Tsleil-Waututh’s Treaty, Lands and Resources Department is working alongside the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to restore cə́ləm (eelgrass). It’s part of the Port’s Habitat Enhancement Program and is now in the final phase of work for the Maplewood Marine Restoration Project. This includes transplanting approximately 125,000 cə́ləm eelgrass shoots by hand from locally sourced beds, which will create a 1.5-hectare eelgrass bed—the largest cə́ləm eelgrass transplant ever performed in Burrard Inlet!

Tsleil-Waututh Nation member Hillary Hyland is an environmental specialist with TLR and highly involved in the project. She explains, “As the stewards of the lands and waters in our territory, restoring the Maplewood flats has great significance for TWN. Set as a priority in the Burrard Inlet Action Plan, restoring the Flats will have a positive impact on our efforts to help restore the health of the inlet and return to our traditional harvests that have and continue to provide the sustenance and connection to the land and water that is needed to have TWN culture flourish once again.”

Read the article here: https://www.portvancouver.com/projects/habitat-restoration/maplewood/