Mission

Our mission is to preserve and enhance the Gorge Waterway through environmental education, restoration, conservation, stewardship, and community involvement.

We take on projects that support the ecological health of the Gorge Waterway, as well as the social well-being of the people who live within the watershed. 

Our Work

The Gorge Waterway Action Society (GWAS) was founded in 1990 with the mandate to restore the Gorge Waterway to its former abundance, while protecting and enhancing the natural ecosystem and surrounding watershed for future generations. Since its inception, GWAS has grown and flourished as an organization, and now offers environmental education opportunities for all ages and abilities.

Environmental Education

The Gorge Waterway Action Society primarily supports environmental education in the community through the operation of the Gorge Waterway Nature House: an interactive environmental education centre located in Esquimalt Gorge Park. Since 2008, GWAS has been privileged to offer numerous education programs at the Nature House, catered to all age ranges and learning levels. With the interactive Seaquaria Aquarium touch tank, watershed model, and surrounding urban forest and wetlands, the Nature House has endless opportunities for environmental education.

Restoration and Conservation

The Gorge Waterway Action Society focuses its restoration efforts in and around Esquimalt Gorge Park both individually and in collaboration with other like-minded community groups in the region. GWAS also partners with University of Victoria students in the Restoration of Natural Systems Program, who conduct targeted restoration and conservation projects in the Gorge. Find out more about our Youth Community Partnership Training Program and some of the exciting work being done here.

Recent Projects

• GWAS is continually engaging in various habitat restoration projects, water quality and shoreline cleanups, and the removal of invasive and parasitic species in and around Esquimalt Gorge Park.
• GWAS recently completed a pollinator meadow in Esquimalt Gorge Park in collaboration with the Esquimalt Parks Department and Greater Victoria Green Team. 
• GWAS has undertaken several biophysical inventories of the salt marsh and forest behind the Nature House. 
• In the summer of 2017, GWAS directed a restoration project and a Gorge-wide directory of past and current terrestrial, riparian, and marine restoration and stewardship projects on the Gorge to create a more comprehensive overview of the habitat restoration efforts.

We appreciate your interest and support! Together we can restore, preserve, and enhance the beautiful Gorge Waterway.