure surrounding Stanley Park’s freshwater ecosystem and enhance biodiversity for climate resiliency. The project will engage community volunteers in hands-on habitat enhancement and restoration to foster an appreciation for freshwater ecosystems and build a community of stewards and create a knowledge transfer strategy to encourage sustainable behavior changes for the protection of freshwater in Canada.

Elk Valley Cottonwood Restoration – Phase 2: Conservation Lands

SPONSOR: ELK RIVER ALLIANCE

Elk Valley Cottonwood Restoration – Phase 2: Conservation Lands will restore riparian and floodplain forests on conservation properties in the Elk Valley. Volunteers will plant thousands of native plants to improve and protect aquatic and terrestrial habitat for vulnerable species like Westslope cutthroat trout, elk, grizzly bear, blue heron and other species while improving flood resilience to protect downstream communities.

Silver Star Black Bear Education Trail

SPONSOR: SILVERSTAR PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION

The Silver Star Black Bear Stewardship Group will use art, wonder and play to inspire people to conserve black bears in their habitat. Multiple themed stations along a newly formed black bear education trail will be created, each with its own unique purpose. The stations will guide the public on black bear biology and behaviour as well as provide stories of bears in their habitat throughout history.

S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest Restoration Project

SPONSOR: RAINCOAST CONSERVATION FOUNDATION

Raincoast’s Forest Conservation Program (FCP) aims to strengthen protection and stewardship of rare Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) forests characteristic to BC’s south coast. A strategy to achieve this goal has been to establish a land trust. Having co-purchased two conservation properties on S,DÁYES (North Pender Island) since 2021 we are working to establish restoration strategies that involve community members, honour W̱SÁNEĆ Knowledge systems, enhance biodiversity, increase carbon sequestration, and maximize climate resilience.

Stewardship Initiatives for Invasive Plant Management on Public/Crown Lands

SPONSOR: EAST KOOTENAY INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL

The East Kootenay Invasive Species Council is utilizing HCTF Community Grant funding to mobilize individuals for invasive species management across the East Kootenays. Through this community-driven initiative, resources for tackling invasive species are being made accessible to the public. The project aims to assist in identifying invasive species, actively removing them, and restoring sensitive ecosystems by replanting native species. Tangible outcomes are being achieved as a result of this collaborative effort.

Education and Restoration at Dallas Creek

SPONSOR: WILDCOAST ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Wildcoast Ecological Society will restore a portion of Dallas Creek in James Park with the help of community volunteers and 400 students from Ecole Moody Middle School of the Arts. Everyone will learn how to protect their neighbourhood creek so that it may provide habitat for salmon and other wildlife for generations.

Bat Habitat Protection and Community Education

SPONSOR: NORTH OYSTER AND AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The North Oyster Hall located in Yellow Point area in Ladysmith, has discovered hundreds of bats roosting in the attic of the hall. This is the largest roosting site in mid Vancouver Island. Our goals are to provide a safe and secure nesting area for the bats, and to be engaged in providing community education on bats and bat conservation. We will set up a live webcam for public viewing and learning about bats and produce informational material that will be available to the public and engage volunteers taking part in bat counts.

Fish Habitat & Riparian Restoration Stewardship Workshops

SPONSOR: B.C. WILDLIFE FEDERATION

The B.C. Wildlife Federation’s Fish Habitat Stewardship Workshops will restore streams and green spaces in Metro Vancouver and Invermere and train participants to become stewards of their local streams. BC is home to many native fish species that are under threat from anthropogenic-caused habitat loss and fragmentation. In many of BC’s urban streams, the quality of available habitat and resident fish populations have been dramatically declining due to pollution and development. Many fish species are extremely vulnerable to climate change, often as a result of struggling to adapt to rapidly changing environments. Our workshops address these issues by improving habitat conditions for native species through habitat enhancements and streamkeeper training.

Lois Creek Stream and Wetland Enhancement Project

SPONSOR: WILDSIGHT

The Lois Creek stream and wetland enhancement is a small-scale ecosystem restoration focused project. It will enhance stream and wetland function along Lois Creek, in Kimberley BC, while engaging many grassroots community groups and local citizens.

