The Learning Garden

Summer 2011

2011-08-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

The garden this summer is full of busy bees, humming with concentration around the Russian Sage and sedums. I wonder how the smoky tang of the sage will make the honey taste differently. Little bits of Learning Garden, hiding in tablespoons of Okanagan honey.

The area is becoming quite the oasis, as more and more development surrounds on all sides. Ducks and sparrows work diligently, performing pond rituals and other important bird things. They squawk and chirp loudly while I am weeding or watering, and I know their tales are true.

Pines and ground squirrels, we all have our work to do. The hornets that are living in the greenhouse are the most diligent of the lot of us. As calm and serene as the Learning Garden seems at first, it swells with the busy purpose of summer.

Wasteland

2011-06-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

The Film WASTE LAND follows artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores” (Associação dos Catadores do Aterro Metropolitano de Jardim Gramacho (Association of Collectors of the Metropolitan Landfill of Jardim Gramacho) - an organization of "pickers" who sort through garbage finding recyclables as a means of survival. Muniz collaborates with the artists - and recreates photographic images of themselves out of garbage.

Satellite images of 15 Global Trash Sites that are bigger than towns.

Landfill information for province of British Columbia.

The Learning Garden June 2011

2011-06-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

A Practical, Urban Response to Global Warming

2011-05-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

A story in the New York Times describes how cities are preparing for global warming.

Climate scientists have told city planners that based on current trends, Chicago will feel more like Baton Rouge than a Northern metropolis before the end of this century.

So, Chicago is getting ready for a wetter, steamier future. Public alleyways are being repaved with materials that are permeable to water. The white oak, the state tree of Illinois, has been banned from city planting lists, and swamp oaks and sweet gum trees from the South have been given new priority. Thermal radar is being used to map the city’s hottest spots, which are then targets for pavement removal and the addition of vegetation to roofs. And air-conditioners are being considered for all 750 public schools, which until now have been heated but rarely cooled.

“Cities adapt or they go away,” said Aaron N. Durnbaugh, deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Environment. “Climate change is happening in both real and dramatic ways, but also in slow, pervasive ways. We can handle it, but we do need to acknowledge it. We are on a 50-year cycle, but we need to get going.”

The Learning Garden May 2011

2011-05-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

New Report: A Forest of Blue

2011-03-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Canada’s boreal waters - the wetlands and peatlands - store an estimated 147 billion tonnes of carbon. That is more than 25 years worth of current man-made emissions.

The input of fresh water from boreal rivers to the Arctic and other northern seas is critical to forming sea ice, which cools the atmosphere and provides the basis for much of arctic marine biodiversity.

Unfortunately, Canada’s boreal forest is increasingly affected by large-scale industrial activities. The rapidly expanding development footprint already includes 728,000 km² (180 million acres) impacted by forestry, road building, mining, oil and gas extraction, and hydropower.

Canadian and international environmental organizations, corporations and aboriginal First Nations have built the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework, endorsed by 1,500 scientists around the world. The Boreal Framework calls for protecting a minimum 50 percent of the region’s land and waters, and applying strict sustainable development rules on the remainder.

Read more here.

Winter Solstice 2010

2010-12-21T06:37:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of the students, teachers and friends who helped to create The Learning Garden over the past 5 years. Your work continues to inspire new students and new ideas in this place.

To the newest 2010-2011 UBCO Middle School Teacher Education cohort who gave so much care and time to the garden. Looking forward to Spring plantings and Fall flowers.

Winter Garden Thrives

2010-12-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

The temperature drops in the Learning Garden.

Thriving Okanagan ecosystem.

"People are equal partners with the plants and animals, not their masters who exploit them."

-- Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders

Reflections

2010-10-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Student reflections on the Learning Garden and Pond:

When thinking about the garden, for me anyway, I would have to say that if you would have asked me 4 months ago if I would enjoy gardening or would want a garden to be part of my education I would have blankly stated: "not a chance." But...then I spent the day in the garden and it "grew" on me. That day in the garden changed a lot of thoughts in my mind and I now feel that that initial negative energy I had towards it has become positive, and for that I'm grateful. Change is always good for a person and its even better when you can enjoy it as it happens and that is what the garden allowed me to experience.

