Elkington Forest

The Elkington Forest Project is being developed by Living Forest Communities in the South Shawnigan Lake area, just north of Victoria, BC.  The project represents an intriguing land development in a predominantly forest resource landscape.  The project combines cluster development – an land conservation concept envisioned by the Distinguished Professor William H. Whyte (1917-1999) in his classic book The Last Landscape (orginally published in 1968) – with eco-forestry – a forest management model pioneered by the likes of Merve Wilkinson at his now infamous Wildwood Tree Farm in Yellow Point on Vancouver Island.

MDI worked with Living Forest Communities to develop a framework plan for the project, which resulted in the establishement of 85% retention of ecological and forest values through establishment of conservation convenants and eco-forestry management zones, with a 15% cluster development footprint.   The project is currently seeking rezoning and looks to be developing the first cluster of homes in the not too distant future.  MDI hopes to be working on water management solutions with LFC as the project progresses, and have contributed to the project’s blog.