Riparian Habitat Restoration and Reed Canarygrass Removal in Mallard Creek

SPONSOR: COMOX VALLEY PROJECT WATERSHED SOCIETY

Robust and healthy riparian corridors through agricultural land are important landscape assets for salmon, amphibians, and birds, providing rearing, spawning, and nesting habitat and filtering pollutants from nearby farming activities. Project Watershed will remove an aggressive invasive forage grass, Reed canarygrass, from Mallard Creek and reestablish a native riparian species that will enhance habitat quality within this stream for fish, amphibians, and birds.

Firehall, Lily and Bilston Creek Riparian Restoration Projects

SPONSOR: BILSTON WATERSHED HABITAT PROTECTION ASSOCIATION

Funding from this grant will be used for educational signage and for restoration of riparian areas along Firehall, Lily and Bilston Creeks in the Luxton neighborhood of Langford. The creeks in that part of Bilston Watershed have been and continue to be heavily impacted. Many new residents of the area are not aware of the restoration potential and ecological value of the creeks. Thanks to the high volume of pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle traffic in Luxton, signage and restoration activities in the Luxton neighbourhood will effectively raise awareness of the interconnectedness and vulnerability of the entire Bilston Watershed.

Ecosystem Restoration via Cultural and Prescribed Fire in the Dry Interior

SPONSOR: B.C. WILDLIFE FEDERATION

The B.C. Wildlife Federation is partnering with First Nations, NGOs, and the government to undertake cultural and prescribed fire treatments in three sites in the Interior, along with other restoration techniques, to restore wildlife and vegetation habitat. Subsequent research will monitor wildlife and vegetation activity to demonstrate the effects of prescribed burns on wildlife and vegetation, which will be used to support future prescribed burn projects. The Community Grant will be used to train volunteers setup and maintain cameras used for data collection and vegetation monitoring.

Quadra Hill Wetland Restoration and Carbon Enhancement Project

SPONSOR: GALIANO CONSERVANCY ASSOCIATION

The Galiano Conservancy Association is restoring 3 ha of degraded pasture and farmland into a forested wetland ecosystem to improve ecological connectivity across its 660+ ha Mid-Island Protected Areas Network. The goal of this project is to restore and enhance the landscape and increase its ability to absorb freshwater and sequester carbon through native vegetation and wetland creation. Central to this goal is establishing climate-resilient western redcedar forest.

Turtles and Toads: Engaging Volunteers To Protect Two At-Risk Species

SPONSOR: COASTAL PARTNERS IN CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Western Painted Turtles and Western Toads are two at-risk species that face many threats in the South Coast region of BC. To protect these iconic species, the Coastal Partners in Conservation Society will engage volunteers and the public to restore habitat and collect important breeding and migration data that can be used to mitigate threats and preserve populations of these species, and their habitats, for years to come.

Lower Craigflower Creek Riparian Restoration

SPONSOR: COASTAL COLLABORATIVE SCIENCES (A DIVISION OF WORLD FISHERIES TRUST)

Coastal Collaborative Sciences (a division of World Fisheries Trust) is working with CRD Parks, the Town of View Royal, the Songhees Nation Marine Team, the Gorge Waterway Action Society, New Roads Recovery, and other community members and stewards to restore the degraded reaches of lower Craigflower Creek. This restoration project will remove invasive plants that have taken over the floodplains and replace them with native riparian vegetation to support birds, amphibians, and endangered salmonids within Craigflower Creek. This multi-year project will improve the stream’s resilience to the impacts of climate change by increasing shade, flood and erosion control, and biodiversity, while providing environmental education, outreach, and natural beauty to our local community.

Wed, 29 Jun 2022
Tags: PCAF

8 Community Conservation Projects Receive PCAF Funding

Volunteers supporting the Metchosin Parks Holly Eradication Project funded by PCAF.

HCTF’s Public Conservation Assistance Fund (PCAF) will be providing grants to 8 different organizations working to complete volunteer-based conservation projects in BC. The Foundation approved over $46,281 in PCAF grants this year for projects ranging from meadow restoration to enhancing barn swallow habitat. A full list of this year’s grant recipients is below.

You can find out more about HCTF’s PCAF program here.

Linley Valley Native Pollinator Meadow Restoration

GRANT RECIPIENT: Nanaimo & Area Land Trust

The NALT Linley Valley Native Pollinator Meadow Restoration project will restore 800 square meters of meadow in the much-loved Linley Valley Cottle Lake municipal park. We hope to transform a non-native grass meadow to one filled with native flowering plants beneficial to native pollinators and birds. In tandem with this restoration work we will be doing education and outreach with the public and with elementary school classes on the benefits of enhancing habitat with native plant species for our threatened native pollinators.

Metchosin Parks Holly Eradication

GRANT RECIPIENT: Metchosin Invasive Species Cooperative

Invasive species in the Metchosin area are becoming a significant concern in our parks and boulevards. MISC members made a presentation to the Metchosin Parks and Trails Committee in April 2018 to bring attention to the proliferation of holly in our area. The Metchosin Parks and Trails Committee passed a unanimous resolution to eradicate holly from all Metchosin parks.

Mill (Harrop) Creek Kokanee Spawning Gravel Weir

GRANT RECIPIENT: West Arm Outdoors Club

This proposed project is intended to involve the local community in a pilot restoration project for West Arm of Kootenay Lake kokanee. Local people will assist in construction of two spawning platforms on Mill (Harrop) Creek. An engineered design calls for logs to be located across the creek at two locations with kokanee spawning gravel placed upstream of the logs thus providing good habitat for kokanee.for kokanee to spawn in.

Cedars for the Next Century

GRANT RECIPIENT: Galiano Conservancy Association

The Galiano Conservancy Association is restoring the Chrystal Creek watershed in a 4-5 year project on Galiano Island. The goal of this project is to restore and enhance natural infrastructure across the watershed, improving the landscape’s ability to absorb freshwater and sequester carbon through native reforestation and wetland creation. Central to this goal is the establishment of diverse native vegetation within a successional framework that will result in the restoration of climate-resilient western redcedar forest in the long term.

Gambier Island Amphibian Monitoring

GRANT RECIPIENT: Gambier Island Conservancy

This project aims to determine the presence and distribution of the Coastal Tailed Frog, Wandering Salamander and Red legged frog on Gambier Island by eDNA testing in the seven largest watersheds on the island in order to inform the Islands Trust Conservancy and Howe Sound Biosphere initiative’s conservation management plans.

Xwaaqw’um Stream Restoration

GRANT RECIPIENT: Stqeeye Learning Society

This project will lead to the conservation of Xwaaqw’um through practices grounded in the knowledge of Quw’utsun Elders and Knowledge Keepers and collaborating with partners who hold Western knowledge and expertise. The benefits from this project are the presence of Quw’utsun Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and the restoration of stream, riparian and wetland habitat at Xwaaqw’um.

Barn Swallow Nesting Structure

GRANT RECIPIENT: Victoria Rowing Society

Support and enhance the population of Barn Swallows at Elk Lake by building a new nesting structure and providing access to new nest sites within an existing building. The project will also prevent accumulation of feces (on equipment) and enhance understanding of Barn Swallows amongst facility-users and the general public, ensuring continuing support for the nesting population currently using the boathouse.

Wetland Protection Toolkit

GRANT RECIPIENT: Invasive Species Council of BC

The Invasive Species Council of BC (ISCBC) is engaging volunteers to be wetland stewards through the Wetland Protection Toolkit project, which will benefit fish and wildlife directly through education and habitat restoration. The toolkit includes resources, habitat restoration at Swan Lake in Victoria, and virtual sessions to encourage local action throughout the province. The focus will be on invasive species, native plants, and their effects freshwater fish and wildlife habitat.

Sun, 14 Jul 2019
Tags: PCAF / Stewardship

Haliburton Wetland Turns Ten!

Haliburton wetland

A decade ago, a group of volunteers began an ambitious project: transform a field overgrown with invasive reed canary grass into a wetland able to support wildlife. Today, Haliburton Wetland in Saanich, BC, stands as a fantastic example of how people and nature can co-exist.

Last week, Dr. Purnima Govindarajulu gave HCTF staff members Karen Barry, Jade Neilson and Courtney Sieben a tour of the wetland located at Haliburton Community Organic Farm. Although it took some time for the constructed wetland to look natural, it is now fully functioning and has become home to a variety of wildlife species such as tree frogs, long-toed salamanders, and birds.

Over the years, HCTF has provided a total of $24,600 from the Enhancement and Restoration granting stream and from the Public Conservation Assistance Fund (PCAF) for this project. It’s great to see that this project is continuing to make a difference for wildlife species ten years on! You can read more about the Haliburton Wetland in the following HCTF project profile.

