False Creek Friends Society
Urban marine rehabilitation discussion at False Creek Friends project site | |
| Abbreviation | FCFS |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2021 |
| Type | Environmental organization based in Canada |
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | Revivifying False Creek |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Region served | False Creek |
Official language | English |
President | Zaida Schneider |
| Website | falsecreekfriends |
False Creek Friends Society (FCFS) is a registered nonprofit society whose goal is designation of False Creek in Vancouver as a National Urban Marine Park with Indigenous co-governance.[1][2]
History
False Creek Friends was founded in 2021 by Zaida Schneider and Tim Bray.[3][4]
FCFS worked in 2022 with the Hakai Institute in performing a "BioBlitz", a multidimensional survey of marine life, in False Creek.[5][6][7] The findings were summarized in 2024 in the report False Creek: Past, Present, Future.
FCFS has been an active supporter of the campaign to address the problem of derelict boats in False Creek.[8]
Partnerships
FCFS has partnered with the University of British Columbia on several projects, including its Sustainability Ambassadors Program and its Partnering in Research conference,[9][10][11] with Emily Carr University of Art and Design on exploration of "Meanings Through Design",[12] and with Simon Fraser University on a "Community Ocean Futures" project.[13]
In 2023, FCFS supported Nature Vancouver's False Creek Oyster survey, funded by the BC Naturalist Foundation.[14]
Honors and awards
FCFS received a City of Vancouver "Climate Action Grant" in 2023 for the purpose of "Connecting people, science, and action to enhance the sustainability of False Creek’s marine environment".[15]
FCFS is the subject of Waterbodies: Kinship in False Creek, which won the Best Canadian Short award at the 2024 BC Environmental Film Festival.[16][17]
Studies
In September 2025, Metro Vancouver Regional District launched a collaborative study in partnership with the City of Vancouver, FCFS, and the Raincoast Conservation Association, to study details of pollution in False Creek, with the aim of determining how to clean up and, in the future, protect False Creek from further pollution.[18]
References
- ^ "False Creek Friends Society". False Creek Friends. False Creek Friends Society. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "This local leader is working to turn Vancouver's False Creek into a marine park". Sierra Club BC. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Community Spotlight: False Creek Friends Society". Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, British Columbia Chapter. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Lane, Patricia; Schneider, Zaida (19 December 2024). "How to protect a sliver of sea". Canada's National Observer. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Charach, Kevin (7 September 2022). "'It's full of life': Researchers see hope in Vancouver's polluted False Creek". CTV News. CTV. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Gamage, Michelle. "Meet the People Who Want to Clean Up False Creek". The Tyee. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ McIntyre, Gordon. "Looking at marine life in False Creek with an eye to making it a protected nature park someday". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "'Nobody is in charge': Derelict boats in False Creek a growing problem, residents say". CBC News. CBC. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Cohort Briefs & Reports". The University of British Columbia. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "UBC Partnering in Research Conference + Stories of Partnership: Be The Change Earth Alliance, False Creek Friends and UBC Sustainability Hub". The University of British Columbia. 21 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Spence, Maggy. "Re-Connecting Community to the Urban Marine Environment" (PDF). University of British Columbia. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Graurer, Perrin (15 June 2015). "Exploring False Creek's Many Meanings Through Design". Emily.Carr University. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Slipiec, Claire. "Assistant professor Gillian Russell awarded grant to support Ocean Futures project". Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Snell, Janet; Lopez, Joan (7 May 2023). "False Creek Oyster Survey – Boat & Walking Tour". Nature Vancouver. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Community Climate Action Grants". City of Vancouver. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "BCEFF 2024 Winner of Best Canadian Short". Instagram. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "2024 Festival Film Guide". BC EFF. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Vanderden, Lauren. "What's wrong with the water in Vancouver's False Creek? New research aims to find out". CBC News. CBC. Retrieved 24 September 2025.