Habitat Island at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Village

Snapshot Solution

by Amelie Claessens, The City of Vancouver

Drone shot from Habitat Island, home to beavers and other native species.

Gavin Biglow | Vancity

As part of the development of the Olympic Village for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, a new island was constructed in the highly urban Lower False Creek inlet to create a habitat patch for fish and other wildlife. The Olympic Village was constructed in a former industrial area with degraded shoreline, high pollutant concentrations and low biodiversity value. To offset an area of degraded shoreline filled for the construction of the Olympic Village, the developers designed Habitat Island, a new island adjacent to the Olympic Village site with features including a naturalistic shoreline and native vegetation. Special resources, including intertidal habitat and naturalised wetlands in Hinge Park, which connects Habitat Island with the Olympic Village site, were also added to increase the biodiversity value of the area

Last update: 27 Nov 2020

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Context

Challenges addressed

Land and Forest degradation

Loss of Biodiversity

Erosion

Ecosystem loss

Invasive species

Pollution (incl. eutrophication and litter)

Infrastructure development

Scale of implementation

Local

Ecosystems

River, stream

Green spaces (parks, gardens, urban forests)

Urban wetlands

Theme

Access and benefit sharing

Biodiversity mainstreaming

Invasive alien species

Species management

Adaptation

Mitigation

Ecosystem services

Erosion prevention

Cities and infrastructure

Urban planning

Location

Habitat Island, Southeast False Creek Waterfront, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Y 3T2, Canada

North America

Impacts

Habitat island has become an urban sanctuary along Southeast False Creek. Deep layers of soil, rock, cobble, gravel, sand and boulders have been added to the area to provide stability and nourishment for the more than 200 native trees to grow as well as native shrubs, flowers, and grasses that grow naturally in the region. Since its construction, these habitats have hosted a variety of wildlife, including a pair of beavers and their offspring, starfish, crabs, barnacles and other creatures. Surrounded by water at high tide, the island is also a sanctuary for birds. The value of the area for biodiversity was further improved during the Olympic Village construction process through the inclusion of green roofs on over 50% of the building footprint, improving overall matrix quality for birds and flying insects. In this way, re-development associated with new construction for sport was able to positively impact both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity in a highly urban context by converting degraded industrial land into liveable habitat for both athletes and wildlife.