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Flooding is considered to be the most expensive disaster in Canadian history.
Effects of climate change and sea level rise place the Lower Mainland at increasing risk of catastrophic floods from the Fraser River freshet to coastal storms and king tides. Many Coast Salish communities are vulnerable to floods and other risks and can leverage an opportunity to build a disaster resilient region by working together. The Emergency Planning Secretariat is an a-political organization created to support a coordinated mainland Coast Salish-led flood management strategy, from Yale to Tsawwassen to Squamish. |
We're Hiring a Project Coordinator!
The Emergency Planning Secretariat is pleased to offer a position full time, 1 year contract Project Coordinator position overseeing the Environmental Justice for Climate Change (EJ4C) project.
EPS is an emerging body in the Lower Mainland looking to improve Mainland Coast Salish emergency preparedness and adaptation to climate change. Our main tool for achieving this is our Regional Action Plan, or Hilekw Sq'eq'ó, which localizes the Sendai Framework for the 31 Mainland Coast Salish First Nations, weaving together Mainland Coast Salish knowledge and culture with best practices in emergency management around the world. The recently released Action Plan focuses mainly on flooding for its first iteration. In addition to the Action Plan, the EPS also supports First Nations flood planning throughout the Lower Mainland.
The Environmental Justice for Climate Change (EJ4C) Project builds on a series of existing work being done in the flood-fish space. One partners project, called “Resilient Waters” (see www.resilientwaters.ca), is identifying key flood control sites where fish passage and fish habitat can be restored.
The Build Back Better, Together Collaborative is another avenue through which multi-benefit flood recovery and management practices can be promoted. A strong component of this collaborative is advocacy and technical guidance. The desired result is to ensure that government flood management strategies, flood infrastructure upgrades and associated habitat restoration works find solutions that address the needs and priorities of First Nations alongside other community and sectoral values, while improving salmon habitat.
The EJ4C Project seeks to identify flood mitigation and resilience priorities within indigenous communities and residents of the Lower Mainland, and pull together flood management and adaptation values for implementation. This will be through a series of engagement meetings with indigenous community members and experts to pull together a best practices document of flood resilience options from the household to watershed scale. This project is in partnership with Watershed Watch Salmon Society
POSITION SUMMARY: The Project Coordinator is responsible for the coordination of the EJ4C Project for the EPS and Watershed Watch Salmon Society, as well as support with the Regional Action Plan, BBBT Project, and other flood-related projects of the EPS.
COMPENSATION: Starting salary at $55,000 - $65,000 depending on experience
Job Description
REPORTS TO: EPS Program Manager
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
PLEASE EMAIL A COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO: gillian.fuss@emplans.ca
THIS JOB POSTING WILL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
EPS is an emerging body in the Lower Mainland looking to improve Mainland Coast Salish emergency preparedness and adaptation to climate change. Our main tool for achieving this is our Regional Action Plan, or Hilekw Sq'eq'ó, which localizes the Sendai Framework for the 31 Mainland Coast Salish First Nations, weaving together Mainland Coast Salish knowledge and culture with best practices in emergency management around the world. The recently released Action Plan focuses mainly on flooding for its first iteration. In addition to the Action Plan, the EPS also supports First Nations flood planning throughout the Lower Mainland.
The Environmental Justice for Climate Change (EJ4C) Project builds on a series of existing work being done in the flood-fish space. One partners project, called “Resilient Waters” (see www.resilientwaters.ca), is identifying key flood control sites where fish passage and fish habitat can be restored.
The Build Back Better, Together Collaborative is another avenue through which multi-benefit flood recovery and management practices can be promoted. A strong component of this collaborative is advocacy and technical guidance. The desired result is to ensure that government flood management strategies, flood infrastructure upgrades and associated habitat restoration works find solutions that address the needs and priorities of First Nations alongside other community and sectoral values, while improving salmon habitat.
The EJ4C Project seeks to identify flood mitigation and resilience priorities within indigenous communities and residents of the Lower Mainland, and pull together flood management and adaptation values for implementation. This will be through a series of engagement meetings with indigenous community members and experts to pull together a best practices document of flood resilience options from the household to watershed scale. This project is in partnership with Watershed Watch Salmon Society
POSITION SUMMARY: The Project Coordinator is responsible for the coordination of the EJ4C Project for the EPS and Watershed Watch Salmon Society, as well as support with the Regional Action Plan, BBBT Project, and other flood-related projects of the EPS.
