CVRD awarded grant from the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund
The Comox Valley Regional District, in partnership with the Stewardship Centre for BC and K’ómoks Guardian Watchmen, has been awarded a grant worth over $1.1 million from the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) through their Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF). The funds will be used in the Dyke Road Park Green Shores® Demonstration Project.
“This funding from UBCM is incredibly exciting for the community to support the Dyke Road Park Green Shores Demonstration Project,” explains Alana Mullaly, General Manager of Planning and Development Services. “We look forward to working with our project partners to strengthen the site’s coastal resilience and minimize the risk of further flooding.”
Located on northeastern Vancouver Island, near Comox and Courtenay, Dyke Road Park is within the traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation. The project area is approximately 0.6 hectares of Comox Estuary shoreline within the Class 1 K’ómoks Estuary and is a Federally recognized Important Bird Area.
Using a Green Shores® nature-based approach, restoration of this shoreline and adjacent areas will help reclaim the site’s cultural and ecological values, including vital nutrient and sedimentary processes that support notable species of Pacific salmon.
Project Objectives
- Remove hard shoreline armouring and concrete structures to restore natural shoreline processes and ecosystems;
- Reduce impermeable surfaces on-site to slow runoff and reduce pollutants entering the waterway;
- Stabilize the shoreline using native landscaping in the riparian zone;
- Restore habitat, including establishing a new tidal channel;
- Remove of invasive species to enhance ecosystem health;
- Improve coastal adaptation, reducing the flood risk to Comox Road;
- Increase connectivity to Kus-Kus-Sum and Hollyhock flat to create a vibrant and productive estuary habitat;
- Protect Indigenous cultural archaeology.
Timeline
Construction is expected to begin in 2024 once planning and funding are finalized.
About Green Shores® Design
Green Shores® design principles and certification processes are outlined and administered by the Stewardship Centre for BC. The program discourages hard shoreline armouring, such as riprap and seawalls. It seeks to protect shorelines from erosion and flood risk through nature-based solutions integrated within a particular area’s natural environment.
Excerpted from project updates posted on the CVRD Website. Contact: Robyn Holme, Long Range Planning and Sustainability Manager, CVRD, rholme@comoxvalleyrd.ca.
