“Water must be free for sustenance needs. Since nature gives water to us free of cost, buying and selling it for profit violates our inherent right to nature’s gift and denies the poor of their human rights.”

— Vandana Shiva

Bioretention Systems | Green Infrastructure, City of Vancouver | Vancouver, British Columbia

Support the City’s bioretention program by improving soil structure and plant health across several sites to support effective stormwater capture and treatment.

September 2023 - Ongoing
Varies depending on the site.
• Soil substrate of each site consists of at least 70% sand, a standard growing medium for these types of installations. Sand has poor water-holding capacity, which can result in overall plant stress and hinder establishment.

• Site accessibility also varied between sites posing unique logistical challenges for each treatment plan. For instance, bioretention cells at the West King Edward site spanned three blocks along a busy roadway. Positioned in the central meridian, treatments at this site had to be carefully coordinated with ongoing pavement upgrades and scheduled around other contractors’ activities.

So far, the treatments have had positive effects on the plants. See photos below.
Still to be determined.
• Field observations
• Initial testing of the soil biological community using our Core Package Analysis.