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Stories

Have a story to share? Email us at hwiprogram@refbc.com.

We Are of Water

"We Are of Water", illustrated by Chenoa Gao, provides visuals connected to voices and knowledge shared by Indigenous Elders, youth, and community members through HWI projects on the significance of watersheds and water.
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news

Unpaving Kus-Kus-Sum: Restoring and Recycling

The Kus-Kus-Sum Unpaving Paradise project is decommissioning and restoring a historic sawmill site along the Courtney River.
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news

Symposium & Celebration Dinner

On February 23, 2023, project team members, First Nations leaders, provincial and local government representatives, and community members came together to celebrate the outcomes and learnings from the HWI.
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news

$100 million invested in Watershed Security Fund to be co-developed with First Nations

The BC Government and BC First Nations Water Table has announced an investment of $100 million towards creating a Watershed Security Fund and a commitment to co-developing the Fund with First Nations.
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news

Our Water, Our Future | Major Outcomes Report

This week the Healthy Watersheds Initiative (HWI) team celebrated the release of the HWI Major Outcomes Report, Our Water, Our Future.
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news

The Pulse of the River | Elk River Alliance

The Elk River Alliance's Community-Based Water Monitoring program will gather data to monitor Elk River tributaries that are critical habitat ...
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videos

Low-tech approaches to watershed management - Bulkley-Morice Water Sustainability Initiative

The concept of low-tech approaches has been known for decades but wider implementation and specific examples of successful implementation are ...
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project-stories

Learning and Unlearning Together

As a part of Healthy Watersheds Initiative commitment to advancing UNDRIP, HWI and Nahanee Creative developed a customized training package called Decolonizing Watersheds.
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news

Empowering Indigenous Youth on the Land and Water

The Gitksan Watershed Authorities are working to restore McCully Creek while empowering Gitksan youth and community on the land and water.
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project-stories

Reconnecting Agassiz Slough: for Salmon and People

A new fish-friendly flood gate has been installed on Agassiz Slough. This is great news for salmon, and other fish, ...
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videos

From Reservoir Basin to Thriving Wetland; Cambridge Creek and Violin Lake Ecosystem Restoration Project

The City of Trail has restored 901-hectares in two watersheds by removing four dams originally built and used as a drinking water source for the City of Trail until 1994.
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news

Water that Connects Us

The Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance, in collaboration with its Nation partners, are leading water flow management and monitoring projects in the Nechako watershed.
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project-stories

Indigenous Peoples Day. What Does Advancing UNDRIP Mean for Healthy Watersheds? New Report Shared

This National Indigenous Peoples Day we come together to celebrate the diverse cultures and histories of Indigenous peoples...
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news

A Small Piece of the Puzzle: Monitoring Juvenile Salmon to Sustain the Future

Restoring Sockeye stocks is a high priority for the Wet’suwet’en. The Juvenile Salmon Monitoring Project will help inform how to rebuild these stocks.
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project-stories

Nature Based Climate Solutions: Investing in our Watersheds and the Future

When atmospheric rivers poured down on the Fraser Valley, Peach Creek and Hooge wetland demonstrated the full value of nature-based climate solutions.
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project-stories

Reciprocal Relationship with Katzie First Nations and Salmon – A Story of Endurance and Perseverance

Salmon are a keystone species; a symbol of sacrifice, fortitude, and culture.
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project-stories

Watershed restoration work cultivates opportunities and community connections

HWI funding supported Greenways Land Trust in addressing an increased need for trail and riparian restoration.
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project-stories

Watershed Stewards

The work supported by the Healthy Watersheds Initiative is not just impacting watersheds but is providing a positive experience for watershed stewards across the province.
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profiles

Response to the Province’s engagement on the Watershed Security Fund and Strategy from Indigenous Leaders

ILAC's response to the Provincial engagement on...
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news

Clayoquot Sound Watershed Recovery Initiative

Redd Fish Restoration Society supported Hesquiaht, Ahousaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations’ initiative to restore critical salmon rearing habitat.
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videos

Farewell and Thank you Aanchal

We’d like to extend a final farewell and thank you to Aanchal Mogla, Indigenous Community Connector for the Healthy Watersheds Initiative.
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profiles

The Wetlands Workforce Project

The B.C. Wildlife Federation's Wetlands Workforce project is wrapping up. Their Final Report and Showcase Webinar are available to view online.
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project-stories

Restored Wetlands Demonstrate Resilience

Restoration and maintenance work at MacKay Marsh in North Vancouver helped the wetland hold and disperse water during intense flooding.
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project-stories

Welcome Cheyenne!

