Prep For Saturday Workshop
Half of the CFE group spent time today preparing for the Saturday workshop which will be our final day in the Garden. Tomorrow will wrap up our amazing experience in the Orchard Garden. We are extremely excited for what knowledge will be shared during tomorrow's experience. There is a chance for some rain in the forecast so there may be some extra prep and planning needed to stay dry. But nonetheless it will still be an enjoyable experience and on top of that the rain will be good for many of the plants.
Reflecting on Yesterday's Summer Solstice Festival
The summer solstice festival yesterday couldn’t have gone better. The rain held off, we had many guests, the food turned out well and folks that came were great. We had visitors from the TEO and from multiple early childhood education centres that brought so much life and joy to the garden. The music that was played by Kat, Susan and Alex also brought such a wonderful touch to the event.
When our team first arrived at the Orchard Garden, we had the chance to witness a truly spectacular and rare atmospheric show over Vancouver: a 22-degree halo (a rainbow-like ring surrounding the sun) intersected by a gigantic parhelic circle. We were able to observe this phenomenon for an extended period because we were outside celebrating the summer solstice. Interestingly, this type of atmospheric magic is closely tied to the solstice itself. During late June, the sun hits its highest point of the year in Vancouver (around 64° above the horizon). When the sun is that high, the horizontal parhelic circle shrinks into a tighter, more concentrated ring near the top of the sky, making it incredibly bright and clear right where it intersects the sun's halo.
Reflecting on Our 3 Week Experience in the Garden
Overall our 3 weeks in the garden were magical. From getting to see other gardens like the Botanical Garden to hands-on work in our own garden like planting carrots, the experience was a blast. One highlight would be how the morning glory grew everywhere and was invasive to the garden, yet we were able to find a use for it with rope making and crown making showing that there is purpose for everything. In addition, all the activities we participated in reminded us of the importance of the core of organic things: unlike some artificial products that take hundreds of years to disappear in soil, organic items come directly from nature, and will dissolve naturally in nature as well.
We hope we will all get the opportunity to visit the Orchard Garden again or even experience the garden in a different season. We are excited to enjoy the garden one final time for tomorrow's Saturday workshop.
By Keegan and Lu
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