Healing Gardens

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Project Log For Spring Quarter 2007

Week one

Sunday, April 8, 2007 10:00-12:302.5 hours

Meg, Anna, Alix and I went up to Sayuyay. It has been rewarding to see the place change from season to season, and watch as we slowly uncover the garden from its overgrowth. I spent sometime simply sitting with the garden and telling my intentions for the spring. Afterwards, I did some gentle weeding and pruning of the paths and the East Bed. There is a lot of horsetail everywhere, and I am stuck on what to do with it. We all decided next time we are up to ask the horsetail nicely to stay in its own place (once we determine where that place is).

Week Two

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:00-9:20pm 10:00-11:30pm 1.7 hours

During class I met first with Anna and I and we discussed plans for the garden and what we were thinking of doing next (which is the prairie areas) but, that we couldn’t get up there together for at least 2 weeks. I also met up with the open stream bank group and discussed when to met up as well as gave them a brief intro of what I have done at the site previously. When I got home I looked through the open stream bank binder. Some of it was really confusing and I didn’t understand some of the mapping. I think that some work needs to be done on it to bring it up so that those who have not seen it in a while know what is going on with it. The binder also needs to be in a bigger one to make the ease of use better. Over all it was helpful –it just needs to be spruced up. I did learn a lot by looking at it, and learned some of the plant names of the rushes and sedges along the stream.

Friday, April 20, 2007 7:00-10:00AM 3 hours

I went to the LHG to meet up with the OSB group. I got there a bit early to say hello again to all the plants and the site in general. I stated my intentions and goals and what I hoped to accomplish (among other things figuring out a truce with the horsetail). When they got to the garden I gave them both a tour of the site and some of the plants in residence. The time really boosted my confidence by showing me how much I had learned in the previous two quarters about plants and their habits. This was really reassuring since I have placed myself in a leadership role at the site. We didn’t do any weeding. I felt that since I was just introducing myself to my partners and they the site –that the first encounter would be one of observation.

Saturday, April 21, 2007 3:00-4:00PM 1 hour

I met with Marja and discussed our views on the direction for the OSB site. This was really great and gave me a lot of direction. The OSB has been so hard to know what to do with and talking was a great way to solidify my thoughts on the matter. We’ve decided to move from the eastside of the garden to the west and begin with trimming back the ferns and weeding –as well as pulling up the old cattail growth. Also it was decided to just start by clearing the horsetail from around the other plants, which are suffocated by it. After meeting I spent some time weeding out dandelions and brush.

Week Three

Monday, April 23, 2007 8:30-10:00AM 1.5 hours

I met with Atlanta and we both spent the whole time pruning and weeding back the sword fern growth and taking out the buttercup. We also cleared out some of the dead growth from last year. It was a very productive meeting and felt we got a lot done. I learned that sword ferns to a number on your fingers when you don’t have gloves and you are pulling them up! They don’t like being pulled up without a fight! 

Week Four

April 28, 2007 2 hours

Met Atlanta Weeded lots of horstail and buttercup around the wet areas. trimmed up sword ferns and worked on pulling up horsetail the sitting rock by the seasonal stream.

April 29, 2007

2.5 

Met up with Atlanta and found sticks to make a trail towards the thinking rock. I trimmed up some of the sword ferns by the midden. and took up weeds along the edge of the pavement. 

 

Week Five Sunday May 6, 2007 10:30 -3:00 4.5 hours

Anna and I went up to the garden. The majority of the time we simply did more weeding. I weeded out the east bed as well as the north bed. The Coltsfoot totally invaded the east bed and I was a bit intimidated, I didn't feel I even made a dent. I figured out the best way to get out dandelions from the gravel with the shovel was to wiggle around it and then dig deeper but keep wiggling. I definitely hope that the sister garden decided not to use any gravel in the paths, it makes for terribly long and arduous work.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007 9:00-12:00 3 hours

