CFE Day 8: Three Sisters Garden, Rock Painting, and Fibre Arts

The day kicked off with our garden work party in the morning, where we split up into groups to take on different tasks. 

One of our groups was tasked to help prep the Three Sisters bed next to the shed. We began by weeding the bed area and clearing many of the dried leaves that accumulated on top, but trying to leave the planted tulips in. We then loosened up the soil and mixed in some Biochar, a type of soil amendment that will improve its health as it begins to facilitate growing. Once the soil was prepped, we created several mounds in each corner, measuring about a foot high. Finally, we planted 3 rows of bodacious corn with a little prayer in hopes that the upcoming weather conditions will help them thrive! Knowing that growing can be unpredictable though, we also started some corn seeds in our greenhouse tent as a backup option.

Following up from the cutting of the alder tree yesterday, a few of us helped clear its surrounding area to create a beautiful planting bed, ready for new opportunities! We put in lots of hard work to clear many of the weeds and straight edging its borders. In the end, we even fittingly added some of the larger logs from the freshly cut alder tree for the border.

During some downtime later, we decided to get creative and paint some rocks to add to this new planting bed, inspired by the surrounding natural forms of flowers and trees. We love how these rocks bring a personal touch and fresh pop of color to commemorate this new bed!

After our lunch break, we took a long walk over to the Scarfe building to move some materials from our storage closet, in preparation for our upcoming Saturday workshop. In discovering and decluttering some of the older collected materials, it was fascinating to see some of the past Orchard Garden workshops, such as a past woad dyeing activity which we learned was similar to the process of indigo dyeing.

In the last bit of our day, we explored two activities centered around the practice of fibre arts. As you may have seen from yesterday's sneak peek with the wooden templates, the first activity was weaving twigs in a pentagonal direction to create an almost basket-like shape. While there are 5 holes in the wooden board, we learned that you actually needed 6 twigs, where 1 is shorter and acts to support the foundation. Additionally, we had hoped to use the alder twigs from yesterday's freshly cut tree, but found that they were still not flexible enough and pivoted to using a thinner twig found in the garden. The most difficult stage for this is definitely at the beginning, where twigs end up falling out the holes in the wooden frame. Admittedly, many of us actually didn't finish this project today, so we're hoping to revisit this weaving soon!

For the second fibre arts activity, we learned about twining using various natural materials with long, smooth fibres. Susan demonstrated how to harvest fresh blackberry bark, which involved snapping off the thorns and gently peeling its outer layers, trying to not to break the bark. There was something oddly satisfying about this, as if we were kids at recess peeling our cheesestrings or celery snacks!

 

One method that we learned with twining was where you would thoroughly dry materials like day lily leaves and corn husks, then quickly rehydrate them in water before using. This makes them not only extra pliable for all the twisting that's involved, but also surprisingly durable once it's fully twined! 

When it comes to teaching textiles, the topic of fibre arts feels fundamentally crucial in connecting learners back to the source of many of the materials that we take for granted in our everyday lives. It feels powerful and accessible that something like a dried leaf or corn husk, which we would otherwise throw away or leave on the ground, could be repurposed into something so strong and useful. In other cases, this resourceful consumption of natural materials could even be beneficial to nature itself, such as pruning twigs to let in more light behind a tree. The key, as with all things, is the balance of taking only what we need for now and leaving lots more for the future.

CFE Day 7: Labyrinths, Robots, and Alder Trees

 We started off the day by doing some planning for our Saturday workshop. Naturally dyeing cloth with buttercups will be the main event. Organizing the event was made easier by assigning everyone different tasks - it’s helpful that there’s six of us!

We then spent the rest of the morning doing mathematics and coding in the garden. Susan taught us about labyrinths, and we constructed our own in the parking lot and took turns walking it. 

Erica showed us two activities - one involved a human robot and the other figuring out binary patterns with sticks and buttercups. The beauty of using natural materials to do math struck us all. Programming a human robot allowed us to see the creativity involved with coding! Working in the garden, and navigating a more natural environment introduced new challenges to the task-  will my robot trample a plant if I code it wrong? 

We will take these activities with us into our own classrooms. As a math teacher, a question that came up for me was, is teaching binary through natural materials more engaging for students? I also wondered if this approach was more appealing for certain demographics of students versus others? (E.g. are girls more likely to engage in math if it’s taught with natural elements out in the garden, rather than in an indoor classroom?) 

In the afternoon we worked in the garden with Saul. It was a productive day! An outdoor sink was assembled, an alder tree was cut down and its leaves and branches were harvested, and a trellis was made for the fava beans! 

