“Every day the more I learn about what’s going on in the world with climate change, pollution, and all the environmental impacts, I become more passionate about coastal conservation. It is something I hold very close to my heart. ”
— Angel Fisher
(Director of Coastal Conservation - Coastal Water Protectors)
Who they are
Coastal Water Protectors are a part of the Coastal Conservation department within the BC Métis Federation. This organization continues to grow and expand everyday. Starting with just eight Coastal Water Protectors, this group now has a team of seventeen passionate members in just a couple of months. Current Coastal Water Protector members reside in Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
“Coastal conservation is something I am very passionate about.
I fell into this project four years ago, and have been able to grow it into something much bigger than any of us expected.”
— Angel Fisher
(Director of Coastal Conservation -
Coastal Water Protectors)
Want to learn more about the Coastal Water Protectors team?
BC Métis Federation
Provide services, programs, and assistance to Métis residing in British Columbia. They have many projects going on including: traditional Métis language, research, health, coastal conservation, and more.
“Métis groups are a little behind in getting recognized when it comes to Indigenous groups. We’ve hit some road blocks…a lot of programs and funding goes to land-based groups. Whereas Métis are not land-based, but community-based…bridging this gap has been a challenge.”
— Angel Fisher
(Director of Coastal Conservation
- Coastal Water Protectors)
What they do
Coastal Water Protectors work to increase awareness about coastal conservation issues within Métis communities. They provide members with access to proper education and resources through online and in person training on incident reporting, emergency response, and much more. Coastal Water Protectors are passionate about protecting our coastlines, organizing various beach clean-ups, tree plantings, as well as educating local communities on how they can get involved in environmental projects and coastal restoration.
‘Co-Developing Community Response’ project
This project is a five year agreement between the BC Métis Federation and the Canadian Coast Guard. The goal of this project is to bridge communication gaps between the Canadian Coast Guard and BC Métis Federation members. This was the original project which initiated the start of the Coastal Water Protectors.
Aquatic Habitat Restoration Fund
This fund is an expansion of the ‘Co-Developing Community Response’ project. The Aquatic Habitat Restoration Fund is a response to concerns raised by Indigenous groups during consultations on the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) project about potential impacts of development on fish, fish habitat, and fisheries resources. Coastal Water Protectors will be combining spill response and management with restoring and repairing already damaged ecosystems.
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Passion
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Culture
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Perseverance
Their projects
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Coastal Water Protectors have already completed nine beach cleanups in the summer of 2022. They collected dozens of bags of trash from areas such as: English Bay, Kitsilano Beach, Ella Beach in Sooke, Campbelle River in Rotary Park, Esquimalt Lagoon in Victoria, as well as Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo.
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Coastal Water Protectors participated in National Tree Day in partnership with Tree Canada, planting over a dozen trees at Larson Park in North Vancouver. They also planted a special tree in memory of Debbie Harris who was an original member of the Coastal Water Protectors that recently passed away.
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To date, Coastal Water Protectors have been able to conduct nine community sessions, providing information on the Coastal department and Coastal Water Protector projects being worked on. They also share environmental facts with their communities and how they and their children can get involved.
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Through additional funding opportunities, Coastal Water Protectors are able to take part in environmental training and workshops. Some courses include: environmental monitoring, emergency response, spill response and management, marine first aid and much more. They also have access to a new office space to do research and have a safe space to learn.
Want to join their mailing list?
Coastal Water Protectors have their own Coastal Conservation newsletter.
If you would like to be added to the distribution list please email Angel, the Director of Coastal Conservation: a.fisher@bcmetis.com
“A lot of people don’t quite know just how bad the situation with ocean pollution is. So we focus a lot on education.”
— Angel Fisher
(Director of
Coastal
Conservation -
Coastal Water Protectors)
Training and resources
The BC Métis Federation Coastal Department has created many great educational resources along with Coastal Water Protector members. These infographics provide Indigenous community members with easily accessible knowledge on ocean issues and safety.
Coastal Water Protectors are developing a library for their research.
Located at the BC Métis Federation’s head office, this library is open to all of the Coastal Water Protectors to examine maps, study libraries and learn about the various marine flora and fauna located along British Columbia’s coast!
Library for research
Do you have any books that you would recommend Coastal Water Protectors add to their collection?
Email: a.fisher@bcmetis.com
Coastal Water Protectors are getting more hands-on in the future. Their members plan to get involved in water and sand testing focusing on aquatic restoration, sand-dune restoration and more. Coastal Water Protectors plan to tour around the British Columbia coastline doing baseline surveying and sampling, monitoring coastal environments every two to three months.
Coastal Water Protectors also plan to hold youth and elder retreats in the next fiscal year. They plan to go out to Vancouver Island and the lower mainland, educating youth through a three day day camp. Through this camp, youth will learn how to fish, cook traditional foods over a fire, identify plants and herbs, and more.
Upcoming opportunities
Spill response
Coastal Water Protectors are working on being able to respond to oil spills in their local aquatic environments in real-time and assist out on the water when oil spills occur. Coastal Water Protectors have members all over the 'Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island hoping to be able to respond to spills in all areas of British Columbia. Coastal Water Protector members are trained to have their boating licenses, as well as their small-vessel proficiency operator certificates, to be trained for vessel emergencies.
Want to get involved in their upcoming projects?
Email: a.fisher@bcmetis.com
