>> Dorothy Field

It’s been a long time coming, but we’re just about there. The Fernwood ­Community Mapping Project was launched around a dining room table in the spring of 2009. Now, more than five years later, we’re printing maps to be ­distributed free to anyone interested in Fernwood’s story. There’s also an online map where you can input places in Fernwood that are important to you: mapping.uvic.ca/­fernwood.

Our hardcopy map, “Fernwood Then and Now”, opens to 11” x 17” and folds to 3” x 5”, the perfect size to slip into your pocket. “Fernwood Now” ­features our ­contemporary village showing ­Fernwood’s hot spots: good food, music, art, gardens, alternative health, and our dog park, as well as our bus and bike routes. “­Fernwood Then” superimposes an 1863 map over the original topography, outlining First Nations and early settler history. In 1863, Fernwood didn’t extend much beyond Fernwood Street, though sub-­divisions had been laid out and a few large farms ­established. A street car started at ­Beacon Hill and ended at Fernwood and ­Gladstone. “Downtown Fernwood” grew up around the terminus.

Our map is part of the Green Map movement which began in 1995. Since then, 900 communities in 65 countries have mapped their home places. Green Maps use standard icons to identify ­community-minded sites and activities. We’ve created new icons for the springs that first provided Victoria’s water, the well in Stevenson Park, the historic breweries, and our Walnut Street crows.

We are the Fernwood we create. Our vision – how to keep Fernwood livable, safe, and a place of fermentation and new ideas – will determine our future. We’re also ­producing a Fernwood game to spark conversation about what ­community is and what it might become. We will be ­organizing a gala to launch both the ­mapping project and the game while ­celebrating Fernwood itself. Keep your ears open for the date and time.

 

Fernwood Community Map Lauch Party Announced:

You are invited to the launch party of the Fernwood Community Map at a gala event on Sunday, March 22 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm in the Paul Phillips Hall at 1923 Fernwood Road.

  • 1:30pm – John Lutz will deliver a short talk entitled “History of Victoria in Six Maps”
  • 2:00pm – We’ll play the Fernwood game based on the map, cake, tea and coffee provided
  • 2:30pm –  Screening of the film Lost Rivers. This film tells the story of waterway restoration in Italy, London, and a suburb of New York.