2011 grants
2011 enviroFund™ grant recipients
In spring 2011, the Vancity enviroFund awards program accepted applications for funding from community groups working on important local environmental issues. The program focused on: ecosystem restoration, ecosystem preservation, and sustainable development supporting ecological health. $580,000 in grants was awarded to fifteen innovative organizations.
Mayne Island Conservancy Society
Mayne Island Community Stewardship Program ($50,000)
Mayne Island Conservancy Society received a grant of $50,000 for the Mayne Island Community Stewardship Program. The grant helps develop a program to increase the capacity for landowner stewardship of Mayne Island ecosystems. The group also provides educational opportunities to the broader community to increase their understanding of these ecosystems, using the restoration work at Henderson Community Park as a demonstration site.
Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust
Establishing Grasslands ($50,000)
Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust received a grant of $45,000 towards Establishing Grasslands on the Lower Fraser. Together with local farmers, Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust hope to establish/maintain up to 550 acres of grassland set-asides on the farms of the lower Fraser River delta. These fields mimic historic grassland communities and provide habitat for an array of grassland raptors, songbirds, waders, and arthropods.
Stanley Park Ecology Society
Stanley Park Bog Restoration and Related Action ($50,000)
Stanley Park Ecology Society received a grant of $50,000 for Stanley Park Bog Restoration and Related Action. The project focuses on restoring the Stanley Park Bog located in Beaver Lake watershed, which supports one of the most bio-diverse parts of Vancouver and maintains one of only three historic salmon streams in the city.
Ustlahn Social Society
Ustlahn Indigenous Plants Restoration/Propagation ($48,000)
Ustlahn Social Society received a grant of $48,000 towards Ustlahn Indigenous Plants Restoration/Propagation. The Society is working with the Squamish Nation to restore the destroyed delta habitat of the Capilano Estuary and Burrard Inlet shoreline, starting with shoreline clean-ups and the removal of invasive species and eventually re-establishing eel grass beds. In addition, the planting of indigenous fruits and vegetables will provide food for the coastal First Nations people, improving health and food security.
A Rocha Canada
Restoring Streamside Habitats for Salmon and Wildlife ($40,000)
A Rocha Canada received a grant of $40,000 for Restoring Streamside Habitats for Salmon and Wildlife. The initiative restores and improves the habitat in the riparian corridor of the Little Campbell River in South Surrey, a vital regionally-significant salmon-producing river. A Rocha Canada also plans to complete a species-at-risk survey and work with land owners to steward specific habitat critical for identified species-at-risk.
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
Protecting Sensitive Ecosystems on Bowen Island ($40,000)
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society received a grant of $40,000 towards Protecting Sensitive Ecosystems on Bowen Island.
David Suzuki Foundation
Protecting our Bluebelt/Greenbelt ($40,000)
David Suzuki Foundation received a grant of $40,000 for Protecting our Bluebelt/Greenbelt. The foundation works with communities, planners and officials in the Lower Mainland to find effective ways to preserve all the valuable services that nature provides us for free – things like water filtration and climate regulation provided by green spaces and forests, or seafood and flood protection provided by our seashores.
Fraser Basin Council Society
Taking Care of Cultus Lake ($40,000)
Fraser Basin Council Society received a grant of $40,000 towards Taking Care of Cultus Lake. The project's aim is to reverse the declining health of Cultus Lake and protect threatened species living in the lake. Innovative sewage treatment technologies will be piloted, and the group will work with local government, community groups and First Nations to identify and reduce sewage and other sources of nutrient pollution threatening this ecosystem.
Habitat Acquisition Trust
Ayum Estuary: A New Tool for Conservation ($40,000)
Habitat Acquisition Trust received a grant of $40,000 for Ayum Estuary: A New Tool for Conservation. The project's focus is to protect and restore marine ecosystems in the Ayum Estuary, located in southern Vancouver Island. This estuary supports a diversity of birds, mammals, fish, and the at-risk Olympia oysters, adversely affected by modifications created by a sawmill operation back in the 1940's.
Langley Environmental Partners Society
Bertrand Watershed Education Team ($40,000)
Langley Environmental Partners Society received a grant of $40,000 towards Bertrand Watershed Education Team. The primary goals for the team are to foster private land stewardship on properties adjacent to Bertrand Creek, located in Langley, and to enhance critical habitat for native and endangered species. In addition, the project aims to raise public awareness of watershed issues.
West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation
Resilient, Responsive Communities: Building the Legal Framework ($40,000)
West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation received a grant of $40,000 for Resilient, Responsive Communities: Building the Legal Framework, which has a goal of developing legal strategies to address issues related to climate change adaptation and watershed management. Cities face significant challenges as climate change impacts begin to alter the physical environment of the urban spaces where we live, like accelerating sea level rises, increased intensity of extreme storm events, and changes in precipitation and water supply. This project promotes science-based ecosystem management at the local level.
Dogwood Initiative
Imagining a Sustainable Region ($20,000)
Dogwood Initiative received a grant of $20,000 towards Imagining a Sustainable Region. The project heightens public awareness while educating residents in the Capital Regional District on how to engage with land use policies and collaboratively develop policy recommendations to support sustainable economic, social, and environmental objectives.
Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team Society
Protecting Rare Ecosystems in our Communities ($32,000)
Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team Society received a grant of $32,000 for Protecting Rare Ecosystems in our Communities. The focus is on increasing the local capacity to protect the rare Garry Oak ecosystems and their dependent species at risk located in the communities in and around Greater Victoria. The society works with local stakeholders, sharing conservation planning tools and resources and providing educational workshops to encourage protection and restoration of these ecosystems.
Georgia Strait Alliance
Connecting Communities to a Healthy Strait ($30,000)
Georgia Strait Alliance received a grant of $30,000 towards Connecting Communities to a Healthy Strait. The GSA works to protect and restore the marine environment and promotes the sustainability of Georgia Strait. This project's goal is to develop and support an online, interactive map of the Strait of Georgia that helps stakeholders understand the importance of protecting Georgia Strait's natural capital and biodiversity, so they can develop strategies to protect it.
South Coast Conservation Program
Conserving Biodiversity on BC's South Coast ($25,000)
South Coast Conservation Program received a grant of $25,000 for Conserving Biodiversity on BC's South Coast. The project delivers internationally recognized "BioBlitz" events (Miami River Watershed in Harrison Hot Springs/Fraser Valley and Stanley Park in Metro Vancouver). The events will be followed by workshops in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to increase public awareness about conserving biodiversity and promoting an understanding of best practices for protecting species and ecosystems of conservation concern.
