Blog
-
Setbacks, Soil, and Survival: Why Urban Forest Protection in Victoria Starts with Space
By Squirrel for Mayor Setbacks are often treated as a technical zoning detail—numbers on a site plan to be minimized in the pursuit of density. In reality, setbacks are one of the most powerful tools a city has to protect its urban forest, safeguard biodiversity, and uphold climate resilience and public safety. In the City… Read more
-
Panama Flats: When Biodiversity and Dog Access Collide — and What Council Decided
By Squirrel for Mayor Panama Flats—a 26-hectare wetland and meadow system in Saanich between Interurban and Carey—has been at the centre of a region-wide conversation about how we share urban nature. On January 12, Saanich Council made an important move by rezoning the Flats as a bird and nature sanctuary, formally recognizing one of the region’s… Read more
-
Will Oak Bay Council Allow 48 Bylaw Protected Trees to be Cut for Townhomes in the Uplands? Residents Urge Council to Reject Proposed Development.
By Squirrel for Mayor 2830/2850 Lansdowne Road This proposed development involves two adjacent lots in the Uplands on Lansdowne Road, located on the north side between Ripon Road and Norfolk Road. Both properties are zoned R-2 Residential Use. The purpose of the application is to permit the proposed construction of a Small Scale Multi Unit… Read more
-
Urban forests as essential infrastructure for climate resilience and biodiversity: A call to policymakers
Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez, Stefan Arndt, Michael Osei Asibey, Benno Andreas Augustinus, Albert Bach, Monica Ballinas, Victor L. Barradas, David N. Barton, Juergen Bauhus … See all authors First published: 06 November 2025 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70125 Disclaimer: The New Phytologist Foundation remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in maps and in any institutional affiliations. OPEN LETTER TO POLICYMAKERS AT THE 30TH MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES… Read more
-
Oak Bay – Carrick Trail trail saved: ‘When neighbours come together, good things happen’
Read more at: https://vicnews.com/2025/10/29/oak-bay-trail-saved-when-neighbours-come-together-good-things-happen/ When the District of Oak Bay proposed to put a 15-foot-wide paved bike path over a small natural corridor back in 2024, a group in the community spoke out. Soon, these members banded together to not only protect that little corridor that had come to mean so much to them – they… Read more
-
Saanich – Parts of Panama Flats to be designated as park to protect birds, off-limits for dogs
Times Colonist, October 22, 2025 by Michael John Lo Starting next year, staff is set to begin updating trails, fencing and signage in the area to create a dedicated area for migratory birds, waterfowl and rare plants.z Large parts of Panama Flats will eventually become off-limits to dogs, after Saanich council agreed to designate the… Read more
-
First Nations-led rally at B.C. Legislature opposes $162 million highway expansion threatening Goldstream River – SELE₭TEȽ.
………………………….. Save Selektl Listen to the videos. Join Carl Olsen and friends @ 10:00 am every Tuesday on the side of the highway infront of Goldstream Park! Write a letter to Premier Eby enough is enough. Do not cut down 700 trees to add barrier to highway. Instead change the speed limit here. How about… Read more
-
Urban Forest and Land Use Development Analysis: Rockland Neighbourhood Ryan Senechal MUFL, October 2025
AbstractThis report examines the relationship between urban forest canopy, land-use policy, and development pressures in the Rockland neighbourhood within the context of the City of Victoria’s 2025 Official Community Plan update and its 2050 urban forest canopy targets. Drawing on City datasets, LiDAR-based canopy analyses, tree inventory records, annual reports, and information obtained through Freedom… Read more
-
City of Victoria – Official Community Plan 10-Year Update: Official Community Plan Bylaw, Zoning Bylaw 2018 and Zoning Regulation Bylaw Amendments
The Rockland Neighbourhood Association and the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society presented at the public hearing for the Official Community Plan Update on September 11, 2025. The hearing took place over the course of four hearing dates, with Mayor and Councillors voting 5 to 3 to approve the new blueprint for the City and its… Read more
-
The Inconvenient Garry Oak Ecosystem: Distinguishing Native Trees from House Plants through Victoria’s Draft OCP.
By Squirrel for Mayor August 26, 2025 The urban area of the City of Victoria is the Garry oak (Quercus garryana) ecosystem (GOE) – a fact often left out of discussions on the urban forest. GOE or Kwetlal food system in lək̓ʷəŋən language, have been shaped by Indigenous agroecological management for thousands of years. It… Read more