The alder leaves and twigs may make a special appearance at the Saturday workshop (a preliminary search shows they can be used for natural dyeing as well). Wooden templates were made for a weaving activity that we will try tomorrow - stay tuned for the results! 

- Bill and Dani 

CFE: UBC Botanical Garden

This post is written by two authors, Natasha Pappas and Natalie Moon. We spent our morning at the UBC Botanical Garden and the afternoon in the UBC Orchard Garden. Natasha writes of our day as a whole and I have added my reflection on the Botanical Garden's Treetop Walk that I was able to explore. Here are our reflections...

Natasha Pappas’ Reflection:

We began the day by exploring the UBC Botanical Gardens. Despite the fact that I have been going to UBC for about 7 years now, it was my first time there. I had no idea how big it was. Susan told us to consider the different types of gardens (e.g. the Orchard Garden, Nitobe, the guerilla garden, and botanical gardens) and how they compare and reflect  \different values. She explained that botanical gardens are a bit like a museum, as part of its purpose is to host and display a wide variety of plants often from all over the world. It was fascinating to see such a wide variety of plants, and often ones that I never knew existed. I have been thinking a lot lately about how our values and priorities are reflected in the way that we garden,

Our CFE group then split up. Half our group went to do the treetop tour, while the rest of us made our way to the medicinal garden. We went through the Garry Oak path and through the Food Garden before arriving at the medicinal garden. The Garry Oaks are the only native oak tree to the area. One sign said that First Nations groups used to cultivate them because they are fire resistant. 

The Food Garden was beautiful. I found it really cool and interesting that the food grown there is given to the homeless and people in need. I would be interested in volunteering there and seeing just how that system works, specifically how the garden connects to those in need and its effects.

We finished off the day with a work party in the Orchard Garden. Several of us focused on two tasks in the food forest: chopping and dropping the seemingly dead evening primrose and pulling out/cutting back the morning glory. It took us until the end of the day, because the morning glory is everywhere! We also had a really interesting conversation on the philosophy of invasive species and what makes a weed a weed. There seems to be a debate on how we should think about invasive species that I was unaware of until today. Should invasive plants be completely removed from an area, or should they be left and maintained? I want to do more research on this topic.

Natalie Moon's Reflection:

Something I was able to experience today was the Treetop Walk at the UBC Botanical Garden. I was greeted by Ian, who discussed the importance of trees in our fragile ecosystem. He explained that trees are part of an intricate ecosystem. This ecosystem needs old growth forests to resist wildfires and support other plant, animal, and human life. 

The Treetop walk was absolutely amazing! It is heart pounding at times, as you are suspended up in the air, with the trees, overtop of the forest. Jason, Jeff and I were very impressed by the system of cables that are used to suspend the walkways and platforms. We were fascinated at how this cable system could be brought into a physics classroom. Jason spoke to the tension on the cables and how the system becomes stronger as more people step onto the platform and the tension on the cables increases. 

It was truly an awe-inspiring experience as I wobbled above the trees, suspended in the air. My feet felt unsteady underneath me but I didn't feel unsafe or scared. I felt a sense of freedom. I was above the garden, at one with the trees, and taking in the forest floor far below. 

The Treetop walk is a must-do if you're at UBC, 10/10! 

CFE Day 5: "Singing in the Garden", Wood Chip Pathways

 Today, we invited soon-to-be Dr. Diana Ihnatovych (who had successfully defended her Ph.D dissertation yesterday!) to share her research and findings about the effect of music, particular singing, in the garden.

Our first TV during the Orchard garden CFE

The dark, windowless room we were in was a stark contrast from the weather-variable open nature we were used to in the gardens. Nonetheless, Diana's talk offered great insight on the positive effect that music and improvisation had on fostering a deeper connection and a sense of agency between students and nature. We were reminded of how much we unconsciously use music as memorization tools, as well as effective aids for learning. Oh, can't forget our first in-person interaction with our CFE FA, Dr. Terry Jarvis!

After the presentation, we moved to the forest area just outside the Nitobe Garden, where Diana introduced us to a quick engagement activity using large sticks. The crew proudly holding their sticks was a must-watch scene!

Just some TCs with their sticks, what more can I say?

The activity itself resembled a "Simon says" style of playing, while demanding concentration and reflex control. I think I ended up cutting my finger a few times trying to grab awkward parts of the stick, but oh well, quite personal connection to nature I guess 😅. We also did some Soundscape activities, where participants must focus on the sounds around them, trying to draw them out and even act them! It was a great way to get all of our senses (not just sight) involved in interpreting the local environment (this is a Science Curricular Competency), with many connections to all subjects of learning.