For me this experience has been about collaboration. As aspiring teachers, collaboration is such a huge part of the profession and such an important theme to model for students. In the garden, we are not only collaborating with each other within our garden box groups and as a class, but we are collaborating with the nature around us. We are also collaborating with the past students who have left their small marks within the garden, just as we will leave our marks for future students. I like the fact that we have an opportunity to create something real and natural and that will hopefully be passed on to future classes.

***

I feel The Learning Garden as well as the pond holds as much value and importance as a Provincial park. The purpose of a provincial park is to express and maintain cultural, ecological values as well as B.C’s heritage. It is a place for people to visit, enjoy and learn. The Learning Garden is all those things and more. The space where the garden happens to be holds a legacy for past and future Middle School cohorts. It also holds within its soil the history of much hard work, love and dedication of keeping the space alive. Visitors learn not only about different flowers and plants as well as how to garden, but they also learn about themselves in the process. The garden makes you think and see how life changes. The animals and humans need the Learning Garden and pond. It is and will continue to be an important part of UBC-O’s future.

.....For me "sustainability" is maintaining something for the long haul. What that means is that for example, we have a limited supply of resources, and instead of wasting it all at once or very quickly we limited, ration, and developing other ways of using these limited resources so that they last a long time. Overall, "sustainability" is a difficult term to define because it is a loaded word that has multiple meanings to various people....and because of this it makes it a very hard thing to maintain.

What the learning garden means to me is a place where I can learn about nature in a quiet soothing atmosphere. It allows me to relax and enjoy a little piece of the world that we havent destroyed with construction and noise. The learning garden is also an experience for me and my peers that has been passed down throughout the years, and that makes it unique and traditional. It connects me to those who went through the years before us, and those that will be coming. The learning garden taught me aspects of teamwork, and how to bring nature in to the classroom.

In this age we live in, too often progress is defined by demolishing something we already naturally have to make space for a "creation" that feeds our ego. The Learning Garden and the Pond need to be protected like the treasure it is. These resources contribute to the community by providing individuals a connection to nature that cannot be replaced by a textbook. Joni Mitchell said it in song so many years ago, "why does it always seem to go, that we don't know what we've got till it's gone...."

Flowers

2010-10-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Mallards at the pond, October 2010

Learning Garden 2010

2010-09-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

"The Tenacious Trio"

"The Pink Butterflies"

"Team Awesome"

"Team Sage"

Planting Day Fall 2010

2010-09-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

This year the students planted native species to honour and learn about the local eco-system.

Straw was used to insulate the soil, keep down weeds.

Lavender planted in May 2007 has thrived on little water - it stays!

Last summer's "weed experiment" worked - garden beds had reduced soil loss, with increased nitrogen.

A job well done!

UBCO Anthropology Visits Garden & Firepit

2010-09-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

IGS Master's Student Michael Marchand explains his work at the Firepit Installation.

Sacred Salmon

Middle School Vibe

2010-09-17T01:39:00.000-07:00

Middle School Cohort 2010-2011 plans the Learning Garden.

Middle School Visits Garden Fall 2010

2010-09-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Detour!

National Aboriginal Day

2010-06-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

Today is National Aboriginal Day. For many Aboriginal people, myself included, this is a significant if somewhat conflicted day. If you can try to take some time today to learn a little bit more about the diverse aboriginal cultures in Canada

Here is a link to an promo video produced by the government to get you started.

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ach/ev/nad/nadvdo2010-eng.asp

Silent Spring, Forgotten Summer

2010-06-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a slightly wetter than usual spring, prompting Okanagites to complain that Summer will never come. While people I know demand to know what I am going to do to save the world or simply think the whole climate change is a load of bunk they still unilaterally complain about the weather. We went from severe water restrictions in Vernon in anticipation of drought conditions one one end of the valley to a dam bursting because of over saturation on the other...
Its either The Sky is Falling or - Nothing is Happening. Today on the CBC they had two 'experts' talking about peak oil, one who said that we all need to start hoarding food, the other saying the end will never come. In all of these debates no one is ever willing to be a moderate, as if trying to take a middle path between the two alternatives is the only option we never want to discuss.