Anna and I went up again to battle the ever present weeds. We have both been feeling burned out over constantly having to kill things while we are up there. I hope that once we get the garden on its feet we can do more nurturing work. I know that weeding has been nurturing work, and has done a lot. I just am starting to feel bad with the amount that we are pulling up. When I pulled weeds today I would whisper, "sorry buddy, you have been so ambitious, thank you for covering and protecting the garden, it is now time for it to wake up and for you to come up!" We are both anxious for Saturday when the whole class comes up to the garden. It is going to be interesting having so many people there at once. Not directly related to the actual garden, but I feel was a great moment of learning was when we both went to the Skokomish river for lunch. We got to talking about heavy metals and toxins and how crazy it was that I couldn't even go down and drink the water, that by doing so I would probably be ingesting lots of toxins from the nearby farm run off. Anna said something along the lines of, "It's so crazy that we have a water shortage, they must of had so much water back then, this is so much water, they must of just come down by the basketful to get it whenever they wanted." All I could think was how insane modern culture is. how 90% of the water the culture uses goes to industry and agriculture, and only about 5% actually even go to nourishing humans. Why would you knowingly poison your water supply? I then thought of the native plants, and I thought of the peoples native to this area, I thought of the clearcut mountainsides just over my view, I thought of the cars that passed us by. All of it is insane. Why would anybody displace(commit genocide) an entire people? Why would you denude a mountainside of a healthy community that once lived beside it? Why would anybody eat plants that take so much energy to maintain, when there is an abundance right outside their door? Sometimes I just think modern culture hates life. It hates anything it can't control. Anything that is wild or uncultivated or non-ordered. Something about the buttercups invading the garden, and Europeans invading this country really clicked today, the two really spoke to me.

Week Six

Saturday, May 12, 2007

10:00-1:00 3 hours total

Instead of watching the movies, Alix and I both really felt an urge to go and be in the garden. We drove up and I was really called to new areas of the garden I had yet to spend much time in. I spent some time by the soapberry bed and began to uncover a trail that led to the compost bins. I have sworn of gloves, if I am going to kill plants I should at least give them the dignity of giving me the few scratches and scrapes while I take them from the ground. The grass that lined the trail was quite easy to pull up and I began going quite quickly, not so much paying attention to what I was doing -more off in my head. I think that the ground realized that, and about 20 minutes in a very nice blackberry plant was nestled in with the tall grass I was pulling and I took a very nice piece of skin between my index and middle finger out. It was also bleeding very flowingly. At first I was pretty mad at the blackberry plant. But, then I realized it was telling me to pay attention, and respect it, if I was going to kill it, I should at least pay attention. I apologized and let my finger bleed, mixing with the flesh of the plants, both going back into the compost bin to nourish the garden once again. It was a nice thought knowing my blood will be in the soil, in growing with the plants. It actually felt very intimate and primal. I didn't mind the pain so much -a passage to have the wonderful honor of having the substance that keeps me alive going into a place so special and sacred and allow that place to continue living.

I needed a break from the trail so I sat by the praire bed and the more I looked the more I saw the morning glory coming up out and spreading everywhere. There was one image that struck me very hard, and it was very powerful. A beautiful camas was blooming, so blue and beautiful. I was enamored by it. But, it was being strangled by a morning glory. The weed wrapped around it like a snake choking its victim to death. It made me immediately think of the reservations, and how the outside the culture is slowly squeezing them smaller and smaller, trying to crush them. It made me think of the Westward Expansion. Everything, it was all before me in this battle between the camas plant and the morning glory. I couldn't take it. I went over, and the rest of my time slowly unwrapping the morning glory from all the camas plants that they were strangling. It was hard, tedious work. I had to be very gentle and delicate or i would break off a flower or a stem. But, it was the most rewarding work I have yet done at the garden. It was mirroring what I would like to do with my life with the culture at large. How can I unwrap the death grip that the culture holds upon the natural world and all those that live in it? If I tug too hard, those communities and individuals will come down to. How and what is the right amount of pressure? Can the grip only be broken by also bringing the plant down to its roots, hoping it will grow back after the trauma? In the very seemingly simple work of weeding morning glory and I can't help but think of the very serious work of weeding out a destructive culture.

