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Waterbodies

Waterbodies

Written by: False Creek Friends Society
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About this listen

False Creek is a cherished centrepiece of Vancouver, for locals and tourists alike. But, it is also often maligned as being dangerously polluted and devoid of its historically vibrant marine ecology. On this podcast (recorded on-location in False Creek), we're platforming expert conversations to foster a deeper, mutual relationship between people and urban waterways, and amplify local voices shaping public policy. As beautiful as False Creek is today, we know it could be so much more tomorrow. As the former site of heavy industry, these waters have been recognized as needing significant rehabilitation for almost a century. We dream of a False Creek that is safely swimmable, resilient to rising sea levels, an embodiment of Indigenous and community co-governance, and a place of thriving human culture and biodiversity. Not only is a better False Creek possible, its responsible stewardship will lead to myriad co-benefits for the people of Vancouver: improving public mental and physical health, fostering climate change resilience, and furthering reconciliation with Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Visit FalseCreekFriends.org to learn more or to get involved.Copyright 2025 False Creek Friends Society Biological Sciences Political Science Politics & Government Science Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • Who's in Charge of False Creek? | Shelley Luce & Stephen Paetkau
    Dec 19 2025

    False Creek, unlike most harbours around the world, has no single entity tasked with oversight and management. Instead, it has a tangle of overlapping jurisdiction between 22 government agencies.

    Today's anchor, Zaida Schneider, is joined by a pair of guests: one of whom was at the centre of one of the biggest success stories in urban marine restoration, and the other who has perhaps the deepest insight into the state of False Creek today — to discuss the most pressing issues facing False Creek, and how we can navigate them.

    Shelley Luce is currently the Campaigns Director of Sierra Club BC, and was formerly the President and CEO of Heal the Bay: an organization whose work continues to transform the ecology of the Santa Monica Bay near the city of Los Angeles.

    Stephen Paetkau is the co-owner and operator of Skookum Yacht Services, and due in part to his work retrieving derelict vessels, has clocked more time underwater in False Creek than anyone else.

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    58 mins
  • Rising Tides | Angela Danyluk & Tom Lancaster
    Nov 27 2025

    Sea level rise, combined with increasingly powerful storm surges, threatens catastrophic flooding to the homes and business along the shores of False Creek. Vancouver's world-famous seawall has already begun to crumble under the waves.

    The shoreline of False Creek today is, frankly, unprepared for the climate of tomorrow. The transformation of this city is certain, but we can do more than just endure it — we can be its co-creators. Today’s anchor, Mutuma, is sitting down with Angela Danyluk and Tom Lancaster to discuss the challenges and the opportunities of that transformation.

    Tom Lancaster is the General Manager of Granville Island, one of the city’s most iconic locations, and one at particular risk of flooding. The diverse needs of Granville Island’s tenants are, in some ways, a microcosm of the entire city.

    Angela Danyluk is a Senior Sustainability Specialist at the City of Vancouver, the manager of Climate Adaptation & Equity, and was the project manager for the Sea2City Design Challenge: which, through community collaboration, produced a gorgeous vision for 4 key sites along False Creek: combining shoreline rewilding with urban development, and laying out a framework for how we can not just cope, but thrive with our future tides.

    In this episode, we’re diving into how facing climate change can make our city (and False Creek) better for everyone.

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    53 mins
  • False Creek is ALIVE | Chris Harley & Colleen Kellogg
    Nov 5 2025

    It's widely assumed that False Creek is so polluted that it is devoid of life. We’re here to say, in fact, no — False Creek is ALIVE!

    In this episode, anchor Matt Brown sits down with Chris Harley and Colleen Kellogg, to discuss the ways we can conceive of different levels of biodiversity, the features of False Creek (both physical and social) that affect it, the impacts of climate change, how False Creek could become a Living lab, and the 2022 BioBlitz: a community science survey that revealed over 500 different forms of life in False Creek — including some new to science!

    Chris Harley is a professor in the Zoology Department in the Institute for Oceans and Fisheries at UBC, and studies the impact of climate change on rocky coasts. He leads the Harley Lab, where he and his students investigate how climatic factors and biological relationships interact to create ecological patterns in time and space.

    Colleen Kellogg is a Research Scientist and Microbial Oceanographer with the Hakai Institute. Her research focuses on studying plankton communities and microbial ecology in coastal margins.

    Explore the 2022 False Creek BioBlitz on iNaturalist, and find the eDNA and other data on the Hakai Institute's GitHub

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    Learn more about the False Creek Friends Society, and get involved at https://falsecreekfriends.org/

    Join our newsletter for updates and volunteer opportunities at https://falsecreekfriends.org/newsletter

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    44 mins
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