If we are ever going to have any meaningful discussion/movement on the issues of climate change individuals and society need to stop this kind of "all or nothing" discourse. This type of debate simply distracts from any meaningful discussion that would actually require real meaningful commitment.

What have I done to save the world today? Nothing - one person cannot change the world, only themselves and their relationship to the world. It is through the process of our relationships with others and the world that people can effect any meaningful change, but in the meantime we can watch the revolution on Fox news.

To return to my original analogy, we all talk about how dry the valley is and how water is becoming a scarce resource, but when it comes in normal abundance, it causes disasters like catastrophic flooding. Our whole society is built upon the edge, about pushing the edge, and yet the only way it seems to work is by denying this truth. We are unprepared for drought, but we are even less prepared for rain.
At the end of he day it is not the water, how much or how little, but ourselves and or lack of foresight. (Tofino suffers from severe water restrictions and yet it is in the midst of a rain forest...because we have forgotten to invest in the infrastructure of our society.)

We have let our wells become full of silt, and rather than dig the silt up we complain that nature has forsaken us. Perhaps we need to look to our own reflections for the issues. But how can we...when there is no deep pool to ensnare us with our own reflections?

Word Oceans Day

2010-06-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

World Oceans Day is now officially recognized by the UN Secretary General as June 8th each year.

The concept for a “World Ocean Day” was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and it has been unofficially celebrated every year since then.

June 8th honours our world oceans and our personal connections to the sea.

Links:
CBC Radio Quirks & Quarks: Oceans of Trouble
Seafood Watch - Ethical Seafood Catch
Gulf Oil Spill

The Lorax

~

H20

2010-05-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Okanagan Summer 2010 may experience one of its driest summers yet. The team here at the Learning Garden have been wondering: how can we use water more responsibly?

The garden began in Summer 2006 with the first UBCO course in Environmental Education (EDST 588). Our goal was to provide a model learning garden while always modeling responsible use of natural resources, especially water. Our annual record of water usage shows that over the past four summers we have steadily reduced water consumption, mainly by planting more drought tolerant, native plants.

This summer, we will be looking into more alternative irrigation methods.

In the meantime, thanks to all for the warm feedback on the last post & story from UBCO Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies student, M!

Grandmothers

2010-03-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

A friend in my Cultural Theory class told me a story from his time on Vancouver Island. He is an MFA student and from the the Talhtan First Nation. He told me that one day he was on a Beach with some elders and he picked up a rock, one of the elders asked him what he was doing and explained to him that rocks our Grandmothers who like to watch over us, and that you should always be mindful when you pick up a rock and take it with you. When I saw this rock in the garden,it made me think of that story. If you squint your eyes it looks like it is smiling up at you.

Smile back

Springtime, for the Garden, and UBC

2010-03-09T08:05:00.001-08:00

It has been an interesting 'winter' here at the garden, lots of snow in Novemeber, then a green January and February. Now that it is March it seems to be Springtime already as the garden gets ready for another year. Some photos to inspire everyone on gray days.

M

Blues Skies shining at me,
Nothing but Blues Skies do I seeThe first buds of Spring poking their way toward the sun.

New/Old Garden Friend

2010-03-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

Introducing my student, "M", who will be posting on the Learning Garden blog for the next while.

Arctic Sunset

2009-12-05T07:22:00.000-08:00

Read About Climate Change Science:
Global Climate Change - Editorial
Copenhagen 2009
Real Climate
Deep Climate
Climate Witness

Fall Gifts

2009-09-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

This year the entire harvest from the garden was donated to an Okanagan school, for families in need.

Resources:
Homeless Statistics
Inn from the Cold
Kelowna Women's Shelter
Food Bank
Mission

Great Owl.

2009-08-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

Great Horned Owl in the Forest Beside the Learning Garden. July 30, 2009.

