Greenshores

VANCOUVER BC 

After several years of development and testing, the Green Shores program will be releasing a coastal development rating and certification system in 2010.  The rating system is modelled after the highly successful Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDtm) Green Building rating system and encourages conservation and restoration of coastal landscapes.

The rating system will increase the knowledge, demand, and market for green coastal design, said Green Shores Coordinator, Patrick Walshe.  

The rating tool was tested on four pilot projects over the last year, including the Southeast False Creek Olympic Village in Vancouver and the proposed Essencia development in Colwood, near Victoria.  At the project planning stage the rating system can help the design team address the diversity of factors necessary to ensure the preservation of important ecological and recreational values of our shore environment.   

Other pilots included beach and vegetation restoration in Dick Murphy Park, Campbell River, and at Nanoose First Nations Campground near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.  These projects were initiated because the existing riprap shore protection had failed, causing the beach to erode and putting valuable upland assets at risk. The new, greener restoration methods have withstood storms better than nearby riprap areas. Vegetation removal and hardening of the shorelines is a serious threat to near shore habitats essential for herring, sand lance, salmon and other species.

Certification under Green Shores will enable developers and landowners to market their property as Green Shores Certified.  We believe this is a powerful tool to transform ocean front development, said Walshe. The range of required and optional credits for building siting, vegetation buffers, pollution and sediment control, habitat conservation as well as design innovation will allow the property to be certified to various levels making Green Shores an important development marketing feature.

LEED certified developments like Dockside Green in Victoria have already demonstrated  that people recognize the practical and aesthetic advantages of green living, added Walshe.  The Green Shores program has been very popular, with inquiries from around the world and waiting lists for introductory workshops.

We look forward to continuing our work with developers, engineers, geologists, landscape architects, planners and habitat biologists as we launch the Green Shores rating and certification system in 2010, said Green Shores Technical Committee Chair, Brian Emmett.

Green Shores is a program of the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia (SCBC), a non-profit society dedicated to supporting and advancing stewardship activities in British Columbia.  Funding for the Green Shores program comes from Environment Canadas Eco-Action program, The B.C. Ministry of the Environment, and The Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.  

For more information, visit the Green Shores website at www.greenshores.ca or contact Patrick Walshe, R.P. Bio, Green Shores Coordinator at 1 250 954 0110, Patrick@greenshores.ca