Background

The property is a former reservoir site for Saanich under the ALR. In 2001, the property was slated for a housing development but Saanich stepped in to purchase the land and lease it to the Haliburton Community Organic Farm Society. It is now run as a community farm and several producers grow food for consumption, plus there is a native plant nursery on site. The wetland was created in an adjacent area that was formally dominated by grasses.

HCTF provided $10,000 for wetland restoration and creation of a demonstration project, and later $5000 seed funding. More recently, the project received $9,600 from PCAF for tools, native plants, construction of watershed models and stream restoration expertise.

To see a video of the wetland construction (17 min), see https://haliburtonfarm.org/biodiversity/

Entrance to the wetland site

Entrance to the wetland site

Enhancement and Restoration Activities

The wetland site was overgrown with reed canary grass so early efforts focused on installing mats and removing the grass and other non-native species. Experts were called in to assist with designing the wetland. It took a few years for the constructed wetland to look natural.

Pond liner laid down to smother reed canary grass

 

Now that the wetland is functioning, tree frogs and long-toed salamanders have moved in, as well as wetland birds (herons, red-winged black birds). Other enhancement activities include installing bird nest boxes and maternal bat houses. Chickadees, Violet-green swallows, and Bewicks wrens have nested in the boxes, but the bat boxes have not been used yet.

Monitoring activities are conducted regularly and include checking bird boxes, minnow trapping the wetland, and checking wood structures and pit fall traps for amphibians.

Bird box and mason bee box

 

Wetland and replanted area

Wooden cover boards used as an active trap for salamanders

Challenges

The restored area will require ongoing maintenance. In other words, it’s not possible to leave it and “let nature take its course”. In particular, removal of invasive plants is a significant challenge (morning glory, thistles, reed canary grass, etc.). The group has limited capacity for conducting detailed monitoring, so there is a desire to have more student groups, graduate students, and volunteers involved.

Another concern is the high number of non-native European wall lizards. With the increase in these lizards, there seems to be a decline in crickets at the site and it’s possible these lizards are eating many native insects.

Future plans

  • To create more riparian area in order to provide suitable habitat for red-legged frogs.
  • To create another series of small vernal ponds.
  • To increase the involvement of students and initiate an ongoing education program linked to school curriculum.

Purnima with Jade and Courtney

Thu, 4 Apr 2019
Tags: PCAF

PCAF is Keeping Up with the Curlews of BC’s Skookumchuck Prairie

HCTF’s Public Conservation Assistance Fund provides small grants to organizations and individuals who need financial help to implement a conservation project. PCAF funded projects focus on hands-on, community-based initiatives with a high volunteer component.
In the case of the Long Billed Curlew Habitat Project, volunteers were involved in surveying habitat for the mating birds, followed by nest finding and monitoring. With their help, researchers have been able to learn about curlew migration, following individuals as far south as California’s Imperial Valley.

Read more about the project in this article, originally published in BirdWatch Canada.

Thu, 5 Jul 2018
Tags: PCAF

Volunteers Wanted: BC American Kestrel Nest Box Program

American_Kestrel_PCAF

One of our PCAF grant recipients is looking for volunteers to help with their citizen science project. The British Columbia American Kestrel Nest Box Program is a Citizen Scientist initiative that involves the installation of nest boxes in BC to help kestrels find safe and secure places to nest and to facilitate observation and monitoring by volunteers. American kestrels, or kestrels for short, are the blue, brown, white and orange birds that are about the size of a Steller’s jay that are often seen perched on power lines hunting for voles and grasshoppers. Kestrels are the smallest falcon in North America and are also a cavity nesting species that readily use nest boxes.

Project leader Mitchell Warne is looking for suitable locations to install the kestrel nest boxes throughout most of BC. The preferred habitat for kestrels is pasture, hay land and orchards. However, the habitat can also be a mix including some agriculture.

If you would like to volunteer to have a kestrel nest box installed on your property and/or to observe/monitor any nest box(es) please contact Mitchell Warne at info@warneinthewild.com. For more information on the program, visit www.warneinthewild.com.

