Children & Nature Conference April 19 international workshop in the Orchard Garden (1 of 2)

The Children & Nature Network conference was held in Vancouver April 18-21 2017. As part of the conference, we held an interactive workshop with about 50 participants in the Orchard Garden for the afternoon of April 19. Here is the program description of our workshop:

By their nature, gardens embody diversity. This field trip explores the cultural significance and value of learning gardens for diverse communities in restoring and reclaiming their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and resilience through stories, myths, nature connection, and practical examples. This on-site workshop will engage participants in dynamic, creative, community garden-based learning at the UBC Orchard Garden. Participants will leave with actionable strategies and inspiration for initiating community-collaborative, inclusive learning gardens. This workshop features garden researcher/practitioners bringing indigenous, multicultural, and urban perspectives from four different learning gardens in the Pacific Northwest. Participants will: (a) share cultural stories of hands-on engagement with garden-based learning; (b) practice the art of poem-making and cordage with the use of harvested site materials; and (c) use patterns from nature to capture permaculture-inspired wild design activities. Dress for the outdoors. An herbal tea will be served.

Four of us in garden-based learning from the Cascadia/ Pacific Northwest region are co-presenting
this workshop on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 19: Marna Hauk, Dilafruz Williams and Judy Bluehorse Skelton from Portland, Oregon, and Susan Gerofsky from Vancouver, BC. You can read our bios here.

Photos from the workshop in the next post!