Environmental Education 2009

2009-08-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

Students at Work in The Learning Garden

Student Field Notes (excerpts):

# 1
Mill Creek Park Reflection:

I feel a sense of peace amongst nature. There is a delight in it that makes you wonder why humans take its beauty for granted. I'm at one with nature - I do not feel a sense of control or power over it. The distant flow of water gives me a feeling of serenity. I embrace the calmness that surrounds me. Embrace nature and all it does.

#2
Three Questions for Mother Nature:

If I could ask three questions
what would they be? Where
would I start and where would they go?

I could tear the inner secrets from
ten thousand different suns, or probe the
geometry of things humans will never see.

I could ask about what will be
long after bones have turned to dust,
or even sacred mysteries like
"what is divinity?"

Above all else I think my question would be
something self-serving but simple,
like "what am I" or "why me".

But the answer, I suspect, I already know;
it's written on the wind, stars, and sand,
spoken in a patient sigh to ever-present demand.

It belies a false simplicity, it is, quite simply,
Just Be.

(By Anon)

#3

Taking EDST 588, getting involved with The Learning Garden, and doing several nature site visits has given me a new appreciation for where I currently live. I am seeing things more in the moment, and as they are. I have made a great effort to see, and describe, "What is here?" I have a renewed enthusiasm for eating and living well, and I think daily about getting out for a trip to a local spot where the natural environment is prominently featured, like a park, wood, or creek. Sometimes we do not truly appreciate where we are, and what we have. I know that, in my often harried day-to-day existence, this is the case. I do not stop and smell the roses often enough along the way. ... as Wendell Berry said, "what we need is here".

Read more of JD's Enviro Ed Blog here

#4

Mill Creek Regional Park

- Wasps collect water from small cracks in rocks
- Needles and leaves fall silently into the pool of rippling water
- A fish surfaces and grabs something from the surface of the water. I scan to try and see where the fish is hiding but it has disappeared into the shadowy depths of the pool
- A fly bounces through the air and comes to rest on my arm. A light ticklish sensation drives me to wave the fly onward.
- The water cascades from a rocky outcropping above, splashing into the pool below. Waves moves outward from the initial point of contact.
- A dragonfly swoops in and skims its way back and forth over the pool. Its beating wings emit a humming sound that grows stronger as it gains speed.
- The trembling aspen leaves rustle back and forth in the light breeze.
- A monarch butterfly floats near the edge o the creek. It eventually comes to rest on the leaf of a large alder tree.
- The wind again forces the trees to shake back and forth. Small fir needles drop on to the surface of the pool. No sign of fish mistaking the needles for freshly fallen bugs.

Move location – top of water fall looking down on the pool

- Mud wasps are gathering sediment from an almost dried pool of creek water....

The Learning Garden Book

2009-08-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

Available at:
- UBC Okanagan bookstore
- Peter Lang Publishers
- Amazon
- Powells

Read more here

Field Trip: Farmer's Market/Mission Creek Park

2009-08-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

Trevor examines the radishes.

Mission Creek

Stewardship

2009-08-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

This year students made a trail sign that helps explain the significance of The Firepit.

Weeding and Raking.

Field Work: Okanagan Lake

2009-07-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

With temp at the garden at 39C, students held observations and discussions on mountains and beaches, lakeside.

Deep thinkers

Get Real.

2009-07-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

Great Horned Owl Spotted in the Forest Beside the Learning Garden. July 30, 2009.

Photos: Aaron Volk

Bird Houses

2009-07-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Students build bird houses, look cool doing so.

Home.

Field Work: Mill Creek

2009-07-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

Students go into Cool Forest and write nature observations based on Environmental Education philosophy.

Students in the woods somewhere.

A student is writing behind this fallen tree.

Students write poems standing in the Cool Creek

Nature. Cool.

2009-07-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

This year the Environmental Education graduate students observed many new species of wildlife that have moved to the Learning Garden, and to the pond - as a result of the human noise, construction, and disappearance of natural area around them.

Yes - after all these years - a turtle in the Learning Garden.
(Thanks for waiting, Mike B).

Deer at rest.

Painted Turtle, species at risk: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/list.htm

Thanks to Amanda Kehler for the photos.

