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New map highlights best 'naturehoods' in Victoria

People looking to get outside around Victoria, B.C., have a new resource for finding the best nature spots. (Greater Victoria NatureHood - image credit)
People looking to get outside around Victoria, B.C., have a new resource for finding the best nature spots. (Greater Victoria NatureHood - image credit)

Organizations with a vested interest in nature and wildlife have collaborated on a new, hard-copy map highlighting some of the best spots to check out the natural world in and around Victoria, B.C.

The Nature in the City: Guide to Many Adventures map, illustrated by local artist Kristi Bridgeman, highlights urban habitats where people can find interesting species and local parks — also known as naturehoods.

The term naturehood is described as any place you can connect with nature.

"It could be your backyard, it could be a local park within your municipality and your community, or it could be something even bigger, like Government House — that is a designated naturehood in greater Victoria," project manager Kathleen Burton told All Points West host Kathryn Marlow.

The group worked with SENĆOŦEN language revitalist Tiffany Joseph and Capital Regional District First Nations Relations, Community Engagement Coordinator Erich Kelch to ensure Indigenous names and places were recorded on the map.

The Nature in the City: Guide to Many Adventures map highlights great places to spend time in nature in and around Victoria, B.C.
The Nature in the City: Guide to Many Adventures map highlights great places to spend time in nature in and around Victoria, B.C.(Greater Victoria NatureHood)

"Reconciliation is an important part of what we should be working toward now," Burton said.

"I'm a visitor on this land, even though I've lived here for 18 years and I call it home, I'm still just a visitor, so [we're] wanting to acknowledge that and honour that."

Having a tangible piece of paper that people could hold was important to Burton.

"There's so much right now that, you know, you can't touch ... things aren't as textile as what we're used to. And so holding it in our hands as a regular map was something that we wanted to be able to give to people," she said.

It also gives people the opportunity to check off sites they've been to and nature they've seen — the map comes with a checklist of species.

Organizers encourage people in Victoria to pick up a map and check off species as they come across them.
Organizers encourage people in Victoria to pick up a map and check off species as they come across them.(Greater Victoria NatureHood)

A limited run of 7,000 maps have been printed and are available at a variety of locations throughout the city.

There are plans for digital version.

"What we're hoping to do is actually have it to be more of a digital version that is interactive, so when you would be able to click on the map, it would take you deeper into a particular area or one of the organizations that we partner with and see and learn more about what that organization does and stands for or the history of that particular place," Burton said.

To hear Kathleen Burton's interview on CBC's All Points West, click here: