The Living by Water Project supports shoreline residents, community groups, local government, realtors and others with information and resources for shoreline living.

The project includes both coastal and freshwater shorelines in its scope. Its mission is "working towards healthier human and wildlife habitat along the shorelines of Canada." The Living by Water Project began in BC; building on its BC success, it has expanded to provinces across Canada.

The boundary between land and water is one of the richest, most productive ecological zones on earth. Vegetated natural shorelines have many values and benefits. They help protect water quality, prevent erosion and provide habitat for many species.

Vegetated buffers between land and water are particularly valuable to help minimize the potential impacts of climate change on shorelines - both coastal and freshwater - and water resources.

Read more on the Living by Water website at www.livingbywater.ca

The Living by Water Project produced a study in 2006 titled Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change that identified potential impacts of climate change on shorelines and water resources in the Thompson/Nicola/Shuswap (TNS) area in BC's interior. The BC Ministry of Environment produced three unique posters for this project:

• Climate Change 101 (172 KB pdf)
• Historical Climate Trends for TNS (116 KB pdf) and
• Climate Change Projections for TNS (500 KB pdf)

Living by Water Project is currently preparing an easy-to-use Conservation Action Marketing Handbook for community-based conservation organizations and agencies to help them "move science into action". This is based on the tools, techniques and lessons learned through implementing the Living by Water Project. Read the brief report Tools and Techniques of the Living by Water Project (568 KB pdf). The handbook focuses on the question of how to promote long-term, sustained changes in conservation behaviour. Read a project summary including handbook outline (590 KB pdf) and newsletter, March 2008 (711 KB pdf).