 

Monday May 28, 2007

9:00-11:30 and 1:00-5:30 7 hours total

(weeding sword ferns and horsetails around the LHG, then weeding up at sayuyay (more morning glory)

Thursday May 31, 2007 8:30-12:00 3.5 hours total

(weeding and taking pictures up at Sayuyay)

Friday June 1 2007 6:30-11:00PM 4.5

Worked on the final presentation, editing pictures and choosing which ones would go in and which ones wouldn't. I am really proud of all the work we have done since the beginning. I've learned and grown so much. I am definately a much different and complete person now than I was when I began. It was such a life changing experience. Just seeing the transition of the garden since we started, I can't help but see it in myself as well. That garden is a part of my life now, one that will never leave. I hope to work and be there for a long time to come. I'm so in love.

Total Hours 39.7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7am to Noon (5 hours total) Ciara, Anna, Alix

It was nice to go up to the garden again. The winter really opened up the space visually –even though without care it will be just as overgrown as it was when we came. I stood for a while to let the space open up to me and I listened and looked. I heard a raven off in the trees call and then swoop in front of me and over onto some taller trees to have a better view looking down on us. One of the things we needed to do when we were there was pull up red alder saplings that had been growing –something all of us were hesitant about because they were so beautiful and we knew it was going to be hard to do. We all got together in a circle and silently gave thanks to the red alders. It was hard to put the shovel in the ground and hear the snap of roots as I slowly suffocated the plant. I finally got one out and the Mic did a funny thing –he just came up and started chewing on the bark and playing. He was telling me its ok, they understand, don’t worry so much and enjoy the experience. After that it was easier to pull them up.

A cool thing I found about the Alders is their roots have these really cool orange nodules on them, which make it so they can fixate the soil. I looked in the Pojar and found out that they are called Actinomycetes, a type of filamentous bacteria that invades the root hairs. By doing this, the orange nodules are formed. Today was the day I really felt strongly for the alder and truly thankful. Knowing that the land will always be limited in nitrogen red alder allows the land to stay healthy. I think of them as the great grandmother of the forest who nurture the smaller plants as her children till she dies and allows the children to carry on into adult hood until they die and there children come into adulthood until there is the climax forest and the knowledge of how to live is kept alive in the land. I thank every red alder I see now for cleaning up after what this culture has done to the land, and how disrespectful the culture acts towards them. If I was a red alder and I was poisoned because I was viewed as a waste and weed tree I would stop putting nitrogen into the land and never clean up after the cultures mistakes. I would let them starve to death because they don’t understand how to live respectfully anywhere. So, the most important thing I have learned is the red alder’s true nature and relation to the land and such a deep respect for such a seemingly lowly tree. Saturday, January 27, 20071pm to 3pm

(2 hours total)

Ciara, Anna, Alix This was my first real experience sitting with the place that will be the sister garden. We all sat in the space while the celebration inside was going on. I closed my eyes and let the drums and singing sink into my bones. Even though I couldn’t ever know how meaningful the celebration was, or what it truly means, I allowed it to enter me and it was powerful. My chest swelled up inside me and the sounds of the outside became as clear as the deep bass vibrating in my chest -the crows on top of the Douglas fir, the sound of the alder branches, the sound of wind on grass and leaves in air. This for me was a great way to be “emitted” into the sister garden. It grounded me in intent and what the garden means. Just as the celebration was the revival of a blanket weave, the garden was a revival of connection and knowledge to the land. The sister garden is the beginning of a tap root, each person involved a smaller root coming off of a node, taking a piece of the garden along through there lives.

