Stanley Park's watershed is getting a cleanup

The Stanley Park Ecology Society and HSBC Bank Canada are partnering to restore the health of Stanley Park's watershed.

HSBC has committed $50,000 to support the societywith their aquatic stewardship initiatives, which help preserve the aquatic ecosystems and wildlife habitats of at-risk wildlife species like wood ducks and swallows.

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This is the fifthyear of the HSBC Freshwater Initiatives in Stanley Park program.

To mark the occasion, HSBC employees and the society'svolunteers were waist deep in Lost Lagoon on Thursday, removing invasive plants like yellow flag iris.

Stanley Park's watershed includes Lost Lagoon, Beaver Lake, and several creeks, all of which host diverse wildlife, including 240 species of birds.But its health was failing some years ago.

The watershed is at the base of a healthy, functioning ecosystem.- Maria Egerton

A 2010 report on the state of the park revealed the declining size and quality of its aquatic ecosystems, revealing a bleak future and the need to establish short and long-term plans to return the park to a healthier state.

TheStanley Park Ecology Society's conservation projects manager, Maria Egerton, says the aquatic ecosystems weresuffering from pollution, invasive species, and erosion issues.

"It's important to protect the watershed here, because the watershed is at the base of a healthy, functioning ecosystem, and if the watershed becomes unhealthy and overgrown with invasive species we'll likely see a drop in biodiversity," saidEgerton.

"We're constantly working on removing and managing invasive species, repairing riparian areas, monitoring water quality, and restoring habitat wherever it's needed."

The Freshwater Initiatives program will also support Stanley Park's aquatic ecosystems by restoring habitats besieged by invasive species, enhancing shoreline vegetation, protecting trees from beaver damage, and installing nest boxes for at-risk riparian bird species, among other measures.