The WWF-Canada Restoration Fund supports community-based, large-scale initiatives to restore the health of our watersheds.
The WWF-Canada Restoration Fund is a freshwater project collaboration between WWF-Canada and Coca-Cola Canada, aimed at providing relief to some of Canada’s most valuable ecosystems.
WWF-Canada’s 2017 Watershed Reports revealed many of our freshwater ecosystems and habitats are under stress from climate change, fragmentation and habitat loss. By empowering groups with boots on the ground, we’re restoring these watersheds for the communities and wildlife that depend on them.
The WWF-Canada Restoration Fund was created in 2018 to help us achieve our goal of having all freshwater in Canada in good health. As a part of Coca-Cola’s commitment to be globally water-neutral through watershed conservation projects, the fund supports community-based restoration initiatives.
Meet WWF-Canada’s Restoration Fund recipients:
The ACAP Saint John Shining a Light on Freshwater project uncovered Newman’s and Caledonia brooks to improve the health of freshwater ecosystems that are highly stressed following 250 years of disturbance. It involved the removal of fish barriers and invasive species, stabilization of river banks, and opportunities for community members to learn about their local watershed.
Former golf course fairways were restored to their original habitat to improve water quality downstream, creating habitat for waterfowl, songbirds and migrating shorebirds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and invertebrates. The Salt Spring Island Conservancy’s Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve habitat restoration project involved up to five wetlands in an area that is highly stressed, as well as the creation of new trails and signs for people to explore and learn.
Industrial logging since the 1970s on Vancouver Island resulted in significant habitat loss for salmon and other wildlife along the Chenatha River. Together with the Toquaht Nation, the Central Westcoast Forest Society’s Chenatha River Watershed Restoration Project built pools, redefined streams and deactivated logging roads to improve conditions for wild Pacific salmon and other threatened wildlife in this highly stressed area.
British Columbia’s Katzie First Nation restored habitat in the Upper Pitt’s Blue River Creek watershed by removing in-stream barriers and building fortifications to protect spawning beds for Chinook salmon. This will help restore fish migration routes, ecosystem connectivity and water flow into neighbouring channels that support a variety of species, including coho salmon and endangered steelhead trout.
WWF-Canada is working towards a future where all Canadian waters are in good condition, by building water-resilient communities, bringing big-water data to decision-making tables and creating a culture of water stewardship across the country.
Help protect threatened species and their habitats.
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