Seeding Stewardship Program

Create a steward group to support nature-based solutions by:

• Caring year-round for 1 of the 7 available sites
• Managing invasive species
• Recruiting support
• Activating the space

We’ll provide you with training and resources to become a leader in naturalized landscape maintenance.   

• Learn more about the program and how we can support you as a stewardship leader PDF file (2.9 MB)
• Apply to be a stewardship leader PDF file (176 KB)

Up to $2000 in funding is available to support innovative approaches to get your stewardship group off the ground. Tell us your best ideas to activate and steward your community space. 

Information icon Application intake now open until June 2, 2024.

• Learn about the Seeding Stewardship Reciprocity Fund PDF file (2.4 MB)
• Submit a proposal PDF file (340 KB)

In 2016, the Park Board, with the support of community volunteers, installed the first pollinator garden at W 5th Ave and Pine St.

This site, once dedicated to light industrial activities, has been transformed into a dynamic and fully accessible green space.

It features picnic tables and benches, offering a seasonal landscape that supports a year-round habitat for pollinators and birds.

Pine St between W 7th Ave and W 8th Ave is designed as a park-like street, offering:

• Connections between green spaces
• Shared spaces for different natural habitats
• Integrated rainwater management systems
• Dedicated pedestrian walkways
• Cycling routes for improved mobility

In 2021, 3 curbside gardens and 3 rain gardens were established, improving community biodiversity and rainwater management.

There is an opportunity to steward these gardens and help to maximize their ecological, climate adaptation, and public benefits. 

The rain garden at Sunset Park links the east and west sections of the park, creating a continuous green space. It enhances connections between park features, while adding habitats and improving biodiversity. 

By using soil, plants, and trees, the rain garden filters pollutants from urban rainwater runoff. Features like interpretive signage and painted sidewalks and crosswalks highlight the connections between rainwater pollution and aquatic health downstream. 

There is a unique seating area that create a warm, inviting space to gather, rest, and contemplate, while the adjacent park and garden space provides opportunities for community programing.

In 2019, after acquiring 2 residential properties next to the park, the Park Board and community volunteers installed a pollinator garden.

The garden improves the park's biodiversity, which also includes a wetland and mature forest stands.

It is located on a bike route and is fully accessible with a bench for park users to enjoy the garden in all seasons.  

Built in 2018, this site honours historical ecology, culture, and community.

It features a landscape design that mimics the image of fallen trees in a typical British Columbia creek, as well as art installations created by Indigenous youth to reflect the caretakers and stewards of this land since time immemorial.  

The plaza:

• Increases access to green space
• Enhances rainwater management
• Improves neighborhood amenities

In recent years, morning glory (an invasive species), has overtaken much of the natural vegetation, and requires routine pulls to help manage its spread. Morning glory is an aggressive vine which can choke out other plants, impacting the ecology and biodiversity of the site.

The Park Board installed this pollinator garden in 2019, and community volunteers helped steward it in 2023.

China Creek Park was named for the Chinese settlers who lived, gardened, and fished along the banks of the creek that once flowed through the site as water made its way to False Creek. Unfortunately, the deep ravine of the creek was used as a landfill in the 1920’s and 1930’s and the creek diverted into a pipe in the 1950’s.

This park now hosts sport fields, a playground, washrooms, and a cultural learning garden.

It is located on the Central Valley Greenway and has a steep accessible pathway with benches for park users to enjoy in all seasons.    

In 2021, 4 rain gardens on Ontario St between E 42 Ave and E 43 Ave were rehabilitated to:

• Improve rainwater management performance
• Support, and ultimately enhance water quality and climate resilience

These gardens feature Indigenous plants and others that can withstand pollutants. They incorporate specialized soils to filter out pollutants from rainwater, while adding important habitat for pollinators.

Located in a quaint residential neighbourhood and in front of a school, these rain gardens provide:

• Neighbourhood beautification
• Pollinator habitat
• Educational outreach opportunities

It has the potential to be a living classroom, with opportunities for the community members to connect with and learn about nature in the city.