Biodiversity Conservation Strategy

The City of Colwood is conducting a state of biodiversity assessment and developing a strategy to protect, restore, and enhance biodiversity

What is Biodiversity and Why is it Important?

Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety of life on earth at all levels – from the smallest living things to systems of living things, including genetic diversity and diversity within species, between species and ecosystems. From tiny microbes, fungi and plants to beetles, birds, and bears, it is the diversity of those species around us and their inter-relationships.

Biodiversity is essential for the survival of living things, including humans. Biodiversity provides basic necessities of life, contributes to our quality of life and well-being, and can be described as providing important ecosystem services.

We live in the most biodiverse province in Canada and the unique biodiversity in Colwood and our region includes some of the rarest (at risk) ecosystems and species in Canada. As Colwood grows, there are increasing pressures on natural spaces, biodiversity, and the vital services they provide. Colwood’s Climate Action Plan recognizes that the climate and biodiversity crises are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. The development of a biodiversity conservation strategy is a priority action in that plan. As the City works to increase community resilience in a changing climate, protecting and enhancing healthy, biodiverse ecosystems is critical to our physical and mental well-being and essential for life.

What is Colwood doing to Protect Biodiversity?

In Colwood we have many unique natural areas or ecosystems that are habitats for a diversity of plants, animals, and other living things. From our salt marshes and shoreline ecosystems at Esquimalt Lagoon, wetlands and lakes, to Douglas-fir forest communities and Garry oak ecosystems, there is much to celebrate and enjoy but also to steward and protect. The City is working with residents, stakeholders, specialists, and others to understand more about the health of these important areas and species so we can develop a strategy to guide us.

The Biodiversity Conservation Strategy will provide a road map to protect, restore, and enhance natural areas and ecological connectivity, support biodiversity, enhance ecosystem services, and help species adapt to climate change. Biodiversity and nature-based solutions are also important to increase our community’s resilience in a changing climate. The strategy will include how this can be integrated into City processes, including natural asset management, park management, development planning, and policies.

Get Involved – Opportunities for Participation

We look forward to and value the participation of Colwood residents and community members in this project. This project page will be updated with announcements for future opportunities, including:

CENiC Speaker’s Series: brief community presentation April 1^st
A StoryMap webpage: learn more, plus share information and comments (April 2025)
Online and in-person engagement events (starting spring 2025)