Young students on Galiano Island can learn about sustainable agriculture and climate-adapted food production through the Native Plant Inspirations, an education program presented by the Galiano Conservancy Association in collaboration with Penelakut Island elders.
The conservancy manages two demonstration gardens — the Community Food Forest and Nuts’a’maat Forage Forest. It delivers educational programs and social enterprises from its Millard Learning Centre, which is located in the latter.
The Community Food Forest is a multi-layered diverse garden in which every plant serves several interconnected purposes. Plants here have several purposes — some of which include food production, nitrogen fixing, creating mulch for soil building and feeding pollinators.
This forest needs less maintenance, water and fertilizer in order to sustainably produce food and other products. The forest is also home to a plant nursery, featuring more than 60 varieties of native and other plants.
“This garden was formed through a deep relationship with First Peoples,” said Emily Francis, education co-ordinator for the conservancy.
“It incorporates locally adapted species — plants that served as traditional food for local First Nations — but not familiar to most people today.”
The Native Plant Inspirations educational program is based from the Nuts'a'maat Forage Forest. In the Hul’qumi’num language, nuts’a’maat means working together with one heart, one mind.
The eco-cultural restoration project looks to repair the relationship we have with the environment — and with each another.
The development and delivery of the program is with the help of Coast Salish members Karen Charlie, Augie Sylvester and Richard Charlie.
Students are taught how the land has been traditionally and sustainably managed by the First Peoples and learn plant identification, harvest and preparation. Participants will learn how to respectfully and ethically harvest and use native plants to create traditional foods and medicines, such as teas, sweeteners and salves.
“First Nations elders have held and passed down this knowledge through millennia — we as a community have to come together to re-learn this together,” said Adam Huggins, restoration co-ordinator.
The program was initially piloted for Grades 6 to 8 in 2019. Through funding by the Victoria Foundation, the conservancy is now able to extend it from kindergarten to Grade 12.
The project takes place within the unceded, asserted and shared territory of the Penelakut, Lamalcha, Hwlitsum and other Hul’qumi’num speaking peoples, as well as the ceded territory of the Tsawwassen First Nation.
It is a collaboration between the Galiano Conservancy, Access to Media Education Society, members of the Penelakut First Nation and the Galiano community.
For more information, go to galianoconservancy.ca.
