It was a misty moisty morning in March. The Tupper Greenway's dark brown velvet soil was dotted with potted greens waiting to be planted. Everyone had a task and people were busy registering, digging, setting up tents, arts and crafts, preparing food, making name tags and welcoming the community. A shiver ran down my spine as I watched neighbours, master gardeners, teachers and students creating a new garden on a road haunted by tragedy. In 2003 Jomar Lanot, a young student was killed near Tupper High School. He ran up this part of 23rd Avenue calling for help and no-one heard him. The students decided to create a memorial healing garden and with their initiative and the help of parents and teachers they are responsible for this planting day. (Another related project was the creation of the Jomar Lemot memorial pole.)I was there to show the work I've been doing with Tupper painting and drawing students, and I distributed seed balls and read flower cards. I also had some pollinator stamps children can use to create message tags for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. I was doing what I love to do: meeting people who want to talk about art, bees, healing, and gardening. (I also won a $10 gift certificate for the Flower Factory! Yay!)
The show of local talent was charming and heart-warming. The little Filipina girls shaking their grass skirts to Hawaiian tunes stole the show. Strawberries, sedum, lavender will grow and bloom and feed the pollinators here. The cooking students will use the edible plants in their classes, and the art students can sketch the plants in situ. Botany, history, ecology can all be taught here in the outside classroom. The earth is our teacher and the lesson is life.
No comments:
Post a Comment