T he 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.
Trees planted: 246
Shrubs planted: 20,828
Grass plantings: 3,469
Nearby Important Buildings
Hinge Park - Southeast waterfront, False Creek, Vancouver
