The Pemberton Woods Campus at GNS is embarking on a collaborative design process to modernise its infrastructure and resources, addressing the evolving needs of both the campus and the surrounding community and City as a whole. This inclusive design journey offers students, faculty, staff, parents, neighbours, and the broader community the opportunity to actively contribute, shaping the future of the school. Together, we will create an inclusive and vibrant environment that reflects the aspirations of our community, fostering meaningful connections and enhancing the City as a whole.

The focus of the renewal is intended to establish the long term needs of the school. We want the community to understand that this process is not to change the school or neighbourhood, but to modernize the infrastructure and resources at the school, both to address long-term facilities upgrades—including seismic updates—as well as to ensure that students have access to the latest resources and technologies. Overall, the intent is to create a healthy, vibrant, well-loved and enduring campus that drives community connection and enriches life in our city.

The engagement process at the Pemberton Woods Campus at GNS is an inclusive journey that offers students, faculty, staff, parents, neighbours and the broader community the opportunity to actively contribute and shape the future of the school. Through collaborative meetings and dialogue, we invite input, feedback, and ideas to guide the modernization of our infrastructure and resources. This process encourages community involvement, fosters connections, and explores the role of contemporary schools in the neighbourhood setting.

The Renewal process is facilitated by a collaborative team consisting of school administrators, architects, landscape and urban designers and a third-party facilitator. This team ensures that the meetings are organised, inclusive, and provide a platform for open dialogue and meaningful interaction between the students, faculty, staff, parents, neighbours, and the school.

The community engagement process for our campus renewal design is intended to be an ongoing and inclusive process. We understand that meaningful engagement takes time and requires open communication channels. Since June and through November of this year, we will be running a number of workshops and feedback sessions to work with the community on designing our renewal plan for Pemberton Woods. We are committed to fostering continuous dialogue with our neighbours, students and broader community throughout the process. We aim to maintain transparency and provide regular updates as we progress, ensuring that the community remains informed and involved at every stage.

We welcome your active involvement in the PW Renewal process! Join us at the community meetings to share your valuable insights, ideas, and concerns. Together, we can shape the future of the campus and foster a vibrant and inclusive learning environment that benefits the entire community. Your voice matters, and we look forward to working collaboratively with you!

Absolutely! We understand that not everyone can attend the Pemberton Woods Campus Renewal community engagement meetings. We value the input of all community members and provide multiple avenues for contribution. You can participate through online surveys, submit written feedback, or reach out to our designated point of contact, Shannon Drew at engage@pwrenewal.ca to share your thoughts and ideas. We want to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the renewal process, regardless of their ability to attend the meetings in person.

We understand that pick up, drop off and parking are significant concerns for the neighbourhood, and we are committed to actively involving neighbours in our design process to address these issues effectively. By including valuable input, our design team will continue to work collaboratively with the community to develop solutions that will improve long term traffic flow, implement effective traffic calming measures, and enhance parking infrastructure. Also integral to addressing the traffic challenges is a thorough and proper assessment of traffic volumes once school is back in session in September. GNS has recently engaged a traffic consultant whose scope of work will include an existing conditions assessment, a traffic impact assessment and a site plan review. The data previously collected from 2019-2020 on turning movement counts and travel mode is no longer current given the dramatic changes to the local transportation landscape in our neighbourhood. It is clear that the work by the traffic consultant will play an integral role in how our future design develops, and we are excited to see what their input will bring to our evolving design. Together, we aim to create a renewed Pemberton Woods Campus (PW) that works for all of us. One that respects the values of the original neighbourhood vision and provides students, faculty and staff the access to the PW Campus they need.

The long-term space needs of the school are determined based on various factors including educational requirements, programs, and facilities that contribute to a comprehensive learning experience. Our goal is to align with the standards set by organisations such as CAIS (Canadian Accredited Independent Schools) and achieve an average space of approximately 20 m² per student over time. This includes various internal spaces that support learning, collaboration, and recreation, with a focus on creating a well-rounded and vibrant educational environment.

Some of the buildings at the Pemberton Woods campus are at an age where they are in need of upgrades or replacing, whether it be seismic considerations, or outdated or inefficient operating systems. In some cases it’s not possible to upgrade the existing accommodation to the standard expected from a modern school. These factors are in addition to the evolving nature of our science, technology, arts and athletics programs.

The student population at the Pemberton Woods Campus has been relatively consistent since the 1990s with fluctuating enrollment in some grades over this period, as is the case with all schools. Historically it has been as high as 555 students. As noted in the functional program summary, we have identified our long-term maximum at 650 students. This is not something that will happen overnight and we recognize that our size needs to keep in mind our character as a school, as well as the character of the neighbourhood. Realistically, this would be slow annual growth over a long period of time. It should be clear that GNS will never be a large school, nor do we want to become one. What is more important to us is to provide quality education to students from the local community while maintaining our commitment to small class sizes and personalised attention. We aspire to strike a balance between any update to preserving the close-knit and supportive community that defines the City, neighbourhood and school.

As part of the Pemberton Woods Campus Renewal, the school undertook a comprehensive evaluation of all buildings on Campus. While Denford Hall is planned to be preserved, the renewal process aims to update and modernise the entire campus over the coming years. This assessment allows for a holistic approach to ensure that all buildings meet the evolving needs of the school and community, creating an improved and cohesive campus environment.

GNS is considering the inclusion of adjacent properties in the renewal plans for the Pemberton Woods Campus. This topic emerged during our community engagement meetings and discussions about long-term needs and community integration. We aim to make informed decisions that align with both the school's future requirements and the broader needs of the Gonzales neighbourhood. Your insights on this matter contribute to shaping how we can best utilise these properties to incorporate more meaningful solutions to effectively address traffic and parking challenges, while maintaining the character of the Campus and the neighbourhood.

The journey from design to construction of the renewal project is a comprehensive and thorough process, often spanning several years. The design phase involves active engagement with the community, ensuring that the design aligns with the evolving needs of the school and the changing dynamics of the neighbourhood. This collaborative design process is followed by updates and approvals with the City of Victoria, which can also take a considerable amount of time. Only after these stages are completed will the construction phase begin. The duration of this process is a reflection of our commitment to crafting a renewal plan that truly serves the community's aspirations and contributes to the long-term sustainability of the campus and its surroundings.

It is too early in the process to determine a construction timeline. We are focusing on working with the faculty, staff, neighbours and the broader community to create a high level urban design. Once we have a design for the school renewal, we will work on our application with the City of Victoria, which is likely to be a multi-year process. Regular updates to the community will be provided throughout this process.

Completing all the buildings within the renewal plan is a thorough and careful endeavour. Our current focus is on collaboratively designing a blueprint that aligns with the school's long-term needs and the neighbourhood's aspirations. This thoughtful design phase, along with the necessary City processes, will be followed by construction, which will unfold in phases over the course of multiple decades. As we move through each phase, we remain committed to actively involving the community and providing transparent updates about the evolving timeline and progress.

Ensuring a harmonious construction process for both our immediate neighbours and students is a paramount consideration. We are fully aware that each phase of work within our renewal plan may differ in scale. However, regardless of the size of the phase, our commitment remains steadfast to minimising any impact on both the school and the broader community. We will diligently devise mitigation strategies tailored to the unique characteristics of each phase, taking into account factors such as construction size, duration, and potential disruptions. By prioritising effective mitigation, we aim to create an environment that upholds the well-being of both the school and our valued neighbours.