The KÉNNES Watershed Restoration Project is a multi-phase initiative led by W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip First Nation) in partnership with Peninsula Streams & Shorelines. It focuses on restoring vital ecosystems, including riparian, wetland, stream, and Garry oak meadow habitats, on the 78 hectare MÁWUEĆ property, recently returned to Tsartlip. The project aims to restore this critical habitat for a genetically isolated strain of coastal cutthroat trout, enhance biodiversity, improve water quality, build climate resilience, and revitalize traditional WSÁNEĆ foods and medicines. These efforts combine ecological restoration with cultural revitalization and community engagement.

Project Goals

• Ecological: Restore degraded habitats to support native species, improve water quality, and promote ecological resilience.
• Cultural: Reconnect WSÁNEĆ peoples with traditional lands, practices, and harvesting opportunities, integrating Indigenous Knowledge.
• Community: Engage youth and the broader community in hands-on restoration to foster stewardship and shared responsibility.

MÁWUEĆ, formerly known as Woodwynn Farms, has a deep history of resilience and reclamation. The agricultural property lies within the ancestral W̱JOȽEȽP village site and is situated in the ḰENNES Creek (Hagan-Graham) Watershed, a place where Tsartlip ancestors once fished and gathered medicines. After BC Housing purchased the unceded land in 2018 without consultation, Tsartlip First Nation began a determined journey to reclaim and restore MÁWUEĆ. Following years of advocacy and negotiation, the Nation reached a settlement with the Province in 2020, leading to the official acquisition of the property later that year.

Since then, Tsartlip has worked to heal both the land and the community’s connection to it. The Nation’s Stewardship Department has led environmental remediation and riparian restoration along ḰENNES Creek, while community consultations continue to shape the long-term vision for MÁWUEĆ. These efforts are part of Tsartlip’s broader goal to see the land added to reserve status, ensuring self-determined stewardship rooted in WSÁNEĆ values.

As ecological restoration advances, the work at MÁWUEĆ represents far more than habitat recovery—it is a process of cultural renewal and empowerment. The KÉNNES Watershed Restoration Project builds on this foundation, helping restore the health of the watershed while supporting food security, traditional plant harvesting, and renewed relationships between people and place. Through these efforts, MÁWUEĆ is once again becoming a living classroom, a refuge for biodiversity, and a source of strength for future generations.