Three more Graceful Aging Through Connecting with Nature events are now in the history books as the project bids farewell to May. The last five events have experienced spectacular dry sunny weather which helps draw the crowds.
Last night the Heart Lake Turtle Troopers hosted their first GATCWN event of the season along with the Four Colours Drum Circle at the Gitigaan Mashkiki (Medicine Wheel Garden) in Heart Lake Conservation Area. About 50 people attended the event including 21 seniors.
Medicine Wheel Gardens are culturally significant spaces for Indigenous People. They contain complex symbolism representing humans’ relationship with the nature . The wheel represents motion, the passing of time as the sun travels from east to west. The four directions of the wheel’s spokes have multiple representations, including the four cardinal directions, the four seasons, and the four colours of the major human races, (yellow, black, red, white), They can also represent life stages, (birth, youth, elder, death), life aspects, (spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual), aspects of nature, (sun, air, water, earth), animals, (eagle, bear, wolf, raven) and plants, (tobacco, sweet grass, sage, and cedar). Father SKY above, Mother EARTH below and the SPIRIT TREE at the centre, symbolize the dimensions of health, and the natural cycles of life. Interconnectedness of everything and the oneness of humans with nature is a fundamental element of indigenous culture and teaching.
This past Sunday, People Against Littering hosted a clean up in Creditview Park. Twenty-six people participated in the event including 12 seniors. People Against Littering will host several park clean up events during the next few months. While GATCWN events are looking for seniors participation, PAL also encourages people of all ages to attend. They make it fun and social in addition to making Brampton a cleaner city. Their vision is a litter free Brampton. If everyone does their part to pick up even one piece of litter a day, their dream can become reality. Are you willing to do your part?
On Saturday May 27, the Friends & Stewards of Dorchester Park hosted a spring flower discovery walk including an intro to nature photography with special guest, naturalist and expert photographer Bob Noble. Bob’s incredible pictures of plants, animals and insects have often been featured in the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s annual calendar. Here’s Bob pointing out a dung bee emerging from its winter nest.
The modest group of 5, including 3 seniors had a great time learning about nearby nature, pollinator gardens, what you can do to help protect wild spaces and how to bring nature home to your yard by planting natives plants! Along with the new found knowledge, participants went home with prizes to help them connect and protect nearby nature! Take advantage the next time Bob offers his services. You are guaranteed to learn a lot about photography in general and nature photography in particular.
Remember to sign up for the other GATCWN events coming up this month. Thursday June 8th, Friends of Dorchester is hosting what is sure to be another popular Plein Air Painting session in their park, from 10:00am – 12:00pm. And Wednesday June 14th, Sierra Club is hosting its first Gentle Stretching in Nature event in Conservation Drive Park from 10:00am – 11:00am. Hope to see you out at one or more of these amazing events.