The Coastal Restoration Society Story

Formed in 2017, Coastal Restoration Society (CRS) has quickly grown from a small team of five to an organization of 300+ people and become a leader in industrial-scale environmental restoration and stewardship projects. Our aim since the beginning has been to transform marine and aquatic restoration (a traditionally volunteer-based sector) into a large-scale industry, one that provides meaningful careers. We believe that the ever-increasing impacts of climate change and environmental degradation requires an equally expansive response. By developing broad, long-term strategic partnerships, guided by foundational values, our projects have been incredibly successful. With this foundation we are continually innovating the Blue Green Economy and modeling a different way of doing business.

CRS projects succeed thanks to several core practices that facilitate collaborative, engaging, and equitable project implementation.
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They include: ‍
-Mutually beneficial partnerships
-Reconciliation in practice
-Indigenous Nations First Policy
-Research Protocol Agreements Process
-Respectful Workplace Practices and Procedures
-In-House Training - Bridging the Education to Employment Gap
-Vertical Employment Mobility

As a direct result of these practices and by focusing our work within impacted communities, gaining a ground-level perspective of needs, we have built respectful and trusting relationships. By working in this way we have created a proven framework to support the development and expansion of the Blue Green Economy in a way that is equitable and scalable.

Balancing Ecology and Economy

We believe that the ever-increasing impacts of climate change and environmental degradation requires an equally expansive response. Historically, environmental remediation and restoration have been viewed as a volunteer activity, however in order to face these threats and build a just transition, these projects must operate at an industrial scale and be viewed as a professional skill. CRS is proud to be a thriving wage employer.
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Indigenous First Approach

This guiding principle ensures that all employment, contract, and training opportunities are provided to Indigenous peoples first. This ensures meaningful partnerships are formed with host Indigenous Nations in all of our projects. Environmental stewardship has been conducted by Indigenous people for millennia and they are best positioned to guide, direct, implement, and financially benefit from the growth and development of the marine restoration industry.

Chief Gordan Planes of T'Sou-ke Nation next to a canoe

Partnering in Canada's Blue Economy

We are proud to play an important role in Canada's Blue Economy. CRS is committed to supporting Federal and Provincial Governments with viable and scalable solutions to meet their ambitious goals contained within CleanBC, Blue Economy, and Just Transition reports. Our work aims to create a just and equitable economy built around environmental sustainability and stewardship.

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A New Model of Restoration

Coastal Restoration Society implements environmental remediation and restoration projects on a scale never seen before in the non-profit space. We believe that the enormous impacts of climate change and environmental degradation require an equally enormous response. Through strong partnerships with Federal, Provincial, and Indigenous Governments, CRS is committed to fostering an innovative, equitable, and collaborative model that supports environmental restoration on an industrial scale.