COMPENSATION: Starting salary at $55,000 - $65,000 depending on experience
Job Description
- Coordinate the EJ4C Project
- Coordinate regular project team meetings
- Coordinate 3 workshops to define risk and risk reduction next steps
- Coordinate a Best Management Practices report with defined flood risks, solutions and a list of priority flood mitigation and restoration projects
- Work with project partners for continued engagement on report outcomes
- Educate public audiences about opportunities and solutions to address diverse values in modernized floodplain management
- Support with engagement and project management support for BBBT, Helikw Sq’eq’o and other EPS Projects
- Support Mainland Coast Salish First Nations as needed, and during emergencies
- Assist with communications and reporting for EPS and Watershed Watch
- Maintain respectful and effective relationships with each of the 31 Mainland Coast Salish First Nations and external partners
REPORTS TO: EPS Program Manager
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- Preference may be given to a candidate with formal education or training in a relevant field, such as project management, engagement, flood management, natural resource management, or five years experience in the field;
- The ability to work in a team environment and independently;
- Experience managing projects including report writing (please submit a writing sample with your application);
- Experience conducting engagement sessions, including planning, organizing, and holding workshops and/or conferences;
- Some experience managing budgets;
- An adaptable attitude to handle variable schedules, demanding schedules during emergencies, politically charged environments, and needs of different partners; and
- Intermediate computer and typing skills (MS Office Suite, Google Drive and Dropbox).
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
- Knowledge of political and social impacts that affect BC First Nations;
- Event coordination and set up;
- Familiarity with online calendar and task management systems;
- Excellent organizational and time management skills.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
- Must be willing to submit to a criminal record check
- Must be in compliance with federal vaccination regulations
- Must have a valid driver’s license and access to a reliable vehicle
- Must be flexible to work from home, in office with some travel to communities
- A laptop will be provided and travel will be compensated
PLEASE EMAIL A COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO: gillian.fuss@emplans.ca
THIS JOB POSTING WILL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Adaptation Funding Programs
Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Adaptation Funding Programs
Community Emergency Preparedness Fund: Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Adaptation (DRR-CA) Stream
Eligible Applicants: First Nations and Local Governments
Deadline: Friday, September 30, 2022
In partnership with Emergency Management BC, the Union of BC Municipalities’ Community Emergency Preparedness Fund DRR-CA stream will provide funding to support First Nations and local governments to reduce risks from future disasters due to natural hazards and climate-related risks through the development and implementation of:
For more information about this program contact: CEPF@ubcm.ca
Green Infrastructure - Adaptation, Resilience and Disaster Mitigation Program (Green ARDM)Eligible Applicants: First Nations and Local Governments
Deadline: Friday, October 7, 2022 at 1pm PST
Green ARDM will fund flood mitigation infrastructure projects for individual communities (up to $10 million), and joint applications submitted by multiple communities (up to $20 million). The program has a total of $81.865 million federal and provincial dollars to support projects that increase structural capacity and/or natural capacity with the intent of reducing, or negating, the effects of flooding.
Green ARDM is the result of an Integrated Bilateral Agreement between Canada and the Province of BC for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). ICIP cost-shares infrastructure investments between the governments of Canada, British Columbia, First Nations, and local governments.
Eligible hazards:
For more information about this program contact: embcdisastermitigation@gov.bc.ca
Natural Infrastructure Fund
Eligible Applicants: Please refer to the program guide as a wide range of applicants are eligible (e.g., Indigenous governing bodies, local governments, public sector bodies, not-for-profits, etc.)
Deadline: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 3pm EDT (12pm PST)
Established by Infrastructure Canada, NIF supports natural and hybrid infrastructure projects across Canada. Objectives of the NIF are to:
Projects must reflect one of the four categories listed below:
For more information on how to apply visit: https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/nif-fin/index-eng.html
For more information about this program contact: NIF-FIN@infc.gc.ca
Community Emergency Preparedness Fund: Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Adaptation (DRR-CA) Stream
Eligible Applicants: First Nations and Local Governments
Deadline: Friday, September 30, 2022
In partnership with Emergency Management BC, the Union of BC Municipalities’ Community Emergency Preparedness Fund DRR-CA stream will provide funding to support First Nations and local governments to reduce risks from future disasters due to natural hazards and climate-related risks through the development and implementation of:
- Accurate foundational knowledge of the natural hazards they face and the risks associated with BC’s changing climate
- Effective strategies to prepare for, mitigate, and adapt to those risks.
