Neighbourhood Spotlight: Janvier and Draper

Janvier and Draper are two communities found in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. They both provide a bit of a different type of community with Janvier found on the shorts of Bohn Lake and Draper found in the flood plains of the Clearwater River.

Janvier

This hamlet was established in the southern part of Wood Buffalo. It's located about 120 kilometres to the south of Fort McMurray. Getting to Janvier is easy with Highway 881.

The community provides a small airstrip, along with a home for the Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation. Students living in this hamlet attend Father R. Penn School from kindergarten through grade nine.

Janvier is home to about 200 residents and the Janvier Dene Wood Buffalo Community Association provides ways to enhance the well-being and livelihood of the residents found here.

Draper

Found near the Clearwater River, Draper is just outside For McMurray, to the south. Waterways provide the easiest way to get to Draper and it's only about 12 kilometres from Fort McMurray. Many consider this area to be a suburb of Fort Mac.

Thomas Draper established the area in 1922 when he opened a quarry and started a business called the McMurray Asphaltum and Oil Company.

The community is mainly built along the banks of the Clearwater River and has grown quite a bit over the past decade. In 2000, Draper was home to about 60 residents and today about 260 residents are found within the area.

Those living in Draper utilize many of the services and resources of Fort McMurray, since it's located very close to the area

Both Janvier and Draper provide something unique in the Wood Buffalo area. They are considered hamlets and plenty of green space is found throughout both of these small communities.