Mon, 18 Jun 2018
Tags: PCAF

2018-19 Approved PCAF Projects

HCTF has just approved grants for 21 community conservation projects under our PCAF program. PCAF (Public Conservation Assistance Fund) provides grants of up to $10,000 for BC fish and wildlife conservation projects with a strong volunteer component. The following projects will receive PCAF grants this year:

 

Project Name Sponsor Project Description
Moberly Lake Moberly Lake Community Association (MLCA) This disturbance assessment project within the watershed that supports Moberly Lake will determine current road crossing impacts and encourage improved erosion control, culvert remediation, and perhaps undertake plantings to improve riparian/stream bank functions and fish habitat, thus reducing sediment loading into the lake.
Spallumcheen Wetland Restoration New Beginnings Benevolent Society The Society is collaborating with Splatsin Yucwmenlúcwu (Caretakers of the Land) to construct a wetland from an ephemeral pond on a one hectare section of farmland. Through educational workshops and activities, the wetland will provide the opportunity for youth to study an enclosed ecosystem – the physical, chemical, and climatic environment, and the processes that control the dynamics of the system.
Enhancing Wildlife Habitat for Birds, Bats and Bees on Salt Spring Island, BC Salt Spring Island Conservancy The Salt Spring Island Conservancy will work with landowners to install and monitor bat, owl, and bee boxes on Salt Spring Island to enhance habitat for rare bat and owl species and pollinators. Volunteers will assist in building, installing and monitoring boxes, which will increase awareness of these rare species and their habitat needs and threats. Experts will also assist with surveying and monitoring of boxes to determine use and assess distribution on the island.
Restless Bight Beach Clean-up B.C. Marine Trails Network Association The project will be a cleanup of shoreline and uplands area on a six-kilometre beach and upland area called Restless Bight. It is located on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island near two provincial recreation sites called Rowley Reefs Peninsula (north and south). The purpose of this project is to remove a large amount of plastics and debris.
Restoring Wetlands and Ecological Function in Dumois Creek, Logan Lake District of Logan Lake Project activities aim to improve water quality in Logan Lake and the habitat of the watershed
BC American Kestrel Nest Box Program Mitchell Warne To implement an American kestrel nest box program in British Columbia (BC) to improve the breeding success of kestrels in BC to help increase their population and public awareness. The nest boxes would be installed this year (fall 2018) for the 2019 breeding season. The plan is to install 270 kestrel nest boxes throughout BC. The different regions will have a variable number of boxes depending on the individual region and habitat availability. These boxes would then be monitored and maintained by volunteers. Nest boxes will be spread out throughout the province with small clusters of boxes in areas with high quality habitat.
Brown Creek Restoration Project Wildcoast Ecological Society Wildcoast Ecological Society has partnered with Stream of Dreams Murals Society to provide a joint program with elementary schools and the restoration of 1000m2 riparian zone and stream.
Bat Maternity Colony Monitoring & Habitat Improvement Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA) The Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program is seeking PCAF funds for two related activities aimed at improving “anthropogenic” (human-built) bat habitats. The bulk of the funds will be used to improve pup survival in an apartment attic that houses the largest-known Yuma and Little Brown Myotis bat maternity roost in Penticton. A small amount of project funds will be used for material to make shields for the temperature sensors (to keep bats from roosting against or fouling the sensors and affecting temperature readings).
Northern Red-legged Frog and Wildlife Habitat Protection on Fork Lake Highlands Stewardship Foundation (HSF) The project centres on Northern Red-legged Frog, Tree Frog and Wildlife Habitat Protection. Fork Lake, located in the District of Highlands, Victoria BC, is one of the last regional strongholds for Northern Red-legged Frogs as most of the lakes in
the CRD have been overrun with eastern bullfrogs and have had intensive pressure from human use due to population growth and development. Fork Lake has a strong history of keeping bullfrogs off the lake to ensure the habitat and ecosystem remain in balance. Efforts include ongoing bullfrog management, regular physical measurements, sampling and analysis of physical/ chemical/ biological tests, and recently plant species management, of which growth is likely tied
to climate change and may indicate eutrophication.
Clear the Coast 2018 Living Oceans Society Project to further restore foreshore habitat within Cape Scott Provincial Park. Last year, with the
assistance of PCAF, we were able to work for the first time on the Park’s North Coast Trail, where
substantial accumulations of plastic debris were found to have accrued. This year, we are advised by early reconnaissance that another large pulse of debris has arrived on Vancouver Island’s northwest coast. The project intends to return to both the North Coast and Cape Scott trails, as well as several water-access only areas along the northwest coast.
