The University of British Columbia
OP-11: Biodiversity

UBC neighbours Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which comprises 763 hectares of forest and foreshore which surrounds the majority of UBC. The park's forests stretch across Point Grey between UBC and the City of Vancouver. Its thin foreshore wraps around the tip of the peninsula and touches the Fraser River, the Strait of Georgia and Burrard Inlet. Pacific Spirit Regional Park is a legally protected area that includes ecological reserves closed to the public and a variety of environmentally sensitive areas. The Park’s landscape includes ocean beaches, sensitive cliff faces, upland forest and fragile bog. The park offers over 73 km of hiking / biking trails, and over 50 km of equestrian trails. Pacific Spirit Regional Park is managed by the regional government, Metro Vancouver. UBC’s Land Use Plan (http://planning.ubc.ca/vancouver/planning/policies-plans/land-use-governance-documents/land-use-plan) acknowledges and reinforces the Pacific Spirit Regional Park Management Plan (Section 4.1.1) and specifies that: - UBC will follow the policies of the Pacific Spirit Regional Park Management Plan in planning and development. - The planning and development of areas adjacent to Pacific Spirit Regional Park will only be done in a manner that protects the park values contained in the Pacific Spirit Regional Park Management Plan. - Development and servicing will ensure maintenance of park values and objectives on these lands and other adjacent Pacific Spirit lands The Land Use Plan (4.1.2.4) also designates green edges of forested development in a number of areas adjacent to the Park “to provide a sense of a community in a forest setting, a natural edge to roadways, wildlife habitat, and to contribute to protecting the integrity of Pacific Spirit Regional Park".

An Environmental Assessment was conducted of UBC South Campus Neighbourhood in 2004 by consulting firm Pottinger Gaherty Environmental Consultants Ltd. prior to development. The environmental assessment was prepared to aid in the development of the Wesbrook Place Neighbourhood Plan. The assessment outlined existing environmental conditions, provided an overview of the neighbourhood plan context, assessed the potential impacts, and offered options for impact mitigation. http://planning.ubc.ca/sites/planning.ubc.ca/files/documents/planning-services/policies-plans/SC_EA_Final_Nov04.pdf UBC has finalized an Integrated Stormwater Management Plan (ISMP) which is intended to improve the quantity and quality of the stormwater that leaves the campus in order to minimize the erosive and contaminant impacts on the riparian habitats downstream of the campus. UBC has also been leading efforts to assess and identify erosion mitigation measures of the cliffs that surround the campus and to minimize the effects that the campus operations and development may have on the cliffs. http://planning.ubc.ca/vancouver/projects-consultations/consultations-engagement/integrated-stormwater-management-plan-ismp In addition, several projects have been conducted through the UBC SEEDS Sustainability Program (sustain.ubc.ca/seeds), engaging students, staff, and faculty in collaborative research projects related to campus biodiversity issues. SEEDS projects are used to help inform policy and best practices on a variety of topics and issues. Completed student research reports related to biodiversity include: - UBC Bird Strikes Study (2014-2015) (http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/seedslibrary/Final%20Report_Updated%20Version.pdf) - an Assessment of Soil and Vegetation at Sustainability Street using criteria established under the Sustainable Sites Initiative (2013-2014) (http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/seedslibrary/ENVR%20400%20Team%201%20Final%20Repor.PDF) - A study on Urban Vertebrate Ecology of the Pacific Northwest, with Recommendations for Wildlife Stewardship at UBC Vancouver (2012-2013) (http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/seedslibrary/13-06-02%20Final%20Version670.docx_.pdf) - a study Examining the Sustainability of Lawns on Campus (2012-2013) (http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/seedslibrary/672Geog419Examining%20the%20Sustainability%20of%20Lawns%20on%20Campus.docx_.pdf) - a study on UBC’s Urban Tree Canopy (2011-2012) (http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/seedslibrary/tree%20canopy%20study%20final_UP.pdf) - 2011 UBC South Campus Urban Stream Restoration Project (2010-2011) (http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/seedslibrary/2011%20UBC%20South%20Campus%20Urban%20Stream%20Restoration%20Project%20to%20SEEDS%20library%20jvd.pdf) - a study on Stream Development at Wesbrook Place (2007-2008) (http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/seedslibrary/Stream%20Development%20at%20Wesbrok%20Place%20UBC%20by%20Angelena%20Weddell%202008.pdf)

UBC has identified that the creeks that drain the campus, but are not part of campus lands, are environmentally sensitive and form the basis for the goals of Integrated Stormwater Management Plan (ISMP). There are five discharge locations, four natural and one engineered that discharge storm water to the ocean. The riparian habitats associated with the creeks are of concern to the University and one of these creeks, Booming Ground Creek, has been identified as supporting salmonids. The ISMP for the campus includes practices and controls to improve the quality of the stormwater discharge and moderate the discharge quantities in order to minimize the erosive effects. The cliffs that surround the campus are sensitive areas and the University has been involved in studying and developing plans to mitigate the erosion that could threaten the environment and campus facilities. Beginning in the 1970s, studies have been completed to monitor the cliffs and ensure that campus development does not negatively affect the cliffs. The culmination of this was the UBC/Pacific Spirit Park Cliff Erosion Management Plan in 2001. Since that time, UBC has sponsored additional studies to monitor the condition of the cliffs and mitigate the effects of erosion including LiDAR surveys to monitor cliff recession. An assessment of wildlife and vegetation, and recommendations for impact mitigation, are outlined in the Environmental Assessment conducted of UBC South Campus Neighbourhood, prepared to aid in the development of the Wesbrook Place Neighbourhood Plan: http://planning.ubc.ca/sites/planning.ubc.ca/files/documents/planning-services/policies-plans/SC_EA_Final_Nov04.pdf.