The Healthy Watersheds Initiative is excited to welcome Cheyenne Bergenhenegouwen to our team. As Communications Manager, Cheyenne will be leading the communications efforts and engagement strategy.
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profiles

Introduction to Community Based Water Monitoring project in the Elk River Valley

The Elk River Alliance's Community-Based Water Monitoring program is collecting data to monitor Elk River tributaries that are critical habitat...
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videos

Climate Change Impacts Local Conservation Efforts

The heat dome that settled over British Columbia last summer contributed to the devasting fires that swept through the province's interior, caused severe droughts in the Lower Mainland...
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project-stories

World Wetlands Day: How Are We Looking After BC Watersheds?

Sixty-one projects supported through the provincial Healthy Watersheds Initiative (HWI) are helping to build more resilient watersheds and wetlands across BC following ...
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news

New Paper Released to Guide Collaborative Vision for Watersheds in BC

Healthy Watersheds Initiative (HWI) is proud to have contributed to the new strategic directions paper BC Watershed Security Fund: A Collaborative Vision released by the Sustainability Funding...
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news

Project in the Upper Pitt watershed is helping to restore and expand vital salmon habitats

"We’re all about the reciprocal relationship with nature - taking care of the life that takes care of us.” Kerrie ...
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videos
Fish Sampling

Ducks Unlimited: Healing Estuaries in the Alaksen National Wildlife Area

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) works with partners to restore the area to its original ecosystem.
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project-stories

Fernie's Floating Wetlands Address Community Stormwater Pollution

Heavy rains, widespread flooding, and devastating landslides have scarred parts of southern British Columbia in recent months. Under climate change, these extreme weather patterns are expected to ...
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project-stories

In Memory of Glenn Auger - Indigenous Advisor for the Wetlands Workforce

B.C. Wildlife Federation This tribute was originally published on the Wetlands Workforce, News and Updates, Wetland Stewards on 7th December 2021. We are saddened...
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profiles
woman standing on gravel next to a blue glacial-fed lake

Five questions with Claire Sauvage-Mar, Program Associate of the Healthy Watersheds Initiative

We caught up with Claire Sauvage-Mar, Program Associate with the Healthy Watersheds Initiative, for a Q&A before she headed off for maternity leave in November...
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profiles

What are ‘Fish-Friendly Flows’?

One of the Healthy Watersheds Initiative’s funding priority areas is Fish Friendly Flows, supporting seven projects totalling $1,337,000 in grants. ...
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project-stories

Bracing for "Unknown Unknowns"

With the end of a ravaging summer, coastal communities continue preparing themselves for a future of more droughts, floods, and ...
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project-stories

Show Me the Numbers

Inside Living Lakes Canada's Water Data Hub Our climate is changing, and watersheds are seeing the impacts: flooding, droughts, higher ...
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project-stories
a woman dressed in waterproof gear bends over to check a water sample

Reciprocity and Water

A Conversation with Gord Sterritt and Taylor Wale, Gitksan Members The Delgamuukw/Gisday Wa (1997) Supreme Court Case thrust the Gitksan ...
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profiles
biologist standing on a path pointing to a wetland

Six Months for Healthy Watersheds

Investing in watersheds is a triple win that creates jobs and boosts local economies, benefits ecosystems and protects drinking water, ...
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news
Lara Volgyesi leads a site visit ahead of foodland corridor restoration work along the sc̓e:ɬxʷəy̓əm (Salmon River), a tributary of the stal̕əw (Fraser River). (Photo: Nerv Productions)

Connecting Land and Water: Foodland Corridors

What happens on the land ends up in the water. In the Fraser Valley, common agricultural practices like using fertilizers ...
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project-stories
Wetlands Workforce crew members, Aila and Warren, are helping to install 35 poles, cameras and audio recorders for the Wildife Monitoring Program at the Yaqan Nukiy Site (Photo: Cheyenne Bergenhenegouwen)

Spotlight: Yaqan Nukiy Project

This story was originally published on the Wetlands Workforce blog, on 12 May 2021. Wetlands Workforce Provides a Helping Hand ...
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project-stories
To learn more about the health of a wetland, the LEPS Wetland Crew collects water samples to test for environmental DNA (“eDNA”) to check the number and type of species (bugs) present in the water. (Photo: Langley Environmental Partners Society)

In the Field with the LEPS Wetlands Crew

Shovels, hip waders, and sunscreen. Those are some of the tools of the trade for Laura Stepney, Elyse Dyck, and ...
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project-stories

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