About

What is Green Shores?

Green Shores provides science-based tools and best practices to help people:

1. minimize the impacts of new developments; and
2. restore shoreline ecosystem function of previously developed sites.

Projects can also receive certification through our credits and rating system.

Read our Why use Green Shores page to learn about the benefits of this program.

Who can use Green Shores?

Green shores has something to offer many, including:
* property owners and managers,
* local and regional governments,
* planning, design and construction professionals.

What we do:

1. Education and Outreach – Green Shores provides educational workshops and training seminars.
2. Resources and Technical Information – We provide resources and access to technical information based on current research. Topics include: shoreline management; best practices; local government shoreline policies and bylaws; case studies; and research and project reports.
3.  Credits and Ratings systems – Our ratings system is similar to the popular LEEDS or Built Green systems. Our guides help with Green Shores project design and performance:
   1. Green Shores for Coastal Development Credits and Ratings Guide (GSCD) is for municipal parks, mixed use residential and institutional shoreline properties.
   2. Green Shores for Homes Credits and Ratings Guide (GSH) is intended for use by residential shoreline property owners, and the professionals and contractors that assist them, to complete shoreline projects.

Green Shores guiding principles:

1.    Preserve or restore physical processes such as the natural actions of water and sediment movement that maintain healthy shorelines.
2.    Maintain or enhance habitat function and diversity along the shoreline.
3.    Prevent or reduce pollutants entering the aquatic environment.
4.    Avoid or reduce cumulative impacts. Small individual effects add up to large impacts on shoreline environments.