- Category 1: Foundational activities (risk mapping, risk assessments, planning) - $150k per community
- Category 2: Non-structural activities (land use planning, community education, purchase of eligible equipment) - $150K per community
- Category 3: Small scale structural activities (refer to Appendix 1 of the Program Guide) - $2M per community
For more information about this program contact: CEPF@ubcm.ca
Green Infrastructure - Adaptation, Resilience and Disaster Mitigation Program (Green ARDM)Eligible Applicants: First Nations and Local Governments
Deadline: Friday, October 7, 2022 at 1pm PST
Green ARDM will fund flood mitigation infrastructure projects for individual communities (up to $10 million), and joint applications submitted by multiple communities (up to $20 million). The program has a total of $81.865 million federal and provincial dollars to support projects that increase structural capacity and/or natural capacity with the intent of reducing, or negating, the effects of flooding.
Green ARDM is the result of an Integrated Bilateral Agreement between Canada and the Province of BC for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). ICIP cost-shares infrastructure investments between the governments of Canada, British Columbia, First Nations, and local governments.
Eligible hazards:
- Riverine/Fluvial Flooding – flooding that occurs when creeks or rivers overflow onto dry land, typically resulting from snowmelt or heavy rainfall
- Urban/Pluvial Flooding – flooding that occurs during and after heavy rain or snow when water ponds in low-lying areas, particularly in urban areas if streets and drainage systems are overwhelmed
- Coastal Flooding – flooding that occurs when the ocean levels are higher than normal due to tide or storm activity. Including overflow of all-natural shorelines to sea level rise or storm surge
- Debris Flows – (also known as mudslides, mudflows, lahars, or debris avalanche) – a type of landslide that generally occurs during periods of intense rainfall or rapid snowmelt typically generated on steep slopes impacting downstream/downslope communities
For more information about this program contact: embcdisastermitigation@gov.bc.ca
Natural Infrastructure Fund
Eligible Applicants: Please refer to the program guide as a wide range of applicants are eligible (e.g., Indigenous governing bodies, local governments, public sector bodies, not-for-profits, etc.)
Deadline: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 3pm EDT (12pm PST)
Established by Infrastructure Canada, NIF supports natural and hybrid infrastructure projects across Canada. Objectives of the NIF are to:
- Increase the use and uptake of natural and hybrid infrastructure; and
- Build community awareness on the value of natural and hybrid infrastructure and the delivery of multiple outcomes.
Projects must reflect one of the four categories listed below:
- Planting or restoring green space (e.g., urban forests, green roofs, parks, community gardens);
- Construction or restoration of naturalized water retention or detention systems (naturalized stormwater ponds, wetlands, and coastal restoration)
- Naturalized water diversion or infiltration (e.g., establishment of living dikes, rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable land cover)
- Natural infrastructure or hybrid infrastructure projects supporting biodiversity and connectivity
For more information on how to apply visit: https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/nif-fin/index-eng.html
For more information about this program contact: NIF-FIN@infc.gc.ca
Examples of Nature-Based Infrastructure
Above: Dale Hodges Park in the City of Calgary is an excellent example of NBS in practice. What was once an abandoned gravel pit is now a verdant site with a nautilus pond and stormwater wetlands designed to treat runoff from a large catchment area before the water returns to the Bow River. Completed in 2019, this new space is in its entirety a work of art, a treatment facility and a park with multi-use trails, offering educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities to citizens in addition to the enhanced habitat for wildlife and biodiversity on the site. Doty-view-1-1024x683.jpg (1024×683) (placerlandtrust.org)
Above: Depoldering Noordwaard is one of the largest projects in the Netherlands aiming to create more room for the river. Noordwaard - ipv Delft creative engineers
Above: As an action of mitigating urban flood risk caused by climate change, the restoration of mangrove along the waterways and coastlines are critical for the tropical city Sanya in China' s Hainan Island. One of the key challenges is to find an efficient and inexpensive method to restore the mangrove habitat that has been destroyed in the past decades due to rapid urban development. An area of lifeless landfill in the middle of the city within a concrete floodwall has been successfully restored into a lush mangrove park, where nature and people harmoniously share the meeting of ocean tides and freshwater. The project demonstrates the success of the design strategy based on the ecological processes of wind and water, which produces a designed ecotone made of interlocked fingers to speed up the natural process of mangrove rehabilitation. Such a mangrove rehabilitation method can be implemented at a large scale efficiently.
