Re: “Toxic-soil cleanup ends as Rock Bay declared safe,” July 5.

Thanks to Transport Canada and B.C. Hydro for cleaning up Rock Bay. Thanks to other federal departments (Public Works Canada and National Defence), many municipalities, the Capital Regional District, private enterprises, NGOs and an army of volunteers for cleaning, restoring and rewilding Victoria Harbour, the Gorge Waterway, the Selkirk Waterway and Esquimalt Harbour in recent decades.

Possibly $500 million has been spent; nobody really knows. Much remains to be done but our two main harbours have not been this clean in half a century. As a result, wildlife is staying and coming back. Clean waters and wildlife are fuelling urban renewal in a way that was unimaginable 60 years ago.

In early 2016, Nature Canada recognized the Victoria Harbour Bird Sanctuary (established Oct. 27, 1923), the first migratory bird sanctuary in Pacific Canada, as a NatureHood, a sanctuary with significant urban wildlife and a perfect place for urban Canadians and their children to connect with nature.

Jacques Sirois, chairman

Friends of Victoria Harbour Bird Sanctuary

Victoria

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