Eco-Lesson Plans & Resources

2009-07-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Eco-Lesson Plans and Resources

Environmental Learning and Experience Guide and Curriculum Map
• http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/environment_ed/
• Incorporate environmental learning into lesson plans for all ages and subjects

Wild BC - www.wildbc.org
• Free resources and lesson plans. Extensive climate change program for grades 4, 7, and 10-12.

Climate Change Education - www.climatechangeeducation.org
• Lesson Plans for K-12 in all subject areas

Ecokids - www.ecokids.ca
• Free lesson plans and activities, plus annual Eco Challenge contest

HSBC Clean Air Achievers – www.cleanairachievers.ca
• Grades 6-9; register online, track and learn about travel emissions and your class will have 2 visits from a Canadian champion (Olympian, world champion, etc.)

Pembina Institute Green Learning - www.greenlearning.ca
• Elementary and high school lesson plans on energy and the environment

Sierra Club of BC - www.sierraclub.bc.ca/education
• Lesson plans for K-8, sustainable high school program, other great resources

WWF Schools for a Living Planet - http://schools.wwf.ca/
• Lesson plans for grades 3-8 on a variety of environmental and wildlife themes

Zero Footprint Kids - www.zerofootprintkids.com
• Calculate your carbon footprint then follow the links for great resources

Workshops

DISTRICT 67
Okanagan-Similkameen Conservation Alliance - www.osca.org
• Environmental educators provide exciting programs on local habitats, wildlife, and the interaction between humans and the environment

City of Kelowna ECCO programs - http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/Page1051.aspx
• Classroom and field presentations on important environmental topics
• Tons of fun and FREE programs for all ages

BC Sustainable Energy Association - www.bcsea.org
• Climate Change Showdown: classroom workshop for grades 5 & 6
• Contact booking@bcsea.com or 778.785.3951 for more information

Green Street - www.green-street.ca
• An excellent search tool to find local environmental programming
• Lesson plans for all grades and funding information

Sierra Club of BC - www.sierraclub.bc.ca/education
• Curriculum linked programs for all grade levels

Wild BC - www.wildbc.org
• Wildlife and environmentally themed workshops by local environmental educators

Information helpfully supplied by: Kate Bergen, Climate Action Facilitator, BC Ministry of Environment - Youth Climate Leadership Alliance. Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen

GRIP Presentations

2009-06-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

By Elisha Peller

Salmon...Return

2009-06-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

Students past and present (Mike Burdeniuk, Mike Marchand, Davinder Bal, Jason Parkinson and Elisha Peller) return to The Learning Garden to present research at International Conference

Thanks to Elisha Peller for the beautiful photos and slide show.

Delegates from International Association for Citizenship, Social and Economics Education (IACSEE) - Visit Learning Garden

The Traditional Firepit

Thank you Vicki Green (Canada) and Cathy Fagan (Scotland) for bringing 'the earth' to the Learning Garden.

Book Lands in The Learning Garden!

2009-06-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

Davinder Bal @ The Learning Garden

-

"Subterranean Battle"

2009-06-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

Wilhelmena chases gopher. Digs!

-

Planting Day 2009

2009-06-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

Frances Dixon Takes Care of The Garden

Three Species of Migrating Ducks and New Ducklings Sighted at the Pond

UBCO Engineering Student Chris - Plants 100 Tomato Plants

__

Garden Survives

2009-05-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

Working Together

2009-04-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

HOW SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION? A SOLUTIONS SUMMIT/ Monday April 27, 2009
ROUNDHOUSE COMMUNITY ARTS AND RECREATION CENTRE
181 ROUNDHOUSE MEWS, VANCOUVER, BC
This event brings together BC’s key stakeholders, decision makers and change agents in sustainability education to create focused teams of champions from around the province. Teams will work together to design and contribute to collaborative action plans for sustainability education that will support BC’s public institutions in reaching the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets of 2010.

Earth Day

2009-04-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Kiss the Earth with your feet.
- Thich Nhat Hanh

Learning Garden - On the Road

2009-02-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

Read about The Learning Garden at UBCO - in local schools

(L-R Jason, Elisha, Veronica, Davinder)

Veronica Gaylie and middle school student teachers Davinder Bal, Jason Parkinson and Elisha Peller, presented "Stories From the Front Yard of Higher Learning: Eco-Centred Teacher Education" at WestCAST 2009 teacher education conference at the University of Victoria.

