GIS and Data Analysis

The GIS and data analysis component of Phase I began with the creation of a GIS database using the open source mapping application QGIS. This GIS database incorporates several layers of relevant geospatial data and species occurrence records, summarized in Table 4.

A preliminary map of the ecological communities represented at Xetthecum is presented in Figure 1.

Linking geospatial data to the literature

We reviewed geospatial layers in our GIS and identified key features and attributes that could be mapped with content identified in our review of the literature (e.g., sensitive ecosystems documented in the Islands Trust Sensitive Ecosystem Guide). These resources were then tabulated based on common variables represented in the geospatial dataset, in order to facilitate the incorporation of these resources into our interactive map.

Species in the landscape and in the literature

Once existing ecocultural datasets had been tabulated, we ran algorithms to examine the overlap / correspondence between species present in the project area and information attributed to species in the available ecocultural literature.

• A total of 524 species are documented in the project area, represented by 1,845 occurrence records.
• Through our review of the available literature, we tabulated ecocultural information for a total of 303 species.
• Between these two datasets, there was a one-to-one mapping or correspondence between 45 species (Table 7).

Table 7. Species Present at Xetthecum vs Species Represented in Ecocultural Literature

Species Documented at Xetthecum	Species documented in Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group (2011) and Turner (2014)	Correspondence
524 spp.	303 spp.	45 spp.

Based on the tables produced through this analysis, we integrated the results of our literature review with the biodiversity data collected from the study area, to visualize ecocultural content for a small subset of the species represented on our map of Retreat Cove (Table 8).

Additional sources of biodiversity data were later included through ongoing outreach, research, and field surveys. Species documented in the ecocultural literature which were not found in our initial species inventory of Xetthecum (= 258 taxa) were sought through inventory work conducted during Phase II.

Table 8. Correspondences between Local Species Occurrences and Species Documented in Ecocultural Resources (Phase I). Note: the orthographies used for Hul’q’umi’num’ names are inconsistent between sources.

Group	Scientific Name	Common English name	Hul’q’umi’num’ Name	Source
algae / kelp	Nereocystis luetkeana	bull kelp	q’amʔ (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
birds	Anas platyrhynchos	mallard	Tunuqsun	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Athyrium filix-femina	lady fern	lə́q’ləq’ʔey’	Turner 2014
	Cygnus buccinator	trumpeter swan	S-hwuw’qun	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
crustacean	Cancer productus	red rock crab	Kwakwatl’shun	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
fishes	Hexagrammos decagrammus	kelp greenling	Tth’umuqwa'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Ophiodon elongatus	lingcod	Eeyt	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
mammal	Lontra canadensis	river otter	Sqeetl'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
mollusks	Ariolimax columbianus	banana slug	Q’uyatl’un	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Mollusca	molluscs (general)	Q’uyatl’un	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Panopea generosa	geoduck clam	Pun’eq'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
plants	Achillea millefolium	yarrow	tł’əlíqw’əłp (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Arbutus menziesii	arbutus	Qaanlhp	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Camassia leichtlinii	great camas	spánxw (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Carex obnupta	slough sedge	psháyʔ (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Cirsium vulgare	bull thistle	xəw’xəwíłp (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Cornus sericea	red-osier dogwood	sháalʔəłp (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Corylus cornuta	beaked hazelnut	P’qw’axw	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Equisetum telmateia	giant horsetail	Sxum’xum'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Fritillaria affinis	chocolate lily	stł’əlts’ə́ ləqw ’əs (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Gaultheria shallon	salal	T’eqe'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Goodyera oblongifolia	rattlesnake plantain	ʔeləʔnáw (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Holodiscus discolor	ocean spray (ironwood)	Qethulhp	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Lilium columbianum	tiger lily	Sxamelexwthelh	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Lysichiton americanus	skunk cabbage	ts’ákw’aʔ (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Oemleria cerasiformis	bird cherry	məә́ łxəәl’ (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Phalaris arundinacea	reed canary grass	sáxw əl (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Poaceae	grass (general)	sáxw əl (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Prunus emarginata	bitter cherry	st’əә́ ləәm (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Pteridium aquilinum	bracken fern	Suqeen	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Quercus garryana	Garry oak	P’hwulhp	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Ribes bracteosum	stink currant	Sp’eetth'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Ribes divaricatum	coastal black gooseberry	t’ám’xw, t’émʔxw, t’ém’xw (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Rubus armeniacus	Himalayan blackberry	sqw’óolməәxw (Upriver Fraser)	Turner 2014
	Rubus leucodermis	blackcap raspberry	Tsulqama’	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Rubus parviflorus	thimbleberry	T’uqwum'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Rubus spectabilis	salmonberry	Lila'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Scirpus microcarpus	small-flowered bulrush	psháyʔ (Cowichan)	Turner 2014
	Spiraea douglasii	hardhack	T’eets’ulhp	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Symphoricarpos albus	snowberry	P’up’q’iyasulhp, P’up’q’iyas, T’ets’ulhp	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Thuja plicata	western redcedar	Xpey'	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Tsuga heterophylla	western hemlock	Thq’iinlhp	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Urtica dioica	stinging nettle	Tth’uxtth’ux	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Vaccinium parvifolium	red huckleberry	Sqw’uqwtsus	Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group 2011
	Zostera marina	eelgrass	chəәləәm (Cowichan)	Turner 2014

Guiding field work

To inform subsequent search efforts, we identified potential locations of culturally significant species present in the study area based on the ecological communities represented in our GIS.

Phase II field work later involved the selection of sites representative of each of the key ecological communities summarized in Table 5, which were inventoried with a focus on the ~300 species documented in Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group (2011), Turner (2014) and Luschiim (2021), in order to generate a rich ecocultural dataset for the purpose of this pilot project.

Florence James was consulted regarding the names of additional species, or variations of those documented by Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group (2011), Turner (2014) and Luschiim (2021).

Residents in the Retreat Cove neighbourhood were also invited to participate in this biodiversity mapping initiative via iNaturalist. (Later, we teamed up with Hunterston Farms and other partner organizations to plan a BioBlitz at Xetthecum during Phase III of this project.)

Natural features and visual art

Finally, we identified a preliminary list of natural features to be documented in this project, identified in Figure 1, which may hold ecological and cultural value in the eyes of project participants. We continued the work of inventorying potentially important natural and cultural features of the landscape through Phase II.

In Phase I, we also began the process of exploring ways in which visual art produced by project participants may be integrated as layer styles / tiling for each ecological community, and to illustrate other features of our digital map (continued during Phase II).

Table 9 presents a summary of tasks related to GIS and ecocultural data analysis completed during Phase I.

Table 9. Phase I: GIS and Data Analysis Tasks

Task	Start	End
Create GIS framework based on existing geospatial datasets	November 2020	December 2020
Compile historical and contemporary species occurrence records for project area	November 2020	March 2022
Identify key features and attributes of geospatial datasets to facilitate ecocultural mapping	November 2020	January 2021
Identify important natural and cultural features unrepresented in existing geospatial datasets (gaps to be filled through project)	November 2020	January 2021
Explore approaches to integrating visual art into ecocultural map	November 2020	March 2022
Summarize correspondences between ecological and cultural datasets, identifying strengths and gaps in available ecocultural information	January 2021	January 2021
Identify key cultural species and ecological communities to focus on in Phase II field work	January 2021	March 2022