Project Scope

The Xetthecum pilot project centered around Retreat Cove: an area of ecological and cultural significance on Galiano Island, BC, Canada, known as Xetthecum in the Hul’q’umi’num’ language.

An adaptable mapping framework

Our goal was to develop an ecocultural mapping framework that enabled the integration of ecological and cultural information into an interactive, online map of this place, which may be adapted for the purpose of mapping other sites in the Salish Sea.

This framework was developed within the QGIS platform and extended to an online platform based on open source code developed in R and JavaScript, building upon a platform previously developed to visualize biodiversity datasets.

Biodiversity data

To facilitate the mapping of Hul’q’umi’num’ names and values ascribed to species present at Xetthecum, this project incorporated a substantial biodiversity dataset assembled by members of the Biodiversity Galiano project, including more than 4,000 species observations. This rich biodiversity dataset includes:

• marine data collected through the Pacific Marine Life Surveys
• a local salmonid inventory (Erickson, 2014)
• other sources (Simon et al. 2022)

We also included:

• biodiversity data from a Bioblitz organized by the Hunterston Farm community at Xetthecum in 2010
• a subsequent BioBlitz organized in 2023 through this project
• observations contributed via the community science platform iNaturalist

The project area

The Xetthecum project area encompasses a portion of the Galiano Island landscape that is complex in its ecology, cultural history, and contemporary land-use.

The project boundary is roughly delimited by the extent of the Greig Creek watershed, including the watercourse descending from Laughlin Lake to Retreat Cove, which spans residential and agricultural lands, protected and covenanted areas, and a public shore access.

Perspectives on the landscape include those of:

• local Indigenous peoples
• island residents
• municipal and subregional government (CRD and Islands Trust)
• a number of local and regional conservation groups, including the Islands Trust Conservancy, the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society, and the Galiano Conservancy Association