Thanks to the Faculty of Education, and to Dr. Nancy Evans, for the strong show of support!

Read more about UBCO presentations at Westcast here and here

Winter Solstice

2008-12-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

Arctic Portal

(Thanks TH)

Songs From The Learning Garden

2008-11-19T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thank you PS22 Choir and Mr. B for inspiring student teachers....to sing! (Or: try to!)

The song is Don't Dream It's Over by Neil Finn of Crowded House.

Thank you to Deb Carter at the UBC Okanagan Education Technology Centre for filming/editing and support!

Until Next Summer...

2008-11-14T15:25:00.000-08:00

Let me Walk with Beauty in front of me;
Beauty behind me;
Beauty above me;
and Beauty beneath my feet.
(Navajo prayer)

2008-10-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

If we will only make the right choice, we will be able to transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of peace.
If we will make the right choice, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our world into a beautiful symphony...

-- Dr. Martin Luther King Junior

Last day in the Learning Garden

2008-10-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

Fill Us With The Light.
Give Us The Strength To Understand And The Eyes To See.
Teach Us To Walk The Soft Earth As Relatives
To All That Live.
~Sioux Prayer~

Farewell, my sister, fare thee well.
The elements be kind to thee, and make
Thy spirits all of comfort: fare thee well.
~William Shakespeare

History of the "Three Sisters" Growing Practice

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
- Gandhi

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you,
I could walk forever in my garden.
~ Claudia Ghandi

A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.
~Irish Blessing

The Learning Garden 2nd Annual Harvest Sale

2008-09-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

....proceeds to the Kelowna Community Food Bank.

Link to Kelowna Capital News Article

Thanks Everyone

Learning Garden Harvesting Fall 08

Glenmore Elementary School Visits The Learning Garden

2008-09-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

Glenmore Elementary visits the UBC Okanagan Learning Garden to learn about School Gardens, Sustainability, Local Food, Rainfall in the Okanagan, The Three Sisters (ancient growing practice) and Local Native Plants (thanks to Gwen and Simone, Community Garden/Water Conservation Experts)

We're #1!

Where the Sidewalk Ends
(Poem by Shel Silverstein)

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Husky on the Highway

2008-09-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

Husky on the Highway

On the highway above Peachland
I saw a Husky in a pickup truck.

The pickup truck was a GMC,
it was green;
the road was crowded
with SUVs.

The suburbs flashed past.
The Husky stood tall on its paws
aiming its nose
into the wind
like the truck had nothing to do with it,

flying above the orchards,
the wide blue lake
below him.

Environmental Education 2008

2008-08-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

Beans, Corn, Squash

2008-08-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

Protecting New Herbs

Garden Grows

2008-08-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

What It's For

2008-08-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Cool, funny...and Smart!

Terroir

2008-08-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Terroir (/t̪εʁwaʁ/ in French) (Spanish: terruño, pago) was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that geography bestowed upon them. It can be very loosely translated as "a sense of place" which is embodied in certain qualities, and the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the manufacture of the product.

Cob Sign

ouch

2008-08-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

School Visit

Irrigation at Winery (12 noon, Temp = 40 Degrees Celsius)

Recycling

Back to the Garden

2008-08-05T23:33:00.000-07:00

3 Sisters Growing

New Path (and Bench)

2008-08-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Nice Work, Grad Class

Okanagan Lavender Farm

2008-08-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

Poetry and Chemistry Presentation at the Lavender Farm
(by Grad Student Donna Leigh G)

Andrea teaches us how to grow herbs

Environmental Ed Grad Students Extract Lavender

Path to the Four Posts of Learning

2008-07-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Salmon...returns

Rethinking School Lunch

Garden After Rain

Environmental Education 2008

2008-07-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Students Make New Path

Fearless Chipmunks

Return to Mike and Kevin's Firepit

Students Rebuild Path

Team Work

2008-07-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

What do you look for in a team member?

