Climate Resiliency

On an island or a remote stretch of coast, there is no real “away.” Almost everything arrives by barge or ferry, and almost everything thrown out leaves the same way, at a cost few other places pay. A circular economy turns that constraint into a strength. It keeps materials, water, and energy working close to home, for as long as possible, rather than paying to ship them in and haul them out.

Since 2024, the Trust has partnered with local organizations to invest $51.9 million in projects (74% of total investment) that advance a low-carbon, circular economy, generating 28 Climate Resiliency outcomes¹ across water conservation, renewable energy, waste diversion, and sustainably sourced materials.

When we invest in these projects, the Trust backs infrastructure and initiatives that use less water, divert waste from landfills, generate renewable energy, and draw on sustainably sourced materials. Each one keeps resources in use longer and leans less on distant, fragile supply chains. The result is a coastal economy that wastes less, depends less on what must be shipped in, and stands on more secure footing for the years ahead.

This coast has been cared for since time immemorial. Long before any of it was mapped, First Nations across Vancouver Island and the surrounding waters tended these lands and waters as living systems to be kept whole, and that stewardship continues to shape the region today. The prosperity of the coast has always rested on the health of its ecosystems. We invest so that economic development and a thriving natural environment move together, not at each other’s expense.

Since 2024, the Trust has partnered with local organizations, a range of investors, and funders to invest $56.7 million in projects (81% of total investment) that protect and enhance nature, generating 54 Climate Resiliency outcomes.

Our investments do more than strengthen local economies; the projects we support enhance ecosystems, foster biodiversity, and restore ecological values as part of how they create local prosperity. We also back efforts to deepen people’s connection to nature and to protect natural assets found nowhere else. A key priority is to advance economic development models that reinvest revenues into long-term environmental stewardship.

The lowest-carbon energy is the energy a community never has to burn. In many island and coastal communities, though, electricity still runs on diesel shipped or trucked in from far away. Energy then costs these communities more than everyone else and also carries a steep price in air quality and carbon. Every project we help build either reduces that reliance or helps avoid it altogether.

Since 2024, the Trust has partnered with local organizations to invest $24 million in projects (34% of total investment) that avoid or reduce carbon emissions.

When we invest in these projects, the Trust looks to the emissions a community can avoid as much as the ones it can cut. We support infrastructure that replaces diesel and other carbon-intensive fuels with cleaner sources, eases demand on local energy grids, and draws carbon back into healthy natural systems. We back the communities leading this work, many of them First Nations moving their own territories off diesel. These efforts are guided by a commitment to the land, to future generations, and to the communities whose wellbeing depends on healthy natural systems.

The infrastructure we invest in today should outlast us all. Nowhere is this more important than for small island and coastal communities at the forefront of climate change, facing rising sea levels, wildfire seasons, and the flooding that atmospheric rivers increasingly bring. An investment in a new commercial building, a modernized harbour, or an improved public space sets choices about energy, safety, and climate adaptation in concrete, timber, and steel, for generations to come. Build for the climate of yesterday, and a community spends decades catching up. Build for the climate ahead, and the next generation inherits a strong foundation to build new opportunity from.

Since 2024, the Trust has partnered with local organizations to attract and invest $55.4 million in projects (79% of total investment) that have invested in adaptable, low-carbon infrastructure, generating 22 Climate Resiliency outcomes¹.

When we invest in infrastructure projects, the Trust works to prepare island and coastal communities for the climate realities ahead. Our investments support buildings and systems designed around climate adaptation, lower emissions, and long-term durability. By prioritizing infrastructure that meets the demands of a changing environment, we are laying the groundwork for future generations to live securely and sustainably across a more resilient coastal region.