Breathing new life into long-eroded shores
Sara Derksen (they/them) // News Editor
Apsara Coeffic-Neou (she/her)// Contributing Visuals
The second phase of the Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park Shoreline Restoration Project will begin late this summer to prevent further erosion to Central Beach, West Beach and Little Cates Park. According to an update released by səlilwətaɬ/Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN), construction will take place from August 2026 to February 2027 during the least-risk window to protect the fish habitats in the area.
The permit was granted by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to TWN and the District of North Vancouver (DNV) as co-managers of the park. It specifies that Phase two will take place largely at night-time during low tides. The work will involve “pre-construction invertebrate salvage, mobilization and site clean-up, placement of fill materials and construction of access points and subsequent demobilization.”
A project notification to British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Office states that the 1.3 kilometres of shore being restored have been subject to erosion, urban and industrial development that are impacting the local sediment dynamics as well as the increased wave action from heavy boat traffic in the inlet. Hatfield Consultants—an environmental consultancy firm that worked collaboratively on the development of the restoration plan—also attribute the ongoing erosion to effects of climate change, such as rise in sea levels and increased storm activity.
Phase one of the Project was completed along East Beach and Roche Point and took place from the fall of 2025 to spring of 2026. This phase consisted of work on the park uplands such as the replacing of invasive plants with native species and new and updated infrastructure.There was also the installation of three rain gardens which are planted areas designed to filter contaminated stormwater destined for the Burrard Inlet. The infrastructure changes include the demolishing of the old picnic shelter. This is in favour of the succeeding shelter that the DNV says is designed to be both climate resilient and inclusive of park visitors using mobility aids. New benches have been added in addition to the repaving of public paths to improve accessibility.
Information provided by TWN shows that the foreshore was replanted with dunegrass and native riparian vegetation such as wild rose, salmonberry and big leaf maple trees. It was filled in with rock and fill material that TWN says was largely imported from a quarry on Vancouver Island. However, thanks to the Agreement on Collaborative Decision Making between TWN and Environment and Climate Change Canada—that declares the shared management of Disposal at Sea within the Burrard Inlet—dredged materials from the inlet were repurposed for use along the shore.
Phase two will consist of much of the same foreshore restoration work implemented during Phase one: focusing on Little Cates’ Beach. The completion of this phase will mark the end of the project, that not only protects the area for use by native flora and fauna, but also the cultural heritage of Whey-ah-Wichen. Serving as a Tsleil-Waututh village for thousands of years, there is a plethora of archaeological resources at the site. Today, the land is used for ceremonies and cultural events such as the Whey-ah-Wichen Canoe Festival held annually at the park.
The Bill Reid Centre at Simon Fraser University has reported that the residents of Whey-ah-Wichen could reach much of their territory within a day’s travel from the village by using canoes and trail systems, providing access to the plants and animals used in daily life. The remains of many of these animals have been discovered at the park, granting important insight on the lives of the people who lived there for generations. To ensure the site is not disturbed by restoration efforts, TWN states that the səlilwətaɬ and Inlailawatash archaeology teams were present and advised the efforts. This project is one of many programs and initiatives led by the TWN Treaty, Lands, and Resources department exercising stewardship over the lands and waters they have occupied for millennia.