Individuality, deep sound and a willingness to do work.
(Wynton Marsalis)

Bumble Bees

Garden + Beauty

2008-07-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

UBCO Student Teacher Bridget W reflects on Garden

A minist'ring angel shall my sister be
- Hamlet, Act 5, scene 1

New

2008-06-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

Art & Ecology

2008-06-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Turtle, symbol of water.

Lia Brown (UBCO Middle School education, and artist) investigated the history of the Turtle Crossing at Commonage Road next to Rose's Pond, Vernon BC for her final research (GRIP) project in teacher education. For this, Lia contacted the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, and Ministry of Environment, and various others, for further information.

At the same time, Lia made screenprint turtle flags then placed them on the side of the road to raise driver awareness of turtle mortality.

Lia's artwork, created entirely from donated, found and low cost materials, has received an incredibly positive response from the Vernon community. In response to Lia's inquiries, fences and pipes and throughways were quickly repaired at the turtle crossing, so that the turtles can once again safely cross the road - and build their habitat on the South Slope of the pond.

Well done Lia. And, thank-you to BC Ministry of Environment and Transportation for their positive response and prompt action.

Thanks to Dr. Vicki Green, UBCO Faculty of Education, for her advice in this project.

The Painted Turtle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_Turtle

June Day

2008-06-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Wild World

2008-06-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

MEADOW

WILD

PLACE to learn

WEED pile

AROUND

WILD strawberries

FLOWER

PURPLE

NEW

CARE

CLEAR

Weedy Work Week

2008-06-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Garden Continues....

GRASS Land

....More Weed Pile

Students Build Weed Pile

LOVELY STRONG Xeriscape

WEED

Dillweed Heaven

Hope

2008-06-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

Teacher, Student, Artist and Friend of Garden
Lia Brown's Art-Ecology Project:
Turtle Crossing, Commonage Road, Rose's Pond, Vernon BC

Turtle = traditional symbol associated with water, wisdom, ingenuity, vision and strength.

Ode to Chickadee

2008-04-23T08:43:00.001-07:00

Ode to Chickadee

A chickadee is tougher than you think.
One landed on my hand,
I thought it would be light,
it had weight.

I thought it would be mysterious.
Instead it was a fact
with claws
and eyes.
More like a poker player
than a poem.

Oh chickadee,
Oh chickadee,
outside
silently.

Black, white and brown
flies branch to branch
all day long;
light and strong and able
to change direction
at 1/100 of a second.

Earth Day 2008

2008-04-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Audubon’s Warbler

It is a migratory bird, wintering from the southern parts of the breeding range into western Central America.

The breeding habitat is a variety of coniferous and mixed woodland.
Audubon's Warblers nest in a tree, laying 4-5 eggs in a cup nest.
These birds are insectivorous, but will readily take berries in winter, when they form small flocks.

The song is a simple trill. The call is a hard check.
(Wikipedia)

En'owkin

Our Mother Earth is a living embodiment of our spirituality and nourishes us in all ways: physical, spiritual, mental and emotional.
- En'owkin Centre Website, Penticton, British Columbia

Path to the Learning Garden April 2007

Already I am noticing what went unnoticed before. On my way out to the garden the first thing I noticed was the noise. As I walked from my class I weaved through groups of students and crossed a parking lot before reaching the garden path. I heard many different noises from the hustle and bustle of students to cars, busses and cell phones. As I made my way towards they garden, all of these noises faded and there was a brief moment of silence before a bird chirped and a cricket did his thing. It was a little bit eerie or odd, I guess. For a brief second there was silence and it was like I was crossing into a new dimension. Something was different. I also noticed that the air was fresher. As I think about my walk out to the garden I realize that I left a stuffy classroom walked through two smoke pits and crossed a bus loading zone before reaching the fresh air of the garden. As I sat down to start to write and think about the surroundings, I noticed that the Learning Garden is a totally different setting, there are no disturbing noises and you can take a fresh breath. It appears life has slowed down. I can hear crickets. I can feel a slight breeze and the rustling of the leaves has a very calming effect.

