Have a story from Edmonton's suburbs? We want to help you tell it

What does Edmonton look like from where you're sitting?

For an increasingly large number of us, that view is framed by the everyday experiences of living and working near Anthony Henday Drive.

Between 2012 and 2019, Edmonton added 155,000 new residents, many settling in the city's suburbs.

"When I look at pictures of Edmonton on Instagram which is, you know, one of the things I like to do nobody takes photos of the suburbs," says Shawna Lemay, a writer and photographer who can seethe Henday fromthe Ormsby Place home where she's lived for22 years.

• Check out our previous stories from The Henday Project

"And the thing about the suburbs is, yes, it is garages out front and overall there's a uniformity to the housing but there's all these little pockets of loveliness, too."

Last year, CBC Edmonton sought out stories from the suburbs in The Henday Project; this spring, we're gearing up for another tour of the ring road.

We'll be searching for interesting tales and for people to tell them to share on Edmonton AM, Radio Active, our website and our social channels.

The suburbs: It's where we are

If statistics are any indication, there are a lot of stories to tell.

The population of Ward Nakota Isga in Edmonton's northwest where about half of the residential communities are outside or adjacent to the Henday grew by 23 per cent in those seven years, according to city census data

Similarly, the number of people living in Ward Dene in the northeast increased by 20 per cent. For for the biggest change, look to the south: the average population growth of Edmonton's southernmost wards was a whopping 32 per cent.

Whether you see the Henday as a place to build a business or tolive nearsoul-soothingnatural areas, we want to hear about it.

• Learn more about how to write story for CBC

We're accepting pitches for first-person pieces from Edmontonians with a connection to the suburbs who have a compelling, surprising even quirky story to tell.

You don't need to be a professional writer, but your story should be framed by your experiences from the city's suburbs.

Read more about what we're looking for here, then email edmontonam@cbc.ca with your idea.