My present area of residence is Kerrisdale, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kerrisdale is primarily a residential area with old bungalows and newer houses, consisting of high-rise buildings and condos for both residence and business. The primary residents are of Caucasian and Asian communities. The residential streets in Kerrisdale are lined with sweeping grand old trees.[1] Majority of the people in the residential area visit the Kerrisdale village for shopping. Such a shipping village is touted as the first to introduce specially designed street furniture and beautify its main shopping streets.[2] Regarding the physical location of my area of residence, Kerrisdale locates in the southwestern section of the City of Vancouver. Additionally, the area slopes down to the Fraser River, thus, providing beautiful scenery.

Based on external research, pre-contact use and settlement in Kerrisdale can be traced back to 1867, when the first settlers arrived in Vancouver. The two Irish McCleery brothers were the first to settle in Kerrisdale to farm the meadows.[3] Their names have been written on the golf course where they used to play because their contributions played a vital role in the environmental history of the place. She chose to name the area “Kerrisdale”, a name derived from her Scottish home, “Kerrydale”. While Kerrisdale was first designated as part of the Municipality of Point Grey, it was moved and amalgamated with the City of Vancouver in 1929.[4] The residents of the areas have decided to retain the basic development patterns of the early years, thus, retaining the existence of the present old bungalows.

Kerrisdale is home to various species of animals and plants. As part of the larger city of Vancouver, its wildlife consists of reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals. In the past, Stanley Park was renowned for its different species of animals due to its diverse habitats. Today, it has coniferous forests and boggy wetlands, and rocky shores. Stanley Park witnesses a significant variety of wildlife, with at least 50 bird species living in the park. Some of these species of birds are pigeons, seagulls, and geese.[5] Additionally, Kerrisdale has 140 species of mammals, including rabbits, squirrels, and raccoons.[6] Other species of amphibians and reptiles are also key wildlife components in Vancouver. There is also a record of more than 400 species of fish residing in both freshwater and saltwater.[7] Besides the wildlife protected by legislation, there are other problematic animals present. For instance, the common rock doves, European starlings, mite swans, and peacocks are crucial wildlife in this category. Furthermore, rats and eastern grey squirrels are also key wildlife components in the area. Hardin’s (1968) tragedy of freedom in a commons has reduced these animal and plant species.[8] However, there are still invasive species, such as blackberry, butterfly bush, English holly, and Ivy and Gorse are still present in the area.

Based on archaeological evidence, early settlers in Kerrisdale can be traced back approximately a thousand decades ago. Notably, the early settlers in the area were the Europeans, particularly the Spanish, led by Captain José María Narváez in 1991, and the British, starting with Captain George Vancouver in 1792.[9] The Captains explored the area, sent reports to their mother countries, and opened the way for more Europeans to travel into the region.[10] The Europeans were responsible for different ecological changes in Vancouver, especially in Kerrisdale.[11] However, extraction of the land began a century later, in 1862, when Europeans began settling in large numbers because of the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the transcontinental line from eastern Canada.[12] However, without a doubt, the retinal inhabitants of the area were the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. The major reasons for the settlers to visit the area were for trading fur and other goods. For example, the Hudson’s Bay Company set up its operations in Vancouver, increasing exploration of its natural resources.

Kerrisdale, just like other urban areas, has been subject to urban sprawl over the last few decades. There has been a rapid expansion in the geographic extent of Vancouver city and related towns such as Kerrisdale. Such urban sprawls have been evidenced by low-density residential housing. The area’s growth has been primarily absorbed by suburban development, and much of such growth has been via low-density suburban sprawl. This phenomenon is discussed in Sörlin and Warde’s (2007) reading, whereby they underscore how growth in urban centers has been emanated from modern developments.[13] Recently, YWCA Metro Vancouver introduced 32 new homes for single mothers and their children. The City of Vancouver has engaged in various stewardship actions such as introducing the park stewardship program to care for parks and natural areas via sustainability actions in order to deal with the urban sprawls while ensuring proper construction and usage of buildings. Furthermore, recycling and disposal facilities have been built to ensure health and safety. Overall, sustainability actions are excellent in my neighbourhood. However, more attention is needed to ensure air and water quality.

[1] City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale,” City of Vancouver, n.d., https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/kerrisdale.aspx#:~:text=Kerrisdale%20acquired%20its%20name%20in.

[2] City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale.”

[3] Ibid.

[4] Sandra Thomas, “Kerrisdale: The Neighbourhood at a Glance,” Vancouver Is Awesome, 2013, https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/courier-archive/community/kerrisdale-the-neighbourhood-at-a-glance-2924353.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Garrett Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons: The Population Problem Has No Technical Solution; It Requires a Fundamental Extension in Morality,” Science 162, no. 3859 (1968): 1243–48, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.162.3859.1243.

[9] City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale.”

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Sverker Sörlin and Paul Warde, “The Problem of the Problem of Environmental History: A Re-Reading of the Field,” Environmental History 12, no. 1 (2007): 107–30, https://doi.org/10.1093/envhis/12.1.107.