səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation)’s Treaty, Lands and Resources (TLR) Department has been working in partnership with the District of North Vancouver on a $6 million dollar shoreline restoration project at Whey-ah-Wichen (Cates Park) in North Vancouver.
Funded by BC Destination Development Fund, Union of BC Municipalities, and the Burrard Inlet Environmental Science and Stewardship Agreement, the project aims to reduce the growing threat to sensitive archeological sites at Whey-ah-Wichen from rising sea levels and shoreline erosion. The spread of invasive species and high foot traffic have also caused further degradation to the area, resulting in an ecosystem that is lacking diversity and ecological function.
To address these issues, Arthur Denèfle, TLR’s Environmental Specialist – Parks Planner, says:
“We are working with coastal engineers and landscape architects to develop designs for the foreshore and upland areas, based on feedback from the səlilwətaɬ community. The largest component of the project is the beach nourishment plan which involves adding a large amount of mixed sand and gravel to the shoreline. This will help provide stability and slow down erosion.
“In the upland area, we will be removing invasive species along the shore, planting native species, and adding a rain garden to capture boat wash runoff. We will also be adding another picnic shelter, a pathway to the beach, split rail fencing, and replacing or improving stairways. This work will contribute to healing səlilwət (Burrard Inlet), protecting the ancestral village site, and improving visitor experience for future generations.”
The beach nourishment plan also aims to enhance forage fish (sand lance and surf smelt) habitat and maintain the beach’s current aesthetics and walkability. The upland restoration will replace invasive species with a variety of native species that were selected based on feedback from the səlilwətaɬ community.
In addition, pathways and stairs are being designed to better accommodate canoes, and the additional picnic shelter will provide more gathering space for before and after paddling. All of this work will avoid ground disturbance as much as possible and will be guided and monitored by the səlilwətaɬ and Inlailawatash archaeology teams.
Speaking about the importance of this project to the community, Mike George, səlilwətaɬ Member and Cultural and Technical Advisor, says:
“Whey-ah-Wichen is a village of Tsleil-Waututh and is very important to Tsleil-Waututh people because we lived on the shore, the beach was our front yard. And our history is in the soil and sediment along the shoreline; we need to protect that, for the future generations so that their history is not erased from the land. So, protecting it and preserving it is preserving our history.”
Construction will begin in the upland areas in the late summer 2025. The first phase of the beach nourishment will take place from mid-September 2025 to February 2026, which avoids disturbing fish habitat at critical times. Following this, the second phase will take place from August 2026 to February 2027. This project has all relevant permits in place: archaeological and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority Environmental Review and Transport Canada (registry number 13503).
Would you like to learn more about the shoreline restoration project at Whey-ah-Wichen? Email Arthur Denèfle at adenefle@twnation.ca.
