For Shoreline Residents...

In association with groups across the country, The Living by Water Project works to provide services to help you.

A home visit by a trained assessor provides you with customized information to help you safeguard your property value, and maximize what you can do to protect water quality, in the privacy of your own residence. You can book a home visit online by filling out our Homesite Assessment request form accessed through the menu bar to your left. In BC, the Living by Water Loan Program provides loans with an interest reduction for shoreline restoration work undertaken as a result of recommendations made by a homesite assessor. This innovative program is still in its pilot stage. Financial institutions in other communities may be interested in a similar program. Evaluative results will be posted once the program has been piloted sufficiently.

Our workshops for shoreline residents are tips-oriented and hands-on. If you are interested in bringing one to your area, link up with a local group - or host one yourself! Check out our News and Events section to find out about upcoming workshops in your area. Contact us to find out about groups and agencies working in your area, or to get in touch with your regional Living by Water Project office.

We believe that anyone who helps protect or restore a shoreline deserves some recognition! Become a Shoreline Ambassador by letting us know what you're doing, or planning to do, to help care for your shorelines. Join our Shoreline Action Challenge and fill out one of our handy checklists or write a commitment in your own words.

For Groups and Agencies...

Our three main programs for groups include the Homesite Assessment, Workshop-in-a-Box, and Shoreline Ambassador Programs. We also provide a number of specialized support services for community groups.

The Homesite Assessment Program helps you deliver your messages directly to shoreline residents, in a customized way that both meets the residents' needs and helps your group effectively communicate with community members.

The Workshop-in-a-Box Program builds on the peer-to-peer approach - people helping and learning from each other. It's an effective way to communicate shoreline stewardship messages, and because it is in a box, the cost is within the budgets of many small community groups.

The Shoreline Ambassador Program. This is an exciting program to reward shoreline stewardship efforts in your community. Through it, we provide a variety of means of honouring individuals, groups and businesses that are actively committed to improving and protecting the health of shorelines.

We also provide a specialized support service to groups interested in promoting shoreline conservation and stewardship, through communications support and provision of materials (including display materials).

We provide customized training to groups interested in developing their capacity to deliver services. This training includes homesite assessor skills, communication, conservation marketing, and media relations. Contact us if you would like further information on any of these services.

A Ribbon of Life Children's Program is being developed. For further information, go to the National Project page.

Your group can participate in our Shoreline Action Challenge initiative as part of a community campaign to protect and restore shorelines in your area. Our checklists of actions that people can take to help care for shorelines are customized to meet the needs of both shoreline residents and visitors.

Our communications initiatives include providing regional networking services through this website, our Shoreline Talk newsletters, and homesite assessor support services through our online discussion group.

Initiatives in development include the Sustainable Shorelines Initiative, Shoreline Forum Series and Shoreline Awards Program. For further information, check out our National Project page.

We provide a range of publications for general audiences, shoreline residents, and groups. Several items are suitable for children and youth. A full listing of available Living by Water Project materials is provided in our order form (publications). E-mail, fax or mail your order form to your nearest Living by Water Project regional office. Contact Us for more information. Online ordering will be available in the future.

Our general audience materials describe the importance of healthy shorelines. The visitor's Shoreline Action Checklist (found under the LbyW Services menu tab above) shows what anyone who visits a shoreline can do to help protect and restore them.

For Shoreline Residents...

Our publications range from brochures and a resident's Shoreline Action Checklist, to our complete "how to" guide for shoreline residents, On the Living Edge: Your Handbook for Waterfront Living (publications). We make sure our publications are full of useful tips and show how you benefit when you're shoreline-friendly.

For Groups and Agencies...

Groups are invited to make use of the range of materials for general audiences and shoreline residents outlined in our order form. We've developed a range of educational and promotional materials that will aid you in raising awareness about the importance of shorelines. The materials we develop are determined by your needs, and those of our audience. For a list highlighting several of our Living by Water Project publications click here.

Check out the Resources menu tabs to explore the beginning of a comprehensive list of resources on shoreline related issues. We invite you to help us in assembling these materials! If you are aware of any documents that aren't on the list, and you'd like to see them there, please send us an e-mail containing the title and a brief description (including author, date and publisher, if possible). If you would like to provide direct access to the document from our website, you can include a web link or attach an electronic copy of the document itself.