We also started and ended our time outside with an improvisation song that acts as an ode of gratitude to the environment around us. It was a nice way to focus on the small things that contributed to such a positive environment and experience.

Soundscape composition by Bill, Danielle, Natasha, Jason

Soundscape composition by Susan, Saul, Jeff, Natalie

After a nice and warm Mercante excursion for lunch, we returned to the Orchard garden to work on creating a formal pathway with wood chips. After many ripped cardboard boxes and 6 wheelbarrows of wood chips, we were able to finish the pathways! Having these formally laid out added so much more structure and aesthetic pleasure to the garden, and it only took us 45-ish minutes to complete! 

What happens when you forget to take a "before" image

While it could be interpreted as manual labour, it provided a good lesson for me in just how much nature provides for us. Even the wood chips were at one point many trees, as well as the cardboard boxes we used. It might not be a perfect example of returning what we took back to the land, but it reminded me once again about the continuous cycle of life and how everything still returns to its original belonging in one way or another.

CFE Day 4: The Hugel, Nature Mandalas, and Micro-photography

Today, we started off with our garden work party in the morning, collectively tackling the objective of building a hügelkultur, or simply a hugel, with one of the plum trees that had been cut down, after being infected by black knot fungus. As we learned from Saul, the hugel is a resourceful method of creating a raised garden bed in the form of a crescent-shaped (or croissant-shaped) mound. It is constructed by layering the infected wood with a mix of other organic materials, such as grass clippings, wood shavings, leaves, and weeds.

First, we dug out the crescent-shaped pit roughly in the same area where the tree once stood. We then strategically arranged and layered the wood in the pit from the largest to smallest pieces, filling in as many of the gaps as possible.

 

After we layered the various parts of the tree, we began to add other organic materials to our "hugel lasagna", starting with wood shavings and chips. We then alternated between drier and fresher/greener layers of foraged grass, weeds, and leaves, as shown in the white buckets.

 

The final steps involved covering the mound with the topsoil from the initial digging of the pit, feeding it a generous amount of water, and then creating a loose border with some branches. Reflecting on the process of building the hugel, it truly felt as though we were creating a "burial site" of sorts for the diseased tree, yet it also felt poetic that the structure will eventually become the foundation for new life, demonstrating that natural cycle of life within a garden.

During our lunch break, we took a quick group walk over to Bean Around the World for some coffee and, naturally, explored the UNA Children's Garden next to the cafe. One detail that stood out to was the inclusion of an easy visual guide for visitors that classified "good" vs. "bad" bugs, inviting people of all ages to spot the different critters that live within the garden, though I'm sure these broad categorizations also leave room for more nuance.

In the afternoon, we got the opportunity to try a few art integration activities, created by Dustin Garnet, within the garden that allowed us to engage and connect with it in different ways. The first activity was to build nature mandalas as a form of ephemeral art, inspired by the land art style. We each collected a variety of materials around the garden and explored ways to build radial designs that incorporated different elements of symmetry, colors, patterns, and textures. Susan had a great idea as well to lay our nature mandalas on our newly built hugel, which seemed to beautifully honor its creation. It was inspiring to see everyone's creative approach in their mandalas, even in the different shapes and angles that were chosen! At the end of the activity, the wind started to pick up as the sun shifted more behind the clouds, blowing some parts of our nature mandalas away. This truly reflected the impermanence that land art can embody, where things are not made to last but rather break down or return to its natural origins.

 

The second art integration activity was in the form of garden micro-photography and framing, which encouraged us to slow down and focus in on viewpoints that are often overlooked or not yet explored. This process not only creates a deeper sense of connection and observation within the garden, but also integrates creative expression with different visual framings. And if not for anything else, it's a great way for learners to use their phones in a productive, educational and highly intentional way.

As a little bonus shot, we also spotted a butterfly in the garden near the end of the day, which looked very similar to the Gorgone Checkerspot butterfly: 

After this eventful day, I'm inspired by the many ways that we can spark connection, engagement, and purpose within a learning garden! After building the hugel and listening to the tree's long journey of resilience (dating back to around 2014!) against the black knot fungus before it finally had to be cut down, it made me appreciate the long-lasting impact of all the various "hands" that have contributed to the garden. By setting the foundation of the hugel and the other areas we have tended to, it feels like we have become a small part of the garden in some ways. In its implications for teaching, I think that this sense of building a new path forward within a garden can be incredibly powerful for students, seeing themselves not only as keepers of its history, but makers of its future too. Art integration activities can contribute to this sense too, providing new perspectives, mediums, and interpretations of the diverse and ever-evolving life that exists within the garden.