VICTORIA -- Anyone who's been along Victoria's Gorge waterway recently might have noticed something unusual sprouting up from the inlet.
In amongst the derelict and abandoned and sometimes on-fire vessels, is a new manmade island that's intended to "spark a conversation" about rethinking Victoria's waterways, according to the project's developer.
Known officially as Project Albero (Italian for "tree"), the concept was hatched by Victoria real estate developer Aryze, while representatives were touring the Danish cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus.
"We were inspired by these beautiful urban cities with working harbours, lined with people swimming on hot summer days," the company says on its website for the project.
"It struck us that we have all the bones for this lifestyle but as a harbour city, the local citizenry is disconnected from harbor recreation."
The company's answer was a round, floating dock with a Japanese Katsura tree growing up from it.
It's meant to encourage swimmers to venture out onto the waterway and visit the destination. In fact, the company said Thursday it left some Phillips beer on the manmade island for the first person who swims over to it.
The island was constructed at the Point Hope Shipyard and then towed out to its location near Banfield Park.
Aryze is encouraging residents to continue their conversation about the use of Victoria's urban waterways by emailing the company.
