Introduction

There is ongoing demand for examples of Green Shore ideas - conservation and restoration of habitat, as well as alternatives to hardened methods of shore protection - for a range of shore types and physical settings. Examples will be strategically selected to address a range of coastal development issues, including brown field re-development of industrial and commercial sites, residential waterfront development and public space, walkways and park areas.

Project Submissions

To illustrate real life examples, Green Shores is providing an opportunity for design professionals to showcase shoreline projects that incorporate some or all of the Green Shores principles on the Green Shores website.  Projects need not be eligible for Green Shores certification, but do need to demonstrate environmentally-sensitive design options. All proposals are subject to review and approval by the Green Shores Technical Working Group prior to posting on the Green Shores website. Submitted projects may be requested for presentation at upcoming practitioner workshops.

To submit a proposed project, please click on this link, Green Example Template, for a form to download.  Email the completed MS Word form to patrick@greenshores.ca.

Project Examples

Projects are organized according to shore type:

• Sand and Gravel Beaches
• Low Banks
• Coastal Bluffs
• Estuaries and Lagoons
• Rocky Shores
• Altered Shorelines

For more details on shore types, please refer to Part 1 of the Coastal Stewardship Guide pages 22-32.

  Sand and Gravel Beaches 

Sand and gravel beaches are found where there's a significant supply of loose sand, gravel or small cobbles. These materials erode easily and are readily transported by wave and current action.  Features such as spits and coastal lagoons can be created when the sediment associated with longshore drift accumulates. Finer sediments, including gravel and sand, are often moved down the coast by wave action and accumulate as pocket beaches in sheltered bays between headlands, or as gravel beaches near high water in small indentations along the coast. Sand and gravel shores are highly sensitive to human interference and interruption of longshore transport processes. Breakwaters, groynes and modifications to the onshore/offshore movement of sediment transport can have serious effects. Coastal plain shores are also susceptible to flooding during high tides, surges and storm waves.

Key words: Storm or Beach Berm, Soft Shore Protection, Coastal Erosion Control, Marine Riparian Revegetation, Beach Rehabilitation

Examples:

Dick Murphy Park on Tyee Spit, Campbell River, B.C. – Phase 1 Beach Restoration, 2004

Snaw'Naw'As First Nations Camp Ground, BC, Chatwin Engineering

Southview Beach, Powell River, Buried Low Rock Sea Defense

Low Banks

Sediment banks less than 5 meters high.

Keywords: riparian plantings, erosion control, rip rap and sea wall alternative, coastal erosion control

Examples:

Selkirk Street, Victoria, BC: Restoring a sea-walled waterfront property - a community demonstration project. 

Coho Drive, Courtenay, BC: Assessing the need for, and alternative approaches to, protecting residential waterfront.

Point Ellice Park, Victoria, BC

Coastal Bluffs

Coastal cliffs (bluffs) are often a major source of beach sediment.

Keywords: coastal bluff erosion control using beach or storm berms, riparian revegetation, cliff

Examples:

Milner Gardens, BC, Demonstration Concept for Eroding Bluff Protection Using a Berm

  Estuaries and Lagoons  

Generally protected from large wave exposure, focus of examples is on sensitive ecological features, including marine riparian vegetation.  Estuaries are formed where a river enters the ocean. Rich nutrients and fine sediments carried by the rivers, the variety of habitat created by the formation of deltas, and the mixing of fresh and salt water make estuaries highly productive. They are important nursery habitats for many kinds of fish and invertebrates.

Keywords: estuary, lagoon, flooding, dikes, delta, river bank, erosion

Examples:

Dick Murphy Park on Tyee Spit, Campbell River, B.C. – Phase 1 Beach Restoration, 2004

Richmond South Dike, #7 Road Green Upgrade

  Rocky Shores

A rocky shore typically consists of a solid rock bench across the intertidal zone, that may or may not extend up to the high tide line.  Thin gravel and boulder veneer deposits are often found on these benches, but usually cover less than 10 percent of the intertidal area. This type of shore can also be a near vertical rock cliff that may extend above and below the intertidal zone. Sand, gravel andcobble sediment deposits often form small beaches near the high tide line.

Examples:

No current examples

  Altered Shorelines

These are shores that have been modified by human activity. Only a small percentage of British Columbia’s shores has been modified, but that percentage tends to be in some of the most productive coastal habitats. People tend to settle in the same areas that are most favourable to marine life - sheltered bays, estuaries, gently sloping shorelines, and so on. Hence, the impact of human activity is significantly greater in some B.C. coastal ecosystems, such as the Georgia Basin, than simple percentages would indicate.  Furthermore, the degree of modification is particularly high in areas such as sheltered bays and estuaries where communities, harbours and ports tend to be located. Altered shores are the only shores that are increasing over human time scales.

Keywords: fill, rip rap, sea walls, groynes, bulkheads, brown field, contaminated

Examples:

Point Ellice Park, Victoria, BC

Richmond South Dike, #7 Road Green Upgrade