Plans and programs in place related to biodiversity include: UBC TREE MANAGEMENT http://planning.ubc.ca/vancouver/planning/policies-plans/trees There are approximately 8,000 trees planted and over 10,000 native trees in natural settings at UBC’s Vancouver campus. The University has professional arborists who manage this urban forest. Campus + Community Planning works with architects and arborists to protect UBC's urban forest. UBC encourages tree retention through its campus plan and guidelines. However, at times, select trees may need to be removed. Notices of such activity will be posted online. As per UBC’s Land Use Plan, section 4.1.2.3, a) A tree management plan will be prepared as part of the area planning process to ensure the long term viability of green edges and retained natural vegetation and to provide street and other planting; b) Any viable mature trees over 15cm calliper dbh (diameter at breast height) that must be removed during the course of residential development in neighbourhoods will be replaced on campus at a ratio of 1:1, using species appropriate to the setting, and allowing trees to be sited as appropriate through the campus. http://planning.ubc.ca/vancouver/planning/policies-plans/land-use-governance-documents/land-use-plan WESBROOK PLACE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING In 2011, The Wesbrook Place Neighbourhood Plan was amended to bring it into alignment with revisions to the Land Use Plan, including transfer of residential development entitlement from the future housing reserve that had applied to UBC Farm and environs, as well as a primary school site, to Wesbrook Place. Other issues addressed through the process included reconfiguring road access to UBC Farm and preserving tree habitat associated with an eagle’s nest. http://planning.ubc.ca/sites/planning.ubc.ca/files/images/projects-consultations/consultations/South%20Campus%20%20Amendments%20Open%20House%20Report_FINAL.pdf. A new open space to accommodate the eagle habitat was incorporated into the updated proposal. The area and trees surrounding the eagle’s nest are being retained as green space with no housing allocated to that lot. http://planning.ubc.ca/sites/planning.ubc.ca/files/images/projects-consultations/consultations/Att3SC%20Consideration%20Memo%20Nov%2017_4pm.pdf BIRD STRIKES STUDY In 2015, a UBC SEEDS study was commissioned by UBC’s Green Building Manager to study the impact of bird strikes from the built environment. Four Environmental Sciences students, partnering up with The UBC SEEDS program, UBC Sustainability and Engineering, UBC Building Operations and Environment Canada, compiled and analyzed bird-collision data on the UBC Vancouver campus. The results will help to inform future UBC bird-friendly building guidelines and future studies. The study is available online at: http://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/seedslibrary/Final%20Report_Updated%20Version.pdf. CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS AT UBC FARM http://ubcfarm.ubc.ca/ The Land Use Plan amendments also designate the UBC Farm as “green academic” land use (Section 4.1.2), which is defined as academic lands that will be kept primarily as open areas to support land-based teaching, research, and community engagement. The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm contains 24 hectares of field and forest lands and encompasses a rich mosaic of cultivated field areas, hedgerows, orchards, and successional forest stands. The diversity of the landscape provides valuable habitat for a range of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles not found elsewhere in the city. Independent inventories have identified 92 bird species at the UBC Farm site as of 2011, including 15 not seen in the adjacent Pacific Spirit Park. The Building Biodiversity on the Urban Edge: Enhancing Habitat at UBC Farm project conducted in 2014 aims to enhance native pollinator forage and biodiversity where agriculture and urban landscapes intersect. As a working farm in a peri-urban environment, the biodiversity at UBC Farm is affected by both neighbouring urban development and on-site agricultural land use. The project explores how we can produce healthy food, develop thriving, engaged communities while ensuring responsible stewardship of our environment, all within the context of competing land uses. More information about the project is available online at: http://ubcfarm.ubc.ca/2014/10/15/eco-action-building-biodiversity-at-the-ubc-farm/. The Indigenous Health Research and Education Garden at the UBC Farm (http://ubcfarm.ubc.ca/community/indigenous-initiatives/) grows over 40 varieties of medicinal plants that are native to the region. These are cared for and used by the Medicine Collective, a group of Indigenous Elders and Knowledge-keepers who lead medicine-making workshops and walks in the Garden with the community.

In 2015/16, Campus + Community Planning will begin on developing an integrated campus Forest Management Plan with one of its key goals to enhance biodiversity across campus. UBC is also home to internationally significant biodiversity collections and research centres, including the UBC Botanical Gardens, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, and the Biodiversity Research Centre. The UBC Botanical Gardens (http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/) is home to an internationally significant biodiversity collection. As Canada’s oldest continuously operated university-based botanical garden, the UBC Botanical Gardens steward a living and growing repository that represents the plant biodiversity of selected native and international biomes. The mission of the Garden is to assemble, curate and maintain a documented collection of temperate plants for the purposes of research, conservation, education, community outreach and public display. The total collection of approximately 120,000 plants represents some 6,000 taxa and includes major international collections of Magnolia, Acer (maples), Sorbus (mountain ash), Styracaceae (storax family) and Rhododendron. A key part of our biodiversity collections, the Garden provides resources to researchers, students and the public that reach beyond its collections to provide a window onto the species, ecosystem and genetic diversity of the natural world. The Beaty Biodiversity Museum (http://www.beatymuseum.ubc.ca/biodiversity-research) is part of UBC’s Beaty Biodiversity Centre, which brings world-class biodiversity researchers and natural history collections together into an innovative building complex. The Biodiversity Research Centre (http://www.biodiversity.ubc.ca/) is composed of more than 50 internationally renowned scientists, all dedicated to the study of biodiversity. Interdisciplinary working groups study the biological forces that produce and sustain biodiversity, as well as the forces that lead to extinction and the local and global consequences of its loss.