Project Title
Ecological Storytelling: The Herring of False Creek
Organization Name
Organization Information
Organization Name
Mission and Vision of Organization
City of Vancouver
Mission
To create a great city of communities, which cares about its people, its environment and the opportunities to live, work and prosper.
Vision
- To enhance community and individual well being – social, economic, and physical
- To protect and improve the environment
- To provide quality service equitably
- To create a challenging, safe, healthy, and rewarding workplace
- To be fiscally responsible
- To create good governance through public participation, internal improvement, and constructive external relations.
CityStudio
Mission
To innovate and experiment with the ways cities are co-created, while teaching students the skills needed to succeed in today’s economy and inspire action in the community and government.
Vision
Sustainable, equitable, and joyful cities where youth around the world are deeply engaged in problem solving and civic leadership.
Guiding Principles + Values
City of Vancouver
- Integrity: To be open and honest and to honour our commitments.
- Excellence: To strive for the best results.
- Responsiveness: To listen to all the people we work with and serve and to act in a timely and sensitive way.
- Learning: To increase knowledge and understanding in the workplace and in the community and to grow through our successes and our mistakes.
- Fairness: To apply unbiased judgement and sensitivity.
- Leadership: To set examples that others will choose to follow.
Contact Information
- Primary Contact Person(s): Angela Danyluk (she/her), Senior Environmental Specialist
- Email: angela.danyluk@vancouver.ca
- Phone: 604-871-6619
- Address: 507 West Broadway, Vancouver BC
- Website: https://www.vancouver.ca
- Alternate Contact Person: Emily Gorham (she/her), CityStudio Program Coordinator
- Email/Phone: emily@citystudiovancouver.com
Preferred Method of Contact
- Best method(s) to contact: Email. Please include both Emily and Angela on all email correspondence
- Best day(s) to contact: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Angela is away until September 17 and last two weeks of December
Preferred Platform(s) for Collaboration and Student Meetings
- In person
- Google Meet
- Phone
Project Description
Note: This project will take place online and in person
Context/Background
False Creek has endured a lot of changes over the last 200 yrs. Originally, it was a functioning ecosystem of wetlands, wildlife, plants and people. Due to colonization and the industrialization of the area, Indigenous peoples were forcibly removed and displaced, and much of the ecosystem and ecosystem services were lost.
Almost all heavy industry has left False Creek and the waters and wildlife have recovered somewhat. There is a persistent narrative that False Creek is dead, when, in fact, False Creek is very much alive. At the City of Vancouver, we have supported four years of monitoring herring spawn nets at Fisherman’s Wharf. The wharf nets are managed by the Squamish Stream Keepers and is one of the few places in the Salish Sea where herring continue to spawn.
In 2022, the Hakai Institute, False Creek Friends Society, the City of Vancouver and others hosted the first urban bioblitz in BC in False Creek. This month-long effort collected a range of scientific information about life under the waters in False Creek. Scientists observed a range of life during the bioblitz. We now have a range of information, photos, videos and relationships that could be leveraged to inspire and inform people about False Creek and the waters off of Vancouver.
Food Systems Issue(s) Addressed in this Project
Biobliz 2022 generated a diverse collection of photos, videos, and scientific findings that tell the story of False Creek's herring spawn. Leveraging past CityStudio herring projects, and the collected Bioblitz materials, LFS 350 students will assist us in the work of communicating the story of herring the general public. Our goal is to educate and inspire people about False Creek's living ecosystem and its relationship to the Salish Sea. The target audience includes youth, adults, and seniors.
Students should consider the following questions:
- What’s the main story here?
- Why do we care?
- Who is being represented?
- Who is missing?
- Who is doing the work?
- Who benefits (human and non-human) from this work?
- What can the community do to support this work, creature, ecosystem?
Main Project Activities
- Review Bioblitz materials and related resources/literature in order to identify and summarize key messages
- Identify a more specific target audience(s) for the story, considering different languages, cultural perspectives, ages, and ways of knowing
- Develop infographics (# to be determined with community partner)
- Develop social media content (# and format to be determined with community partner)
If time permits
- Create a simplified communications framework to help the work continue beyond the student project. The World Health Organization's Strategic Communications Framework is an example of an extensive communications framework.
Main Project Deliverable(s)
- A set of key messages and FAQs
- Infographics to communicate key messages to the public (target number of infographics to be determined with community partner)
- Social media content to communicate key messages with the public (specific platforms and target # of posts to be determined with community partner)
If time permits
- A communications framework report
Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)
- Ability to translate complex ideas for a general audience
- Interest in storytelling
- Research and writing experience for social and report writing
- Reflection and interest or practice in equity and decolonization
- Graphic skills
- Social media skills
- Video skills (bonus)
Are there any mandatory attendance dates (e.g. special event)?
- N/A
Is a criminal record search (CRS) required?
- No
How much self-direction is expected from the students?
- Deciding on the project deliverable(s): Mostly led by students, with some community partner input
- Developing the activity plan and timeline: Equal leadership between students and community partner
- Scheduling and initiating the communication plan (e.g. weekly Zoom check-in, biweekly email update, etc.): Led by students
- Implementing the activity plan (e.g. surveying stakeholder groups): Led by students
- Finalizing the deliverable(s): Mostly led by students, with some community partner input
Related Volunteering/Community Service Opportunities for Students
- None at this time
Required Reading
Project/Partner Orientation Materials
Students should review the following materials prior to the first partner meeting. Additional orientation materials may be provided at the first partner meeting.
- Maracle, L. (2008). Goodbye, Snauq (available through UBC Library). *Content warning: This reading includes examples and discussion of colonial violence
- CBC article - What's in store for Vancouver's False Creek? Scientists and locals take first steps toward revitalization
- Dr. Matt Whalen discusses BioBlitz (video)
- BioBlitz Interim Report (2022)
- UBC Herring Project 2020 (Hubbub winner)
- Herring Heroes Project 2023
Additional Materials
- Biodiversity Strategy (2016) (Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation)
- How Water Remembers (2021). Gallery exhibition by Laiwan
- Tuck, E., McKenzie, M., & McCoy, K. (2014). Land education: Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2013.877708
- State of the Bay magazine and technical report (2023) and website resources
- Strategic Communications Framework (WHO)
- Accessible and Inclusive Event Planning (UBC Equity and Inclusion Office)
- Herring Project 2022
- Herring Project 2019 [
- False Creek Bioblitz 2022
Expected Outcomes
Intended Short-term Project Outcome
City of Vancouver staff have a range of infographics to communicate key messages about coastal marine life, to be used to inspire and educate the public about life in False Creek and our responsibility to care for the waters and our wildlife kin.
Learning Outcomes
Through this project, I think students will learn about...
- Citizen science programs
- Marine science
- Marine food webs and economy
- How municipal government policy and actors address sustainability
- Multiple perspectives
- Equity and decolonization
By working on this project, I think students will develop skills and/or awareness of...
- Communication skills around planning, writing and creating content Interpersonal skills related to group work
- Project management
- Working with government staff
By the end of the project, I believe students will come to appreciate...
- The importance of communicating to the public
- Telling stories that matter and resonate with a range of audiences
- How to write a report
- How to effectively project manage