Currently used by students in biology, chemistry, and environmental studies courses, Langara’s wetland is located along the northeast corner of the college, bordered by 49th Ave and Ontario Street.
The wetland started out as a ditch and a small pond created by a fold in the ground left after college construction. There was a salmon-bearing creek on roughly the same site, but that was culverted before the college was built; what is now seen is not connected to the original stream. In fact, the current “stream” and wetland rely on city water during dry periods (the tap is visible at the westernmost end of the wetland. The pond is unofficially referred to as “Walden Pond”.
Before 2002 the current wetland site was mostly seen as a marshy site too wet to mow much of the year, which supported some wetland vegetation (sedges and rushes) plus a small pond and several weeping willow trees and some non-native turtles. The pond also attracted numerous donations of shopping carts, tires, and other disposables – a biannual “clean the pond” project was part of the Environmental Studies Program. Since the creation of the wetland, most of the willows and the turtles are still there but these long-term tenants have been supplemented with over 100 native plant species. Still used for courses, the wetland receives irregular maintenance (mostly invasive plant removal) by Student Work Assistance Program students. In 2011 the wetland received a Wildlife Habitat Certification by the National Wildlife Federation.
The funding for the wetland creation came from Van City Credit Union.
- Langara Wetland Project – explore the project development, biology, chemistry, ecology and history (2002)
- Photos from 2002-2005 development from Raincoast Applied Technology case study
For more information, contact Frank Williams, Biology or Kelly Sveinson, Chemistry.