- Middle School Student Teacher Journal Excerpt, Fall 2007. (Re-printed with permission)

Take your dreams and your ideals and write your autobiography on the topography of this time in a way that involves you in these big issues.
- David Orr, “The End of Education.”
University of British Columbia, Global Citizenship Series Lecture.
Chan Shun Centre, January 12-13, 2006.

Path to the Learning Garden April 2008

Learning neither begins nor ends at the classroom door, and creativity
cannot be inspired or demanded in a social vacuum.
- From UBC Okanagan Academic Plan
http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/dvc/acadplan.html

As responsible members of society, the graduates of UBC will value diversity, work with and for their communities, and be agents for positive change.
- From UBC Okanagan Academic Plan

What is here? What will nature permit us to do here?
What will nature help us to do here?
- Wendell Berry on Ecological Design Intelligence

Learning Garden's Native Plants Survive Winter

Still the seasons' changes can stir the heart.
- Wei Ying Wu

Xeriscape Lives!

Pumpkin Returns to the Earth

Classroom is Ready

Small Ducks, Big Pond

Here they are. The soft eyes open
If they have lived in a wood
It is a wood
If they have lived on plains
It is grass rolling
Under their feet forever.

- James Dickey, From Benediction for the Animals

Growing older is a path
worn smooth by the
unending tread of travelers –
grandfathers and grandmothers
have gone before
mothers and fathers as well
to that doorway
where our nchichank
our that-which-separates
finds a new mhutomakan
a new road
and a new beginning.

Jack Forbes, From The Oldest Path*

*From Gatherings: The En’owkin Journal of First North American Peoples. Volume IX.

Students Build Snow People

2007-12-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

Learning "Guardians"

Box 1

Box 2

Box 3

Box 4

Box 5

Box 6

Box 7

Box 8

Garden in Winter

Legacy Tree 2007 - Lives!

Tree Falls in the Forest

Students Present Eco-Lessons/Field Notes

2007-11-29T16:16:00.000-08:00

Great Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Harvest - Gifts to Okanagan Schools

"The Doctor is IN"

Middle School 07 Stewards Harvest for Food Bank...Plant Drought Tolerant Species

2007-09-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

Susan, Carrie, Brodie, Louise

Tyler, Michelle, Lia, Emily

Jena, Brian, Dave, Sam

Kieran, Nicole, Bridget, Naomi

Darryl, Sascha, Kerstin, Dolores

Sheri, David, Kia, Amanda

Jon, Jason, Sarah, Fern

Chelan, Kate, Melissa, Daniel

Awesome Garden Learners

2007-08-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

August 2006

August 2007

Cob Shed - Research & Clay Development

2007-08-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

Local Organic Field Day

2007-08-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Cob Design & Field Work

2007-08-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome EE Garden Stewards August 07

2007-07-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

tiny friends of the garden

Midsummer Day

2007-07-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

Student Research Presentations

2007-06-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

"The Conversation"

Back to the Garden

2007-06-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Film Fest

2007-06-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

The Pink Wheelbarrow

Tree in Wind, with Stravinsky

Thank You.

2007-06-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Thank You 2

Official Garden Opening May 31 2007

2007-05-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

"The stars and moon that night"

Perfect Day.

Middle School Teachers...Finally Crack

Kelowna City Council...Friend of the Garden

Glenrosa Middle School Teacher Mr. Evan Orloff with Students from the ACES Program - Friends of the Garden

Work Weekend 2

2007-05-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you.

Farah Canuel...Creates Balance

At The Learning Garden, Naturally

2007-05-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

Weekend/Weekday Wonder Workers ....Thank-you.

In Pine Forest Beside the Learning Garden

2007-05-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Mule Deer Visits Student Teacher/Artist Rhonda Mueller

Progress & Process

2007-05-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Lovely Trees

Work Weekend

2007-05-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hill and Pond

Middle School Teachers: Old and New

Down to Earth

Kiss the Sky

Mike & Mike

Veronica & Nathan Shovelling

Jenn Gives Garden Tour to Grad Students

Grad Students Socializing

Good Day, Eh.

Around the Garden

2007-05-01T13:24:00.000-07:00