Below are current actions in addition to those reported in the Ocean Watch - 2020 Edition

+ 3.1 Work with First Nations and local governments to increase education and understanding of critical environmental issues, such as climate change, within municipal staff. Ensure key resources are shared between local governments and have uniform messaging

  • District of West Vancouver presented to Ocean Watch Action Committee on the North Shore Sea Level Rise Strategy. The District's Coastal Marine Management Plan was also shared. The purpose of the CMMP is to guide the management of shoreline areas around District of West Vancouver with the Goals: preserve ecosystem, protect infrastructure, inform coastal management.
  • In the fall of 2020, the Marine Reference Guide (MRG) hosted a training workshop for local and regional government staff members who will use the Guide’s interactive map to support decision making and marine spatial planning. In the spring of 2021, the MRG hosted training workshops with Squamish Nation, Provincial and local government staff members to test and provide feedback about the Guide’s interactive map.
  • The Town of Gibsons is conducting the Coastal Resilience Project in partnership with the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI). Through the Coastal Resilience Project, the Town of Gibsons seeks to maintain and/or enhance the long-term ability of our natural foreshore to provide core services such as flood protection, storm surge and coastal erosion management in a cost-effective and reliable manner. This will be achieved by: Identifying, evaluating and valuing the role of coastal natural assets in flood protection; and then, developing strategies to manage coastal natural assets as part of local and provincial government asset management systems, using MNAI’s pilot coastal resilience methodology.
  • The Squamish Nation has begun work on a Climate Action Strategy. Staff have been hired, the framework has been approved in early 2022, and the entire process is estimated to take two years.

+ 3.2 Increase education and awareness around environmental knowledge and best practices. Include Traditional Knowledge in these education opportunities, and where applicable, ensure they are taught by Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw/Squamish Nation members.

  • Collaborative online World Oceans Day event 2020 engaged over 300 people for two hours with storytelling, art and education about Humpback Whales in Howe Sound. The Marine Reference Guide event aimed to Listen. Learn. Take Action. Inspire.
  • World Oceans Day 2021 events engaged over 500 people in a series of events that included Squamish Nation member led weaving and stories of the ocean, Art Challenge for youth, Celebration of the launch of the Marine Reference Guide, Young Learner's event hosted by Ocean Wise education about Howe Sound and a webinar on the Glass Sponge Reefs and Amazing Underwater World of Howe Sound.
  • In partnership with Ocean Wise, the Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initaitive and BlueMar4 Change are promoting the Ocean Watch Education Kits. The goal is for every Grade 7/8 classroom in the Howe Sound region to incorporate this 7 week program into their curiculum. Professional training for teachers is being implemented. In 2022 the kits have been updated to reflect more Indigenous and climate action content in time for World Oceans Day 2022.
  • Marine Reference Guide in collaboration with the Bowen Island Conservancy hosted an online event: Stories from the Bay, Jan. 20, 2021. Stories and sharing information about the stewardship and management activities in Kwil’akm / Mannion Bay, and catalyse community engagement for nearshore restoration. A similar event, Marine Memories - Ch'kw'elhp/Gibsons harbour, past present and future, took place February 2022 in partnership with the Nicholas Sonntage Marine Education Centre.
  • The Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative have created The Best Management Practices for Marine Docks (BMP). The guidelines are intended to help minimize and mitigate impacts to marine foreshore and nearshore habitats by promoting responsible and appropriate development, construction, and maintenance of marine docks. BMP topics include construction and maintenance, foreshore protection, accessibility, navigation, First Nations interests. The Átl’ka7tsem//Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative Society has compiled, with thanks, these Best Management Practices (BMP) from a number of sources including: shishalh First Nation,B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Islands Trust, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada. The latest version can be downloaded here.
  • The Marine Reference Guide, Squamish Nation youth, and the leaders from the Cultural Journeys program collaborated on collecting data on herring spawning in Howe Sound/Átl’ka7tsem. Read more here. "Harriet the Herring" is the name given to the Searching for Slhawt’. Funds were raised for the 2022 research project that is led by Mathew Voost. The funding pays for two First Nations snorklers and costs of equipment and boat time to conduct surveys.
  • March 2022, the Squamish River Watershed Society hosted "Free the Fishes" spring break event for children. The event is part of ongoing education programs by Rhonda O'Grady in the Squamish Estuary in collaboratin with the Tenderfoot Hatchery. This year they "released over 40,000 precious little salmon lives find their way back to the wild".
  • Clean-ups in Mannion Bay, Bowen Island, a site of previous live-a-board vessels, have been occurring over the last decade with well over 5,000 kg of debris removed from the marine environment. The first dive against debris in Snug Cove took place in early 2022. The dives aim to raise awareness about the amount of debris.

+ 3.3 Increase opportunities for Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw/Squamish Nation members to connect to Traditional Knowledge in Átl’ḵa7tsem/Txwnéwu7ts/Howe Sound. Further meaningful reconciliation efforts are needed.

  • The Marine Reference Guide's Indigenous Research and Engagement Coordinators hosted two ‘Earned Wisdom’ storytelling events with Squamish Nation elders in February 2021. The elders shared stories about the ocean and water in their territory. Memories and stories about rivers, watersheds, ocean, mountains or historical legends that are connected to Howe Sound, Squamish or Paradise Valley were shared. Read more about the event here.
  • S7a7ú7 tl'a7ásh na tl'a slhawt' - First welcoming of the Herring Ceremony took place March 2022 at St'a7mes Village waterfront. St'a7mes School, Squamish Nation and community shared songs, danced, made an offering and placed hemlock boughs in the water for the Herring. This is now an annual event.
  • In August 2020, staff presented a proposal for establishing a Healing Forest within Town boundaries to a representative for the Skwxwu7mesh Uxwumixw (Squamish Nation). The National Healing Forest initiative envisions creating a network of forests and green spaces across Canada, where Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can come together in the spirit of reconciliation to heal, reflect, meditate, talk, share and build respect and understanding as a result of the Residential School legacy and the findings of the National Truth and Reconciliation report. The proposal for the Healing Forest as part of the Whitetower Pond expansion project in Gibsons will be taken to the Nation’s Council Committee for further discussion. Though the pond expansion project has been put on hold while an archeological assessment is completed after the discovery of significant archaeological material onsite, the delay is providing Staff with the opportunity to further explore options for the Healing Forest in collaboration with the Nation.

+ 3.4 Continue to work collaboratively on reconciliation with First Nations.

  • In May 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding was completed between the Squamish Nation and Marine Reference Guide to document the collaborative working relationship. Read more in the June 8th update here.