Habitat Island in Vancouver

  Scroll down for more pictures  

Click here to upload your photos of Habitat Island

Southeast waterfront, False Creek, Vancouver, British Columbia, Mount Pleasant V6A 3Z7

← Previous   Random   Next →

Tweet

Print this page   •   Share this page   •   Map This

The first homes completed in the building of athletes' village for the 2010 Winter Olympics wasn't for people, but for nature.

Habitat Island was created by using the left over dirt, rocks, sand, and other material from excavations of the village. This material was placed in the shallow water of the southern edge of False Creek and planted with native trees, plants, and grasses, in addition to a few dead trees -- perfect for birds to rest on.

Habitat Island's full name is Habitat Compensation Island. It was intended to make up for a portion of the natural waterfront that was lost to development. Although it is small, it features a variety of micro-ecological zones like dense forest, shrubbery, a sharp falloff into deep water, and an area of sun-warmed shallows which partially disappear with the tide.

The plan was a wonderful success. Almost immediately, aquatic plants started growing in the area, attracting schools of herring that laid eggs in the artificial shallows. By spring of 2009 there were herring spawning in False Creek for the first time in decades -- a sign of the formerly industrial waterway's recovering health. Also, bald eagles have been seen perching on the branches of the contrived dead trees. What was once a heavily polluted riparian disaster is now a miniature ecosystem, and part of the area's larger ecology.

Related Video

2010 Winter Games Athletes Village
A look at the village while it was still under construction in 2009

Video courtesy of the Glass Steel and Stone.

Rate This Natural architecture

method='post' action='/Building.php?ID=4526#Rate'>Current rating: 50%  name='Rating' id='Rating' value='Praise' class='Plain'> name='Rating' id='Rating' value='Raze' class='Plain'>

Nearby Buildings

• Hinge Park
• 181 Athletes Way
• 1616 Columbia Street
• Mariner 1
• 151 Athletes Way
• The Flagship
• 150 Athletes Way
• Mariner 2
• Coopers Lookout
• Canoe Bridge

Click here to upload your photos of Habitat Island

Your Thoughts

There are no comments. You can be the first to add your thoughts to this page.

Name:
	Please tell us your name (Example: "Jim W.") It doesn't have to be your real name, but it's more social that way.
E-mail address:
	E-mail address is used for validation only. It will not be displayed. We do not spam.
Your location:	Bermuda Canada Greenland Saint Pierre and Miquelon United States AlandAlbaniaAndorraAustriaBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFaroe IslandsFinlandFranceGermanyGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGuernseyHungaryHoly SeeIcelandIrelandIsle of ManItalyJerseyKosovoLatviaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacedoniaMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroThe NetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwitzerlandSvalbard and Jan Mayen IslandsSwedenTurkeyUkraineUnited Kingdom AfghanistanArmeniaAzerbaijanBangladeshBhutanBruneiBurmaCambodiaChinaEast TimorGeorgiaIndiaIndonesiaIranJapanKazakhstanKyrgyzstanLaosMalaysiaMaldivesMongoliaNepalNorth KoreaPakistanPhilippinesRussiaSingaporeSouth KoreaSri LankaTajikistanTaiwanThailandTurkeyTurkmenistanUzbekistanVietnam American SamoaAustraliaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsCook IslandsEast TimorFederated States of MicronesiaFijiFrench PolynesiaGuamKiribatiMarshall IslandsNauruNiueNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsPalauPapua New GuineaPitcairn IslandsSamoaSolomon IslandsTokelauTongaTuvaluVanuatuWallis and Futuna AfghanistanAlgeriaBahrainCyprusEgyptIranIraqIsraelJordanKuwaitLebanonLibyaMoroccoOmanPakistanQatarSaudi ArabiaSyriaTunisiaTurkeyUnited Arab EmiratesYemen AnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArubaBahamasBarbadosBelizeBES IslandsBritish Virgin IslandsCayman IslandsCubaCosta RicaCuracaoDominicaDominican RepublicEl SalvadorGuatemalaGrenadaGuadeloupeHaitiHondurasJamaicaMexicoMartiniqueMontserratNicaraguaPanamaPuerto RicoSaint BarthelemySaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSint MaartenTrinidad and TobagoTurks and Caicos IslandsUnited States Virgin Islands AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkina FasoBurundiCameroonCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadComorosDemocratic Republic of the CongoCongoCote d IvoireDjiboutiEgyptEquatorial GuineaEritreaEthiopiaGabonThe GambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauKenyaLesothoLiberiaLibyaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMauritiusMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaReunionRwandaSao Tome and PrincipeSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSomaliaSouth AfricaSudanSwazilandTanzaniaTogoTunisiaUgandaZambiaZimbabwe ArgentinaBoliviaBrazilChileColombiaEcuadorFrench GuyanaGuyanaParaguayPeruSurinameUruguayVenezuela
Your rating:	5 Stars * * * * * 4 Stars * * * * 3 Stars * * * 2 Stars * * 1 Star *
Your comments:
Current month (MM):	This helps fight spam bots.
Current year (YYYY):	This also helps fight spam bots.