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Nature, music and poetry come together in Mapleood Flats online concert

The September 27 cross-cultural listening experience was filmed at Osprey Point and will be aired via Zoom from 1 to 2 p.m. It's free but people must pre-register
Varied thrush
Avid birder and photographer Rob Alexander snapped this photo of a varied thrush male munching on winter berries at Maplewood Flats Conservation Area, a popular destination for both birders and birds, one December.

A connection to nature gives us a sense of psychological wellbeing. Exposure to the arts takes us out of the here and now and creates a realm of the imagination.

On Sunday, nature and art will come together in an online listening experience.

Co-hosted by restaurateur Fred Soofi and Irwin Oostindie, president of the Wild Bird Trust of B.C., the free concert brings together music and nature poetry from the Middle East and Tsleil-Waututh Nation.

The concert was previously filmed at Osprey Point in the Maplewood Flats Conservation Area on the shores of the Burrard Inlet. It features poet and filmmaker Rachelle George, Santoor musician Saeid Kooshki, and photographers Roib Alexander and Paul Kusmin.

George is a filmmaker and writer. As a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, she has performed her whole life with Children of Takaya, a group founded by her great-grandfather Chief Dan George, whose poetry she will share.

Kooshki is a string and digital musician and composer and refugee living in Vancouver. He is from Esfahan, one of Iran's richest cultural regions and performs Arabic, Kurdish and Persian songs.

“Purveyors of music and poetry from a crosscultural perspective would appreciate this unique collaboration between art, culture and nature conservation,” says a press release from the Wild Bird Trust.

Because of COVID-19 safety protocols, the concert will be shared on Zoom on Sun., Sept. 27 from 1 to 2 p.m.

Participants must register here for free to access the Zoom link.

Martha Perkins is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.