Saturday Workshop at the Orchard Garden

 As a group, we’ve learned a lot since the beginning of June and experienced many new and interesting things during our time at the garden. We cannot thank Susan and Saul enough for being wonderful teachers and preparing activities and trips to help us understand the importance of gardens. While this may be our last day of our CFE, the memories we’ve made and knowledge we’ve earned will last forever!

We started the Saturday workshop by going over the shape of the day and asking everyone to introduce themselves and what tree or flower they could be. We had many interesting responses such as trees based on personal connections or cultural backgrounds. 

(Fun fact, a palm tree isn’t actually a tree!)

The main theme of the workshop was natural art, with the main events being painting seed pods and using natural dyes to create art. The seed pods came from an Empress Tree, which is native to China, and it is one of the fastest growing trees in the world. For comparison, an Oak tree only grows 1 foot a year while the Empress can grow up to 15 feet a year! 

There were also plenty of snacks if anyone felt hungry. The bread was generously donated to us by Bread Fair, located on Granville Island, while the rest were made and given from our very own CFE group. 

We started things off by reading a book about what is and isn’t a weed. Specifically, it teaches us that what is a weed is a matter of perspective. For instance, Morning Glory is a plant that some consider a weed, because it can harm other plants, but others see as an exotic flower. Remember, labels don’t define who you are!

For our first main activity we painted the seed pods from the Empress Tree and turned them into necklaces or earrings. We had many creative examples. Some people even turned them into bugs!

For the second main activity, we used natural dyes to make art. These dyes come from spices and herbs you can find anywhere and are very simple to make; just add water! Despite the simplicity it can create surprisingly vibrant colours and we had many creative examples on what people can do with them.

Overall, we had an excellent Saturday workshop that marked the end of our CFE. Once again, we thank Susan and Saul for providing us a wonderful teaching experience and letting us stay in UBC’s Orchard Garden.

2026 UBC Orchard Garden, over and out.