Healthy waters for a thriving city
Uplifting False Creek will transform Vancouver’s future
We stand for a thriving False Creek where people, ecosystems, and communities flourish together through stewardship, reciprocity and care for the lands and waters to which we belong
What does False Creek Friends Society do?
Research & Education
Community Science
Filling knowledge gaps about biodiversity and water issues
Community Mapping
Building an interactive web map of False Creek’s many stories + layers
Community Building
Knowledge Sharing
Sharing our findings (and questions!) at community events
Opening Conversations
Creating avenues of communication for those who care about False Creek
Political Advocacy
Resolving Jurisdiction
Lobbying governments for holistic, common sense care for False Creek
Healthy Waters
Participating in watershed-level planning processes
Revitalizing Ecologies
Restoration Planning
Research and advocacy towards bivalve and seagrass habitat restoration in support of water quality, biodiversity, heat island shelter, and carbon sequestration.
What are the issues?
Lack of jurisdictional clarity: 22 government agencies overlap in False Creek! None of them are in charge, there is no one agency with holistic responsibility, and no structures for coordination.
Unsafe waters: There are impacts from historic industrial pollution in the sea floor, derelict boats, urban runoff and combined sewer overflows
Insufficient public awareness of the waterway's ecological significance, existing habitat values, and physical transformation over time
Historic disregard for Indigenous ecological knowledge and land/water stewardship
Significant flood risks for Vancouver’s downtown, Granville Island, and False Creek South due to rising sea levels, climate-related storm surges, and an over-hardened shoreline
False Creek is alive!
(but it could get even better)
We are just beginning to understand how many creatures call False Creek home — a community bioblitz with the Hakai Institute has identified over 500 different species, and counting!
We want False Creek to become a Living Lab where community science helps us to know, love, and grow the life in these waters.
This includes ongoing volunteer opportunities like our Light Trapper project, and a greater ambition to have all sorts of scientific data continuously collected by small sensors.
Taking the Plunge
Our highest ambition is to see False Creek become a place to safely swim, and someday even to harvest food. We believe it could be the eco-cultural hub of Vancouver — a place where all life is celebrated. False Creek Friends Society is a proud signatory to the Swimmable Cities Alliance.
As the catchment for much of the urban watershed, False Creek’s water quality is symptomatic of Vancouver’s relationship with water in general. The movement to care for False Creek is necessarily holistic and reciprocal: we are all Waterbodies.
Come Onboard
