Webwork for values-based land healing - Ziisbaakdoke-Giizis (Sugar Moon) - 07 March 2023

In Anishinaabemowin, March's full moon is Ziisbaakdoke-Giizis (Sugar Moon) or Onaabdin-giizis (Snowcrust Moon).

”The third moon of Creation is Sugar Moon. As the maple sap begins to run, we learn of one of the main medicines given to the Anishinaabe which balances our blood, and heals us. During this time, we are encouraged to balance our lives as we would our blood sugar levels, by using Divine Law.” The Circle of Turtle Lodge

Snow Crust Moon is a time of reawakening and rebirth. We recognize it as the time of new beginnings. During this moon, we sound out our voices and begin the process of planting the seeds of creation. The snow still covers the earth, but underneath it, we know the world is awakening from its slumber. Ontario Native Women’s Association 

Moon names in Indigenous languages reflect a deep connection to place and the interconnectedness of all things. Depending on place, other names for today’s full moon are Worm Moon, Goose Moon, Eagle Moon, Hackberry Moon, Moon When Frog Talks, The Day is Cut in Two moon and many others.

News, events, announcements

Why youth need Little Forests in their lives. “I love trees. I'm in awe of their ability to communicate and support one another. And I really think our schools are capable of not only fostering that love in students but also using the techniques of the forest and using trees as a way to make students feel a little bit more at ease and engaged while they're at school. Which is wonderful.” Watch the full video.

Senior’s Centre Little Forest: This is the current design for the Senior’s Centre forests. Each square=4m2. Because of the food forest, the City is asking for a soil test to check for contaminants, which led to the discovery of this guide for soil testing in urban gardens. The guide has an excellent section on researching the history of a site, we’ll be looking into what these steps would be here in Kingston.

Kingston Frontenac Housing Corporation (KFHC) Little Forests: We’ve entered into a partnership with KFHC, with the opportunity for planting Little Forests at seven sites on KFHC properties in Portsmouth and Rideau Heights. We’re starting this year with 111 Van Order Drive. Josh and Nathan are developing a community engagement process which they’ll pilot with the folks who live at 111 Van Order Drive and then with community members in the surrounding area. Little Forests Kingston will be holding at least two public information sessions to engage residents in the planning process and are hoping to “break ground” in May on a large courtyard site that includes a large drainage berm. Planting lowland tree species in the berm area—something we are often not able to do at Little Forest sites—will enable us to mitigate existing drainage issues. If you have any questions or wish to become involved as a core member of this project, contact Josh ([email protected]) or Nathan ([email protected]).

“A world that has made itself good for a child is a good world.” The K-12 node is working to address the concerns Limestone District School Board has regarding planting a Little Forest at one of their schools. At the same time, more teachers are reaching out for guidance in bringing a Little Forest to their school. Clearly the idea has resonance! To that end, we are concentrating our focus on a potential pilot at the Katarokwi Learning Centre (KLC), working with teachers there to explore this possibility. At our last meeting, we invited Patricia Stirbys and Peter Croal, founders of the National Healing Forests initiative to speak to us about their work. Perhaps a Little Forest at KLC could be a Reconciliation project involving KLC, Calvin Park and LCVI? Next month we’ll be walking the site to discuss the transformation of that school ground. If you’d like to get involved, email [email protected]. Read Joanne’s full post.

From Shovel Ready to Shovel Worthy: On February 21, Report 23-079 St. Lawrence Business Park Expansion was brought forward to City Council. The business park expansion would be immediately adjacent to the HWY 15 Food Sovereignty Garden, home to a 300m2 Little Forest planted in 2021. An additional 300m2 Little Forest will be planted fall 2023.

Watch the delegations beginning with Maureen’s around 18:10, then fast forward to the subsequent discussion by Council from 1:21:13 to 1:35:26. Read the Kingston Whig Standard article. As a result of the delegations, City Council modified the motion!

• Original motion: That Council direct staff to initiate a community and indigenous engagement process, and report back to Council in Q2 2023, with a recommendation on how best to bring the St. Lawrence Business Park Expansion Lands into the City’s inventory of shovel-ready employment lands.

• Updated motion: That Council direct staff to initiate a community and indigenous engagement process, including consultation with the Indigenous community and organizers of the Indigenous Food Sovereignty and report back to Council with a recommendation on how best to bring the St. Lawrence Business Park Expansion Lands into the City’s inventory with a “shovel worthy” approach.

Over the next few months, we will support All My Relations Land Trust and the Indigenous Food Sovereign Garden during the community consultation process and in researching and defining what a Shovel Worthy development might look like.

Ask your Councillor for a Green Strategy. Lisa Osanic says that now is the time to reach out to your Councillor with your thoughts on the City’s strategic priorities for the next four years. We drafted an email you can use in whole or in part to influence Kingston’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. Elements of a holistic Green Strategy might include:

• Green assets: treat natural areas, assets and other green spaces as important natural infrastructure

• Green network: transition green assets into a connected network of natural, enhanced and engineered green infrastructure assets

• Green infrastructure: prioritize natural infrastructure—infrastructure that is, or uses, nature and natural processes—to deliver services

You may also want to connect the idea of a Green Strategy with the concept of Shovel Worthy.

• Email your Councillor

• Get creative in your email with a story opener 

• Ask your Councillor for a meeting

If you’re interested in helping advocate for the trees, email [email protected].

Webwork for values-based land healing

“What is the desired balance for healing the land in this place?”

This is the question Dr. Jennifer Grenz, “land healer, invasive species battler, food systems revitalizer & proud Interior Salish,” explores in her wonderful PhD thesis Healing the Land by Reclaiming an Indigenous Ecology. To explore the question, she developed a relational engagement process she calls webwork.

“Webwork is a verb (or what I like to call, an Indigenized noun) which describes relations being guided by the process of creating relational webs and weaving them together for the purpose of bringing healing. Each webwork process guides those coming together in circle who are linked by their shared values and intentions to create a path forward toward a desired balance.

Imagine yourself putting on glasses. Your first look through the lenses shows you the world as a web of connections that span both space and time. You no longer see things or people or animals as individuals. You can tangibly see how each of these things and beings are connected to each other and the environment. You look down at yourself. You see your own connections. Your feet to the Earth. Your breath to the trees. Your heart to your grandparents and great grandparents. You become overwhelmed by the intricacy and abundance of these connections. You are surprised by the relationships you have that you never knew you did. What else do you see? Perhaps you can see for the first time that you are not outside the natural environment but very much a part of it. You are alongside and in relation with the beings and the things upon our Earth Mother. This is the relational, Indigenous worldview…

To show our respect for our relations, I have Healers in the circle acknowledge all the relations they can think of by naming them. Instead of objectifying them as nouns, they must be named as “Indigenized nouns”. Similar to the examples provided by Robin Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass, our relations will be “bearing” instead of “bears”, “salmoning” instead of salmon, “rivering” instead of river, as examples…

Now we begin the circles within the circle. We choose a relation. The humans, the soil, the salmon... and we create a web for them. This time the web is formed based on acknowledging their relationships with the place to be healed. A web of their relations. Let us use salmon in a riparian area and stream as an example. We may speak of their relations such as the invertebrates in the stream that they eat, the oxygen in the water that they need, the nutrients in the water from the vegetation along the stream bank, the shade the trees provide.... This is meant to be both broad and specific. It is almost always surprising to those participating. It is meant to bring to the forefront the density of our mutual dependence and our inter-relatedness. I will repeat this for a number of our relations.” 

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