Niagara Coastal Community Collaborative
Niagara Coastal is a forum where community members, local groups, provincial ministries and federal agencies can discuss coastal issues and collaborate with each other to improve our shorelines. With a mission of building a healthy and sustainable Great Lakes coastal ecosystem and optimizing local action, Niagara Coastal engages community members in coastal stewardship activities and community science.
"As a shared community resource, it will take a community of people passionate about protecting the Great Lakes and our freshwater resources to ensure they can continue to meet our needs."
— Kiersten McCutcheon
Niagara Coastal is inviting you to become a Community Scientist in the summer of 2023 to help protect our Canadian coasts, one picture at a time with VAST. Get involved Anytime and from anywhere on the Great Lakes to monitor what matters most to you.
Changes are occurring across our Great Lakes at an increasingly accelerated rate and more magnified scale than ever recorded. The largest freshwater system in the world is under threat from various human, climate, and invasive species-induced stressors. These changes make it difficult to make effective strategies to protect our coastal environments. No one person or organization can solve these problems, so we must work together!
The Visual Assessment Survey Tool (VAST) is a collaborative initiative designed to provide evidence of changes occurring on the Great Lakes’ shorelines. As a Community Scientist, you will complete short surveys and submit standardized photos to capture changes to the coasts over time. Live data updates create an ever-expanding near-real-time coastal monitoring network for the Great Lakes. The data you collect with VAST can be used to guide coastal management decisions, advocate for policy changes and identify local actions that you and other community members can take to protect our freshwater resources!
There is an inherent fascination that many of us have with comparing the present to the way things were in the past... Comparing pictures of a shoreline over time can make it easier to spot trends amidst all the changes
— The VAST Program
Ecological Priorities
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Advocating for the preservation and restoration of natural shoreline areas. Nature-based solutions like coastal wetlands and sand dunes clean our water, provide habitat for wildlife and are one of the strongest tools we have to protect against flooding and erosion. Learn more here.
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Identifying and monitoring local sources of pollution impacting the shoreline, like phosphorus, E.coli, and algae. Through Community Science initiatives like VAST and partnerships with other organizations to collect water quality samples, local sources of pollution are identified.
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Mitigating the impact that local threats are having on sensitive coastal ecosystems and species. Niagara Coastal members advocate for the protection of sensitive coastal habitats and the protection of endangered species like Fowler's Toad.