Tuesday, Jan 30, 200710am-12pm (2 hours total)I spent time today going through all our materials and their usefulness. Some of the resources I won’t be able to get a hold of till our whole group meets up. But I found the most useful material for me right now was the CLUC notes. It really allowed me to know the history of the project and I think for a book and for the website should be crafted into an intro to the whole sister garden. It told me why and how this project got started. For me the maps were not that useful to me because I have seen the places and know. But for an educational book the map will be useful to show the layout of the garden and everything. I spent a while looking through our Drupal page and it needs a lot of work. The plant information for the majority of the plants needs to be put in as well as more general information. This is something that Ciara and I are going to start filling in the plant info. Finally I looked at the materials list and that was helpful to know exactly what we need material wise and I would like to start to get some of the materials and try to get some of the materials donated for the project to make the financial impact as small as possible. The time spent allowed me to plan out what I need to do for the quarter and gave me clarity. (9 hours for the week) Saturday, February 10, 2007 3:30 -5:00, 6:00 - 8:30 (4 hours total)I helped the decorative bed group tear up grass along the long house by the site for the sister garden. I experimented with different ways of getting up sod and found a very easy way with the shovel and making almost fish scales and then by hand you can simply tear up the sod. I learned at the perma-culture workshop how to recycle the soil when taking up sod to keep it in the area. Anna and I talked with Dylan about the cedar he found and we relayed potential ideas of how to mill it. I proposed doing it by hand and we were all interested in that. Meg is going to talk to her woodshop professor. We all think it would be cool to use an actual cedar stump for the middle of the garden, it would really emphasize what we see as our goal and vision for the sister garden. Afterwards we went to dinner and Anna debriefed me on what she did at the garden with Ciara on Thursday. I couldn’t go because I was so sick. We also planned what we are going to do Sunday at the garden and talked more about what we think we need to do with the cedar log.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

1:00-5:30(4.5 hours total)Anna, Meg and I went to the gifts garden to do some work. I spent most of my time dealing with the alders that had volunteered in one to many places. I cut down my first tree in a very long time. A 3 or 4 year old red alder was living in the berry bed. It was really hard for me to do it and I gave the tree lots of thanks. I am going to make a walking stick with it and carve animals in the design, and then I am going to bring it to the beach and let it get that deep blood color through the interaction between the sea and sun. I also did some pruning in the nervous system bed and reclaimed the bench. I took the lavender home and I am drying it to make a tea. I really learned today that it’s ok to take things from nature, as long as I do it with purpose and with respect.(8.5 hours for the week) Sunday, February 18, 2007Time: 10-2(4 hours total)

Met with Anna, Alix, and Ciara to go to Sayuyayy. We cleared out the berry bed as well as found some more trails. We did some pruning and pulling up of horsetail that has made it’s home in many of the beds.

Wednesday, February 21, 20077:00-8:00

(1 hour total)

We all met up and discussed and threw around ideas for our final project and how we are going to do everything and what we would like to do. We are sort of daunted by the quarter and how much we have wanted to do, and how hard it is when time is always so short. We’ve been sort of frustrated getting communication with the guy so we can work on the signpost up at Sayuyay, as well as getting the cedar and everything. Hopefully next quarter it will all go better.

 

Thursday, March 8, 20078:30 –11:30(3 hours total)Worked on project presentation that will happen at the sister garden. Saturday, March 10, 20078-9:3010:00-11:30(3 hours total)Gathered cedar boughs for Sayuyay dedication and got the site ready for the presentation. Then I helped Mix Forest C with transplanting Nootka Rose into the Open Stream Bank habitat.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

12:30-2:30(2 hours total)

We all met at Ciara’s house and worked on planning out and working on our power point / web based presentation.

Monday, March 12, 2007

9:30-11:00PM(1.5 hours total)

I worked on the Sayuyay drupal site editing up and fixing up some of the sections. I started fixing up the titles and adding Latin names. Some of the past work doesn’t site any sources so I am going to have to go back sometime next quarter and find where they got their info. I realized how much drupal sucks at trying to format text.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

10:00-11:30PM(1.5 hours total)

I continued to work on the drupal site, adding signage text to the plant bed intro pages, and adding the indigenous names and Latin names to plants in the title menus. I learned a lot about which plants were which in terms of Latin names, and I saw similarities by their family names.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

8:00-9:30AM

(1.5 hours total)

I got the booklets in email and I worked on reformatting them. I learned about how much work past groups have done.

