Tillicum Green Infrastructure & Climate Resiliency Project
Introduction
In partnership with the Greater Victoria School District, the District of Saanich is implementing a nature-based, climate-resilience project on lands around and including Tillicum Elementary School. The project includes the creation of multiple rain gardens and extensive tree and vegetation planting at the following locations:
The residential roads of Albina Street, Maddock Avenue and Orillia Street around Tillicum Elementary School.
- The plantings and rain gardens will be installed on the boulevard and integrated with road and sidewalk improvements.
- Construction began in early 2025 and is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2025.
- More information can be found on the Albina-Maddock-Orillia Road Improvements project webpage here.
Tillicum Elementary School, in partnership with the Greater Victoria School District.
- The landscape design for the school site has been drafted with feedback incorporated from Tillicum Elementary administration, School District staff including the Facilities Department and the Indigenous Education Department, and the Elder’s Advisory Council.
- In-classroom learning about native planting and climate change is ongoing.
Project Timelines and Community Engagement
Community engagement has been led by the Greater Victoria School District – links to various engagement resources below can be found on their webpages.
- February 27, 2025: Media Advisory – Open House at Tillicum Elementary Invites Community Feedback on Outdoor Design with Climate Focus in Partnership with the District of Saanich
- March 11, 2025 – Open House from 4pm to 6pm (drop-in format) in the gymnasium at Tillicum Elementary School
- March 11, 2025 to April 8, 2025: Online survey
- April 29, 2025 – Engagement Report shared at Board of Education Meeting (page 37 of the Agenda)
- Summer 2025 – Preparation of staffing and site
- Fall 2025 – Planting begins after a blessing of the land alongside school-wide education and in-class activities
Landscape Design
Click here for a PDF of the project design.
Funding
This project is being generously supported by a $396,865 grant from the Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Adaptation (DRR-CA) funding stream of the Provincial Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF). This is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM).
More Information
Please contact sustainability@saanich.ca with any questions or for more information. You can also visit the Greater Victoria School District webpage for more information here.
Background Information – Climate Change and Green Infrastructure
As many of us have experienced, our summers are getting hotter and we are experiencing more extreme weather events, such as heat domes, wildfires, major storms and extreme rainfall or atmospheric rivers. Our latest regional climate projections show that these events will be more frequent and extreme in future.
Green infrastructure such as trees, rain gardens and natural areas, offer many benefits (or ecosystem services), that help us to be resilient to these climate changes. These benefits include shade, stormwater management, air purification, carbon sequestration, water quality and more.
The Tillicum-Burnside area has been identified in our Urban Forest Strategy as a neighbourhood with one of the lowest tree canopy covers in Saanich and highly vulnerable to extreme heat, as shown in the Capital Regional District’s Extreme Heat Information Portal. The site also lies near important natural ecosystems such as Portage Inlet and Cuthbert Holmes Park and is located in a Primary Growth Area of Saanich expected to see community growth in the coming years.
Project Goals
The project is intended to support multiple goals and targets within the Saanich Climate Plan, Official Community Plan, Active Transportation Plan, Urban Forest Strategy, and Biodiversity Conservation Strategy, including:
- Expand the urban forest and increase urban forest canopy cover.
- Increase native and site adaptive planting and connection of natural areas.
- Reduce impervious areas.
- Support the implementation of Indigenous knowledge of natural systems and sustainable practices.
- Capture and treat stormwater run-off from hardscape.
- Increase ecosystems services and support climate adaptation.
- Incorporate metrics to measure & evaluate project outcomes.
Phases
Engagement Summary
Find the Green Infrastructure and Climate Resiliency Engagement Report here. This report was shared at the Board of Education Meeting on April 29, 2025 (page 37 of the Agenda).
More Information
Please contact sustainability@saanich.ca with any questions or for more information. You can also visit the Greater Victoria School District project webpage here.
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Event date: March 11th, 2025 at 4:00 PM to April 8th, 2025 at 4:00 PM.
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