I live in Surrey, British Columbia, which is a multicultural city. Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is on the border between Canada and the United States, south of the Fraser River. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver metropolitan area and regional district. Surrey is a suburban city that ranks third, next to Abbotsford and Prince George’s, and second in terms of population after Vancouver. Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey, City Centre, and Whalley are the seven Surrey neighborhoods that have been the main town centres. Surrey has a long history of changing from a forested area to a native urban center. Surrey has an oceanic climate typical of the intercoastal Pacific Northwest: rainy, wet winters, often with heavy rainfall lasting into early spring. Winters are chilly but not frigid, summers are mild and sunny, and autumns are cool and cloudy. The Semiahmoo, Katzie, and Kwantlen were among the Salish peoples who first inhabited the region and used it for hunting and fishing. Agriculture and logging emerged as the main industries after European settlers arrived in the middle of the 19th century. After becoming a municipality in 1879, Surrey saw tremendous expansion due to newcomers and the construction of infrastructure such as the Pattullo Bridge.

The Semiahmoo, Katzie, and Kwantlen First Nations People settled in the area thousands of years before any of us did. I found this information on the city of Surrey’s website. They were established villages and transient seasonal settlements at Crescent Beach, the mouth of the Campbell River, and also the mouth of the Fraser River, and in the north along the sheltered bends of the Fraser River. I also found out that the community is focused on hunting and fishing, tidal resources of shellfish, and river supplies of salmon, herring, and oolichans. According to the same website, City of Surrey,  Resources from shorelines and bear, elk, deer, and bird forests supported Fraser River life. The inland trade and communication routes were the Campbell, Nicomekl, and Serpentine Rivers. The coastal waterways connected the First Nations and the local communities. The settlement of Surrey was added to the map when Englishman H.J. Brewer noticed that the Fraser River across from New Westminster reminded him of his home county of Surrey in England. At that time, the region were covered in hemlock, red cedar, Douglas fir, blackberry bushes, and cranberry bogs. At 108 Avenue, “Whalley’s Corner,” a section of modern-day Whalley named for Harry Whalley, who owned and ran a gas bar at the bend in King George Blvd, formerly King George Highway, was utilized as a cemetery by the Kwantlen (or Qw’ontl’en) Nation.

I found out more from the city of Surrey website about how newcomers began to arrive in the late nineteenth century. 200 newcomers are observed arriving in Surrey by the 1880s. The fir, cedar, and hemlock canopies covered a large portion of the agricultural land. Small farming communities grew as the land was cleared and logging started. Although Surrey became a city in September 1993, it was first incorporated as a municipality in 1879. Throughout our long history, individuals from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds have united to form one of BC’s most distinctive communities. In my neighborhood, which is near Bear Creek, people from all walks of life gather for events, special occasions, and community events.

From Wikipedia, I found out that settlers first came into Cloverdale and parts of South Surrey mostly to farm, fish, harvest oysters, or even set up small stores. Once the Patullo Bridge was opened in 1937, it was a way for Surrey to expand even bigger. In the 1980s and 1990s, the city witnessed numerous amounts of growth in the city as people from different parts of the world, and Canada, particularly Asia, started making the municipality their home. In 2013, it was projected to surpass the city of Vancouver as the most populous city in BC within the following 10 to 12 years. According to Wikipedia, Surrey’s economic prosperity has been closely linked to farming because the city itself developed and solidified a thriving farming culture. Roughly one-third of Surrey’s land is set aside and designated as farmland, which is used to produce food locally to feed the city’s expanding population and to create jobs locally. Agriculture continues to invigorate Surrey’s economy, employing 3300 people or 1.6 percent of Surrey’s overall labour force. Manufacturing is also a highly diversified sector where products are produced for developed and emerging industries that range from the cutting of lumber for various BC logging firms to constructing wind turbines, as many Surrey-based environmental firms are capitalizing on the city’s initiatives for the clean energy sector.

Finally, there is the wildlife of Surrey, British Columbia. Surrey’s diverse wildlife habitats are regularly impacted by urban, suburban, and rural development, according to the City of Surrey Wildlife website. Human interactions with the natural environment in Surrey pose challenges for the wildlife and cause many issues and concerns for the residents. Many endangered species, including various frogs, toads, owls, birds, shrews, turtles, and many more, can be found in Surrey’s ecologically sensitive areas. Environmentally sensitive areas can include a variety of features, such as wetlands, treed slopes, bird nesting grounds, watercourses, ravines, and waterfront areas. Approximately 3.5%, 1115 hectares of Surrey’s surface area is made up of freshwater wetlands and other aquatic habitats, including lakes, ponds, and rivers. Wetlands can readily adopt a range of shapes and blend into the surrounding landscape. Five species of salmon and trout, along with numerous other British Columbian wildlife and freshwater fish populations, use Surrey’s 1,400 kilometers of urban watercourses as spawning and rearing grounds. Surrey’s urban parks, green spaces, and even your backyard are home to more than 200 different species of birds. Birds use Surrey as a place to roost, feed, and raise their young. All bird nests are protected when in use. Birds typically lay their eggs between March 1 and August 30. As early as February 1st, raptors, including eagles, start nesting. The nests of eagles, peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, ospreys, herons, and burrowing owls are also protected year-round under Section 34(b) of the Provincial Wildlife Act. Beavers are common in Surrey.

Ponds and wetlands created by beaver dams provide habitat for a range of flora and fauna, such as fish, amphibians, and water birds. Unfortunately, the beavers’ need to dam water can cause extensive flooding and damage to crops, property, and grazing areas. Beavers are permitted on public lands as long as their activities do not pose a risk to people or property, according to the City of Surrey’s no-interference policy. Beaver killing is temporarily prohibited in Surrey. Private property owners are largely in charge of managing beavers on their land, including agricultural waterways. When there is no risk to the public or property, we advise owners not to remove the lodge, dam, or beaver from private property.

The City can provide guidance on how to “beaver-proof” or protect your property, but it has no control over how it is carried out. Only in cases where no other exclusion measures are feasible, the animal does not disperse, or there is significant property damage, will live animal trapping be employed. Relocation won’t be considered until the Ministry of Environment has approved the plan and a certified professional wildlife biologist has found and confirmed a suitable receiving area. Dams should not be removed until Fisheries and Oceans Canada and/or the Ministry of Environment have granted the required authorizations and permits them.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, May 30). Surrey, British Columbia. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey,_British_Columbia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey,_British_Columbia

Wildlife & Habitats. City of Surrey. (2025, February 10). https://www.surrey.ca/about-surrey/environment/wildlife-habitats

https://www.surrey.ca/about-surrey/environment/wildlife-habitats

History of Surrey, BC. City of Surrey. (2025a, February 10). https://www.surrey.ca/about-surrey/history-of-surrey

https://www.surrey.ca/about-surrey/history-of-surrey