South Coast Species at Risk Conservation Aimee Mitchell on behalf of Coastal Partners in Conservation Federally endangered and provincially red-listed, the Western Painted Turtle (Pacific Coast population) face many threats including wetland loss and degradation, nesting habitat destruction, predators, poaching, invasive species, human disturbance, and road mortality. While focusing on this charismatic species and incorporating species with already known overlapping occurrences at some sites including; the Western Screech-owl, Little Brown Myotis and Townsend’s Big-eared Bat, the project will conduct threat mitigation, monitoring and outreach throughout the South Coast of BC.
West Kettle Spring Deer Counts Granby Wilderness Society The project counts deer utilizing spring green up along multiple transects in the West Kettle. Counts are completed by volunteers who follow a set protocol each spring. The count information is shared with wildlife managers and other interested individuals upon request.
Health Assessment of Wetlands near Peachland Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance The Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance (PWPA) and other volunteers/NGOs are proposing to undertake wetland health assessments in the upper watershed area near Peachland. Volunteers will be using the newly released Forest and Range Evaluation Program (FREP) wetland protocol. This protocol was developed to allow persons with basic working knowledge of wetlands to evaluate the health of wetland sites in or near industrial and development activities.
Bats of Burvilla At Risk South Coast Bat Conservation Society Citizen scientists will initiate a long-term passive monitoring program a significant bat maternity roost with the goal of elevating the profile of bat conservation in southwest BC and detecting population trends associated with a devastating wildlife disease.
Connected Waters: field work and mapping project Watershed Watch Salmon Society The purpose of this project is to develop a list of priorities for upgrades based on the potential quality and quantity of fish habitat upstream from flood control structures and based on the current function and need for the flood control structures with consideration of required/planned upgrades. All data will be stored on our publicly accessible Connected Waters Atlas hosted by our partners at the Community Mapping Network.
Somenos Ecosystem Stewardship Project Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society The Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society is working with partner organizations and community volunteers to implement the Somenos Ecosystem Stewardship Project which is taking action against invasive non-native species in and around the Somenos Marsh Conservation Area that are causing ecological damage to our native ecosystems.
Growing a Garry Oak Meadow: A rehabilitation project for beautification and pollinator conservation Peninsula Streams Society Peninsula Streams, with partners Pollinator Partnership Canada (P2C) and Saanich Native Plants (SNP) aim to undertake native plant restoration, public education and engagement, and a native bee monitoring project on a 2,000 m2 field adjacent to Blenkinsop Creek and the Lochside Trail by the BC Hydro substation. This parcel is dominated by invasive grasses and forbs, providing little value to native wildlife. The restoration will create a visually appealing site in a high-traffic area along the trail while simultaneously providing value to native wildlife, volunteer opportunities, community engagement, and education.
Elk Valley Stormwater Solutions – Phase I Elk River Watershed Alliance Elk Valley Stormwater Solutions is a multi-phased project designed to develop informed strategies to
reduce the negative effects of stormwater on aquatic, riparian and wetland ecosystems. This project will increase public awareness and education surrounding stormwater, while creating an opportunity to take action in mitigating the effects of altered hydrology and decreased water quality from stormwater being discharged into the Elk River.
Engaging Communities in Bird Conservation Bird Studies Canada Since 1999, Bird Studies Canada (BSC) has operated programs that recruit, train, and coordinate skilled volunteers to monitor these globally and nationally significant concentrations of waterbirds. This project will therefore aim to: a) strengthen the stewardship capacity of communities along Boundary Bay and Tsawwassen; b) increase awareness of Citizen Science monitoring programs and stewardship along Boundary Bay and Tsawwassen; and c) provide educational materials including new signage that incorporates Coast Salish language in coordination with the Tsawwassen First Nation. Through this project, BSC will work with local citizens and the Tsawwassen First Nation, sharing ideas and knowledge around bird conservation in this IBA in danger.
Restoration of riparian habitat around Ellis Creek sediment basin Okanagan Nation Alliance This project intends to restore the riparian habitat area around the sediment basin located near Ellis Creek, Penticton, BC. Riparian vegetation around the sediment basin has been significantly impacted during sediment excavations that are part of flood protection maintenance operations, a process that take place every 5-10 years.
Fishing Forever B.C. Wildlife Federation This fiscal year there are 11 communities who have committed to Fishing Forever events: Williams Lake, Peachland, Nanaimo, South Okanagan, Smithers, Nelson, Parksville, Vernon/Lumby, Lower Mainland, Courtney and Vanderhoof. DFO has offered to wave all need for fishing licenses for these special events. Each event takes place on a unique day in the respective community, from May through August.

You can download a PDF of this list here.