Neighbourhoods on Gabriola

A vision for Gabriola Neighbourhood Network (GNN)—Gabriola is a network of connected neighbourhoods that foster collaboration, communication, celebration, and climate change resilience.

Existing neighbourhoods

Here is a map of Gabriola with organized neighbourhoods shown in colour. Each neighbourhood typically has one or more designated contact people. If you want to contact them, email us at info@SustainableGabriola.ca and we’ll forward your inquiry to the contact.

Click the map to go to the live version, where you can zoom and pan, click on neighbourhood blocks for more info, and turn on/off separate layers showing GERTIE routes, AED locations, and farmstand locations.

Here are the 16 existing neighbourhoods currently on our map (roughly from west to east). To add your neighbourhood, email us at info@SustainableGabriola.ca and we’ll get the process going.

  • Canso
  • Ivory Way
  • McConvey
  • Malaspina
  • DeCourcy
  • Havenwoods
  • SeaGirt
  • Wildwood
  • Horseshoe-Rollo
  • Women’s Names
  • Whalebone
  • Ferne
  • Seymour
  • Seafood
  • Islands View
  • Mander-Stalker

Why Gabriola Neighbourhood Network?

Neighbourhoods are key to sustainability and resilience.

Within the Gabriola Climate-12 project, the importance of small connected neighbourhoods has come up repeatedly. When focusing on food and water security, transportation, fire safety, emergency response, or health and well-being connected neighbourhoods can be one of Gabriola’s key approaches to our adaptation to the climate crisis.

The initiative started in May 2024 with the “Gabr’hoods” event at the Community Hall. Neighbourhood representatives spoke about how their

neighbourhood events and activities created resilience and prepared them for emergencies. A large map of the island was taped onto the floor and people gathered in their neighbourhood area to discuss next steps. GNN has formed from those initial meetings.

Participants emphasized that neighbourhoods, where people know and support each other, are key to surviving disasters like forest fires and earthquakes, or even lesser impacts like a snow dump or extended power outage.

The GNN is focused on neighbourhood group formation and building communication channels. The formation of neighbourhood groups is essential before other kinds of services and supports can be utilized. So far, about 20 neighbourhood groups have self-organized on Gabriola, and there’s an opportunity for many more.

GNN Objectives

  • Connect with organized neighbourhoods and their primary contact(s), providing support and information.
  • Facilitate the creation of new neighbourhood groups.
  • Add all neighbourhood groups to a Network and incorporate into the Neighbourhood Map.
  • Communicate with the Network via website and neighbourhood contacts regarding funding opportunities, events, and resources (such as C-12 water guide, FireSmart booklet, Emergency muster stations, Small Neighbourhood Grants, etc.).
  • Collaborate with other relevant organizations to provide information and support to neighbourhoods through the Network.

For more information about building community resilience, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, please contact us at info@SustainableGabriola.ca.

Resources for Gabriola Neighbourhood organizers

We are populating this list with more resources as the Gabriola Neighbourhood Network develops.

  • Want to start your own neighbourhood group? This page is a guide to help you do that.
  • Climate-12 offers a $40 grant to help with small costs (like printing) to kickstart your own Neighbourhoods project.
  • Neighbourhood Small Grants offer twice-yearly grants of up to $500, to help pull together neighbourhoods. Nanaimo Foundation NSG page
  • Gabriola’s Emergency Support Services Coordinator is Dr Shirley Nicolson. To set up an information session about emergency services, resources and evacuation for your neighbourhood group, contact her  at sednicolson@shaw.ca, 250 247 7511, or by text message at 250 713 9385.
  • Fire is a particular concern on Gabriola. Our local fire department has resources, including the current Fire Hazard Rating: www.gabriolafire.ca/
  • Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) resources:
    • RDN’s FireSmart program has many suggestions for protecting your home and property against fire: rdn.bc.ca/firesmart
    • RDN Emergency Services handles high-level preparation, mitigation, response and recovery for emergencies. It’s a wealth of planning and response information, including regional evacuation map (which includes Gabriola): rdn.bc.ca/emergency-services.
    • Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program (NEPP) advises on household preparation. rdn.bc.ca/your-neighbourhood-nepp
    • In an emergency, people registered on the Voyent Alert app will be notified (via text, email or phone call) about what’s happening and what to do—evacuate, shelter in place, or gather at a muster station (and where those muster stations are). See how to register for alerts at rdn.bc.ca/rdn-alerts.