Issue #3
Oaklands 

Community Edition
Victoria, British Columbia

Supported by Neighbourhood Small Grants

Created by Lee Cookson and Laurel Green

Design and Layout by Lee Cookson

Photographs by Community Members: Julie Abbey, Jude Beattie, James Brouwer, Anthony Carr, Jeannine Chudzik, DreamCity Collab, Derek Ford Studios, Oliver Golder, Jaana Hautala, Ben Orchard, Alex Skorochid, Clare Thomas, Erik Volet. 

The photographs selected for this issue of Locals Only were submitted by members of the community. We asked for photographs, and what we received were many perspectives, glimpses, and stories about what makes Oaklands home. Ultimately, it's the people that give Oaklands its unique identity, and this zine is dedicated to them. 

Oaklands is named for the Garry oak trees in the area. The neighbourhood resides on the unceded ancestral territory of the Lekwungen people, now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt nations. Lekwungen people have harvested, prepared and traded Kwetlal (camas) for thousands of years in this Garry Oak Ecosystem, much of which is now lost to colonization including cultural oppression, land development, pollution, and invasive plant species. We pay our respects to the Lekwungen people as the traditional stewards of this land and its resources, and we acknowledge the role that we collectively play in restoring and protecting the land today and for future generations.

Sandwiched between Fernwood and Saanich in the northeast corner of Victoria, Oaklands has now become a residential neighbourhood popular with families and is most often viewed as a pass through between downtown and the suburbs. What does it look like to the people that call this in-between home?