This information on soil heavy metal levels in Greater Victoria has been gathered through the Healing City Soils project- a collaboration between the Victoria Compost Education Centre and Royal Roads University. These are results from hundreds soil samples taken in residential and community gardens at the request of the gardeners themselves from 2016 to 2019. The areas depicted by these maps are approximate, and are not necessarily accurate to surveying or engineering standards. They represent the conditions at that time of collection and are intended to provide a general indication of where elevated levels of metals in soil may be present, so individuals and communities can grow food safely and assess whether to look into additional information on area-wide soil health.

This map should not substitute for a site-specific assessment. Not all of the areas identified on the map will actually have elevated levels of metals in soil and some properties outside of the identified areas may have elevated levels of metals in soil. Some areas and neighborhoods may show up as ‘red’ or having elevated levels of certain metals, though this may be because more gardeners in that area signed up for soil testing, and not indicate an area of concerning levels of metals.

The Healing City Soils project provides this information with the understanding that it is not guaranteed to be accurate, correct or complete and conclusions drawn from such information are the responsibility of the user. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy, correctness and timeliness of materials presented anywhere within these pages, the Healing City Soils project assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.

For more information regarding the data, collection and analysis methods, and the results, please contact healingcitysoilsvictoria@gmail.com

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