 

Sunday, March 18, 2007

12:00 - 5:00

(5 hours total)

 

Anna and I went up to the garden and met with Craig. We finally got the sign fixed up, we got a cedar log from a local clearcut and used it for back posts. After that Anna and I did some garden maintence, with weeding and pruning of the trees and garden beds. While working a hummingbird flew right between both of our heads, we also saw a bald eagle. It was a really great to just be up there and working,

 

40 HOURS TOTAL

 

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Week TwoMet Monday, October 9, 1.5 hours, worked on site description and becoming familarized with the space.I became comfortable with all the different parts of my site. Learned what horesetail and yarrow was.TOTAL HOURS=2Week Three Met Oct 11, 15 minutes, met with whole wetland group to discuss area.Learned of others area and a the general layot of the riparian hillside.2 hours journaling / research.sat with the little tree at my site. I learned that ants like to travel to the top of grand firs. when I got home researched to see if they had an ecological relationship and learned that the ants keep the tree healthy. Oct 13 5 hours. Volunteered at the dance festival being with kids. I learned the ways different cultures express themselves through dance, music, and martial arts.TOTAL HOURS= 7.25Week Four Went Thursday Oct 19, 2.5 hours and did plant identification, worked on site description, journaling and some weeding.I learned to identify some more plants -mostly the sword and braken fern, as well as red-osier dogwood. Learned how to best pull up dandelion roots without leaving the root half broken off. Learned more of the characteristics of horsetail, that it's roots have bulbs that look like almonds. Sunday October 22, 4 hours worked on the gifts garden with group weeding and clearing the trails and discussing hopes and plans for the garden. Learned what the culinary herbs looked like, also spent time becoming reacquainted with being with plants. Alix and I worked on clearing around some of the paths. We sat around and talked about our connections with nature and why we were in the program and wanted to work at the gifts garden.Monday October 23, 1 hour, worked on plant ID.I sat with the space for a while listening to the birds and wind. Tried to identify the plants that were in with the cattails. Just found out which ones were rushes and which ones were sedges, I couldn't get farther than that. Watched the birds. I pulled up some more horesetail and did some weeding.TOTAL HOURS=7.5Week FiveOctober 30, 3 hours, went to skokomish.Alix and I did a bunch of trail clearing. I am realizing that i have an affinity for clearing what isn't needed or wanted. I like uncovering things again. I never really knew this could be reflected towards my personality and how I like uncovering the truth to things and finding what should be out of what is. It was really cold, the frost inhibited us from spending as much time as I wanted to, I had no gloves so my hands were getting icy and dull. I am proud of the work we are doing and how much trail we have been uncovering. Learned about burdockOctober 31, 1 hour, plant ID and wildlife watchingTried to do some more identifying of the sedges but still had difficulty, made no progress. There were little brown birds in the bushes and I was watching them for a bit, I forgot my journal so I just sat and watched one chirp and hop from branch to branch. Watched the crows in the tree tops of the Douglas firs, realized they like to perch on the top of them. Identified the nootka rose and spent time with the grand fir.11/3 Week SixNovember 9, 2.5 hours plant IDWe've identified 21 plants which was a HUGE accomplishment.11/18, 4 hours, worked on the presentationI did research about wetlands of the Pacific Northwest and learned a lot about them in the Natural History of Puget Sound Country book.Week six11/25, 3 hours, I worked on my project and did the final touches to the intro and other parts. I spent time analysing what I learned and sythesised it in my conclusions in my presentation. Recited what I was going to say for my presentation.11/26 3.5 hours, I worked on my individual presentation selecting and editing photographs and finding music to fit with my photos. I learned how muh I grew during the summer and during my time here and just how coming out to Washington has been one of the best things I have ever done for my life.TOTAL QUARTER

12/29 2 hours.

I sat with the site in the winter to see who would come and show up. there were lots of crows, a little brown bird I couldn't identify and chickadees. I can't believe how barren everything looks in the winter. I learned that places undergo large changes through the seasons just like my body and mind and to accept those changes and not to fight all change. I also pulled up some dead horsetail gook and some remnants of dandelion.

1/3 2 hours.

I went back to the site to see if I could identify the little brown birds that always come. I brought a bird ID book. It was hard to try and identify the bird and find it at the same time. I finally figured out it was a winter wren. The winter wren's and Chickadee's are so humbling for me. They are just these little tiny balls of fluffly energy but the are always out in the the "worst" weather. I am all bundled in my jackets and mittens stil freezing, yet watching these tiny birds play in the air. I journaled a bit and trew some of the twigs as well, hopefully I will be able to identify them in winter quarter. It's surprising plants I thought I knew in the fall are foriegn to me in the winter, I am sort of embarrassed.

HOURS= 34.25