CoastConnect is an open-access coastal monitoring and data mobilization platform developed by the Hakai Institute to help communities, researchers, Indigenous Nations, stewardship organizations, and decision-makers better understand and respond to changes occurring across British Columbia’s marine environments.
British Columbia’s coastline stretches for more than 25,000 kilometres, encompassing a complex network of islands, fjords, kelp forests, eelgrass meadows, estuaries, beaches, and salmon-bearing rivers. These ecosystems support extraordinary biodiversity and sustain communities that have stewarded these waters since time immemorial. However, monitoring and understanding such a vast coastline presents significant challenges.
Across BC, First Nations, Guardian programs, researchers, conservation groups, and coastal communities are collecting valuable environmental information. Yet these efforts have often occurred independently, with differences in monitoring methods, data systems, and technical capacity creating barriers to sharing and applying knowledge.
CoastConnect was created to address this challenge by bringing together the tools, workflows, resources, and examples needed to move from collecting observations in the field to applying information for stewardship, conservation, research, and management decisions.
At its core, CoastConnect supports data mobilization—the process of transforming field observations into accessible, usable information. The platform helps organizations not only collect data, but also organize, process, interpret, share, and apply information in ways that support resilient coastal ecosystems.
CoastConnect is organized around four interconnected resources:
Monitoring Methods – Step-by-step guidance for common coastal monitoring approaches, including kelp drone mapping and biodiversity assessments such as environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling.
Resource Library – A searchable collection of protocols, templates, field guides, data-processing tools, and best practices.
Case Studies – Real-world examples demonstrating how monitoring data are being used to inform stewardship and management decisions.
Monitoring Networks – A regional view of existing monitoring initiatives, supporting collaboration, coordination, and shared learning.
By improving access to monitoring knowledge and resources, CoastConnect supports a future where coastal communities can more effectively understand, protect, and manage the environments they depend on.
Partners
Lead Organization
CoastConnect is a Hakai Institute initiative supported by the Tula Foundation.
The initial version of CoastConnect was developed through the MCT CoastConnect project, co-funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
Time Frame
Period | Milestone |
2023 | Development of CoastConnect through collaboration with coastal communities, First Nations, Guardian programs, and monitoring organizations |
2026 | Public launch of CoastConnect as a free, open-access platform for coastal monitoring and data mobilization |
Ongoing | Expansion of monitoring methods, resources, case studies, and monitoring networks |
CoastConnect builds on years of experience developing coastal observation tools, including kelp monitoring technologies, biodiversity assessment methods, and approaches for making environmental data more accessible and useful.
Context
Coastal ecosystems are experiencing increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, changing ocean conditions, and human activities. Understanding these changes requires consistent monitoring, accessible data, and strong connections between those collecting information and those using it to make decisions.
However, many coastal monitoring programs face common challenges:
Monitoring information is collected using different approaches and stored in disconnected systems.
Specialized software and technical expertise can limit access to data.
Communities working closest to coastal ecosystems may lack resources needed to process and interpret observations.
Valuable local and Indigenous knowledge is often difficult to integrate with scientific datasets.
CoastConnect was developed to help overcome these barriers by creating a shared platform where monitoring programs can access practical tools, learn from existing approaches, and connect with others undertaking similar work.
The platform supports the complete monitoring journey:
Field → Data → Knowledge → Action
It helps organizations design monitoring programs, improve data collection methods, process information, and apply results to stewardship, conservation, and decision-making.
A key example of CoastConnect’s approach is KelpExplorer, an interactive mapping application that makes decades of kelp monitoring data freely available. KelpExplorer combines satellite, aerial, and drone observations to allow users to explore changes in kelp forests along the BC coast over time.
Kelp forests are important indicators of ecosystem health, providing habitat for marine species, supporting fisheries and Indigenous food systems, and responding quickly to environmental changes such as ocean warming and shifts in predator-prey relationships. By transforming complex monitoring datasets into an accessible tool, KelpExplorer demonstrates the potential of data mobilization to support practical conservation decisions.
Outcomes
CoastConnect has created a shared foundation for improving coastal monitoring capacity across British Columbia by making scientific tools, monitoring approaches, and environmental knowledge more accessible to the people working directly on the coast.
The platform reduces barriers to participation by providing free resources that help organizations develop monitoring programs, improve workflows, and apply information to real-world decisions. By bringing together monitoring methods, resources, case studies, and networks, CoastConnect helps transform individual observations into broader understanding of ecosystem change.
A key outcome of CoastConnect is strengthening connections between Indigenous stewardship, scientific research, and coastal management. The platform was developed with input from First Nations, Guardian programs, regional organizations, and conservation groups to ensure that tools and resources reflect practical needs on the ground.
CoastConnect also strengthens the broader coastal data ecosystem by supporting consistent approaches to data collection and management. Locally collected observations can contribute to larger initiatives such as CIOOS and OBIS, allowing information gathered by coastal communities and stewardship programs to inform regional, national, and global understanding of marine ecosystems.
Through tools such as KelpExplorer, CoastConnect demonstrates how decades of monitoring effort can be transformed into accessible knowledge products that support conservation, restoration, climate adaptation, and ecosystem management.
Looking ahead, CoastConnect will continue to expand by adding new monitoring methods, growing its resource library, strengthening regional monitoring networks, and supporting additional partnerships across the BC coast.