Build Back Better, Together!
On July 14, 2022, EPS Chair and Sto:lo Tribal Chief Tyrone McNeil in partnership with Fraser Valley Regional District and City of Chilliwack Chair Jason Lum, convened a meeting to discuss foundational principles for a regional collaborative strategy to Build Back Better, Together after the devastating floods in the fall/winter of 2021. We are very grateful for the coordination support provided by agency partners including Watershed Watch, Resilient Waters, West Coast Environmental Law, Ebbwater Consulting, Farmland Advantage, Kerr Wood Leidal Consulting, UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and Shift Collaborative.
We are also very grateful for the participation of over 140 representatives from regional Coast Salish Nations, Local Authorities, Provincial and Federal governments in the region. We will provide a report back soon with next steps based on conversations that were had with all those present. There will be continued opportunities to collaborate and move these discussions forward into regional action that supports balanced decision making and priorities based on these shared principles.
The presentations from this meeting follow:
Emergency Planning Secretariat and Fraser Valley Regional District, Build Back Better, Together
Floodplains by Design, From Risk to Resilience in Washington
Province of BC Emergency Management BC, BC Disaster Assistance Funding Presentation
We are also very grateful for the participation of over 140 representatives from regional Coast Salish Nations, Local Authorities, Provincial and Federal governments in the region. We will provide a report back soon with next steps based on conversations that were had with all those present. There will be continued opportunities to collaborate and move these discussions forward into regional action that supports balanced decision making and priorities based on these shared principles.
The presentations from this meeting follow:
Emergency Planning Secretariat and Fraser Valley Regional District, Build Back Better, Together
Floodplains by Design, From Risk to Resilience in Washington
Province of BC Emergency Management BC, BC Disaster Assistance Funding Presentation
WE'VE HIRED!!
EPS is pleased to announce that we have grown with Dianne Garner and Debbie Combes joining the EPS Team and we couldn't be happier! Dianne and Debbie are here to support First Nation communities in planning and responding to emergencies, so please feel free to reach out to them anytime.
Debbie Combes - Emergency Programs Coordinator
Email: Debbie.combes@emplans.ca
Phone: 604-997-0071
Dianne Garner- Emergency Capacity Coordinator
Email: Dianne.garner@emplans.ca
Phone: 604-798-4519
Debbie Combes - Emergency Programs Coordinator
Email: Debbie.combes@emplans.ca
Phone: 604-997-0071
Dianne Garner- Emergency Capacity Coordinator
Email: Dianne.garner@emplans.ca
Phone: 604-798-4519
WHAT WE HEARD REPORT
On October 22, 2020 the EPS hosted a Strategic Planning Session with Mainland Coast Salish community Leadership and Staff to understand how best to serve community's interest in flood and all hazards emergency management work based on the 4 pillars of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The results of the session were compiled in the EPS What We Heard Report.
EPS has been developing a Disaster Resiliency Regional Action Plan (DRRAP) that continues to be co-developed with communities. This plan includes the development of a training and exercising program to develop capacity and enhance coordination between communities.
EPS has been developing a Disaster Resiliency Regional Action Plan (DRRAP) that continues to be co-developed with communities. This plan includes the development of a training and exercising program to develop capacity and enhance coordination between communities.
4 EOC REGIONAL STRUCTURE FOR 31 MAINLAND COAST SALISH COMMUNITIES
FLOOD STRATEGY FOR 31 MAINLAND COAST SALISH COMMUNITIES
ALL HAZARDS STRATEGY FOR 31 MAINLAND COAST SALISH COMMUNITIES
NEWS
3092 Sumas Mountain Rd.
Abbotsford, BC, V3G 2J2
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