Green Shores | Projects

Green Shores Incentives Projects

Coordinated by the Stewardship Centre for BC, the Green Shores Incentives project aims to build partnerships to prevent and mitigate erosion and foster climate adaptation in communities that are prone to coastal surge and shoreline erosion.

The project offers incentives to two communities: the Seacroft Road area in the Town of Qualicum Beach and the Gartley Beach area in the Comox Valley Regional District. Incentives are being offered to develop neighbourhood-scale shoreline projects through free shoreline assessments, design assistance, and GS training and certification. The outcomes will be used to evaluate how well these incentives, along with policy changes, increase the uptake of climate adaptation activities. Ultimately, the project will determine how nature-based solutions such as Green Shores can help to reduce the risk and financial costs of shoreline developments.

Project Objectives:

• Advance policy: increase the number of local government policies and bylaws such that project design for shoreline protection is in accordance with the Green Shores programs.
• Build capacity: increase access to Green Shores education, training, and resources for BC communities, particularly coastal.
• Offer and track incentives such as free shoreline assessments, assistance with project design and certification for GSH projects in two pilot communities of Comox Valley Regional District and Town of Qualicum Beach.
• Assess feasibility: after applying the above measures, analyze the changes in Green Shores project adoption as a climate change adaptation tool.

Project Location and Duration

Thanks to our partners and funders, the Green Shores Incentives project will run from August 2019 to October 2022. The project focuses on the two pilot study areas in the Comox Valley Regional District and the Town of Qualicum Beach on the East Coast of Vancouver Island with hopes of expanding to more coastal communities across BC. For more information about the types of Green Shores design used for shoreline management in pilot areas, please refer to the “Concept designs for neighbourhood-scale coastal adaptation measures in Royston and Qualicum Beach, BC“ report produced by Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Ltd.

Funders and Partners

This project is funded by the Real Estate Foundation of BC, the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Sitka Foundation with in-kind support from our partners including Comox Valley Regional District, Town of Qualicum Beach, the Green Shores Local Government Working Group and the Green Shores Technical Advisory Committee. Special thanks to Northwest Hydraulic Consultants for their work on the neighbourhood-scale coastal engineering study and in-kind support.