Sooke Bear-Safe Waste Management Plan

Our team is focused on developing a bear-waste management plan to help mitigate the bear-human conflict for the District of Sooke. Currently, the waste in Sooke is being collected by private disposal companies and it is at the discretion of the resident to take bear-safe measures. Previous Environmental Science students concluded in their reports that humans are not taking precautionary measures and have identified that the primary attractant for the local black bears is garbage. The bears surrounding Sooke are becoming food-conditioned to seek only high-calorie human garbage, and unfortunately, this is resulting in black bears being euthanized.

We are working with Wild Wise Sooke, a local non-profit organization, to help guide Sooke to becoming a more bear-safe community and create a more harmonious relationship with the local wildlife. Our team is researching the feasibility, effectiveness, and cost of various bear-resistant waste management options in residential areas. To ensure our plan will be successful, we have distributed a survey to gauge public opinion about the various options available, conducting interviews with communities that have achieved bear-safe status, and interviewing waste management experts, community officials and local conservation officers.

The survey is now closed, and we received a high response rate (over 100). Currently, we are researching for our case studies and conducting interviews. Once the information is collected, our team will develop a report highlighting the different options and creating a recommendation to present to the District of Sooke.