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Weekly ReflectionFALL REFLECTIONS Week 1 by, Anna Thirkield This first week has been an exciting and already fulfilling experience for me. So much about this class is exactly what I hoped for. It feels that my heart's intention has become a reality, however cheesy that may sound, it is true. I am honored and inspired by the opportunity to create a relationship with the Longhouse Garden, and am grateful for the space Im creating in my life for nature observation and reflection. So far, the nature journal project has opened my eyes even 5% more than they were previously, and this has made a difference for me in several ways. First, it has sparked my own desire to find out for myself things about the environment that i don't already know. It has somehow empowered me in a way that I did not allow myself feel previously. Whereas before, when i didn't know that name of a tree, i would wonder, but think of a future day when i may learn it in another situation. Now, I realize that whenever I wonder, I can do a little research to find out. This project has reminded me that my education is so much in my own hands. At the same time, there is a special feeling that comes from knowing that Marja is present at certain times to guide us and share her wisdom. The walk we shared as a class around the Longhouse garden was very special to me. It was amazing and satisfying how much I felt I could pick up from being present with the plants and creating a visual memory. I remember very clearly one special introduction to Comfrey. This is a plant that I have known in it's processed form for many years, yet had never before seen it in its full glory as a living being. It looked for full of life, majestic and self-fulfilled. I felt a smile in my heart, like seeing the warm face of a distant pen pal for the first time. We had corresponded, and shared our stories with each other, but had not yet met. I felt myself wanted to embrace the whole plant, nuzzle my nose against it, and say 'thank you', say 'I love you'. The readings have been equally lovely. Im an happy that they are so regionally based. Its an honor again, to share in the stories and wisdom of the first people of the northwest area, and also an honor to be let into the homes and land of the farmers of this area, who no doubt have grown much of the food that I eat. I was particularly fired up about a quote from the introduction of Fields that Dream referring to the disgusting use of pesticides in the U.S. The fact that 250 of the 800 chemicals approved by the FDA for use on food crops are known to be carcinogenic and that 12 of those 20 are the most widely used is insane and deeply cruel, or at the very least deeply ignorant. It is almost unbelievable to me that this is allowed to happen. While this is a topic that I am already familiar with, this particular phrasing of it hit me and re-ignited my passion. I have chosen to only eat organic food, and sometimes I think its easy to exist in a bubble, where i have tried to make life pleasing for myself and my loved ones. While I do attempt to remind myself of the injustices and environmental calamities that are facing the world, sometimes i forget just hoe appalling they are. Being reminded can set me on a course of positive activity and discussion. I shared this quote with my coworkers and they were as moved as I was. I work in the natural health world, and its amazing, how many people I talk to can think that organic food just means more expensive, or that it doesn't really matter. The truth is that pesticides have an enormous impact on our environment and our health. I am grateful to have been reenergized on this topic and hope to put my knowledge to good use for the sake of the planet and all being living on it. Reflection #2 What Types of Gardens Are There? Anna Thirkield There are as many types of gardens as there are minds to perceive them. To me a garden is one of the greatest metaphors for so many things in life. I studied education last year and found several educational philosophers who are also avid gardeners that loved to use the image of gardening as a metaphor for rearing children. Really anything in life that needs to be tended to in order to reach its full potential is a metaphorical garden, and those things are almost too numerous to mention. Actual gardens can also manifest in countless ways. There are obvious gardens and also more subtle variations. I found this weeks reading from Fields That Dream, "Good Girl/Earth Mama", interesting and disturbing in a few ways. I do see the transformation that the woman underwent in her life as striking and respectable. It is a prolific and archetypal story of a woman corralled by the modern US mainstream culture into the role of a housewife. While I personally find much creativity and joy in tending to housework (as though it were a garden) it can be equally stifling and unrewarding. I read a statistic a few months ago that while on average women currently work as many hours a week at steady jobs as men, they make less money and do 85% more housework. It is truly a form of chauvinism, but its not always a cut and dry issue. Anyhow, I may be getting off topic, but this is an area that I find interesting. To see another example of the desire to be in close relationship with the Earth pulling someone away from their life of disconnection into a life of working with the land is inspiring to me. Especially a woman who had no prior experience. But the perplexing and disturbing aspect of this chapter was the family's use of pesticides to control the weed population. I understand that the expensive nature of organic certification is not always a possibility for small family farms, but i still find the use of chemicals nearly unforgivable. this is an area where I have some radical beliefs. There's just no excuse in my book. While I am not an expert farmer, I do hope to learn more about the art in the future, and I hope that whatever situation I may be in, that I never compromise my values. I'd like to think that even if I had a hungry family that there would be another way. It is a big problem that this day in age it is chapter to dump pesticides on our food supply to control weeds than it is to hire people to work at pulling them. Our countries ideals and priorities are surely way out of balance. I know that this circumstance is a regular happening at both small family farms and huge industrial ones. To me it is one of the gravest problems that our world faces. Healing Gardens Reflection Week 4 Traditional Ecological Knowledge & Wisdom Anna Thirkield I'd like to begin this reflection with a reminder that the topic of Traditional of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom is sacred and sensitive and that while my cultural background includes some similarities to this way of understanding, I can really only respectfully speculate based on the limited exposure I've had to it's teachings. It is my sincerest intention to discuss this topic with a deep respect and hope that my ideas do not ever appear to stray from that foundation. While the true core of my heart and spirit are timelessly in alignment with the teachings of traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom, my mind, actions, and way of living on the earth have approached and entered discord on too regular a basis. It has been a welcome breath of fresh air, and a centering experience to focus time and energy in reading the Earths Blanket, which has introduced me to new ideas of TEKW and reminded me of those I may have forgotten. Traditional Ecological Knowledge & Wisdom is at once a dynamic and varied tapestry of understanding and a very simple singular idea. I see the central focus and root of this worldview as being the perception that all is one. There is no disconnection between people, plants, animals environment, atmosphere and universe. I see this idea as transcending and merging both a spiritual and a scientific perspective. It has as many practical applications as it does etheric. From an ecological perspective, this way of understanding would not allow for mass destruction of our planet to occur on the grand scale that it is today. Reflection Week 5 "What Purposes Do Gardens Serve?" Gardens serve so many purposes both tangible and etheric. Here is a list of all the purposes I can think of: To grow food, to grow medicine (for personal, community and sale), to grow materials for dyes and baskets, to attract or support animal life, butterflies, birds and insects, to regenerate or protect the soil, to cultivate endangered plants, to educate community (hands on, demonstration or visually), for beauty, for solidarity, for fun, for exercise, as work, as play, to save seed, as therapy for seniors, children, challenged adults and the incarcerated, as spiritual practice, to cultivate ceremonial plants, to use the plant material for paper or fabric or fuel. Many of these uses have several variants and most of them are synergistic. I've also noticed that most of these uses are for human benefit. So, other than the few I listed, what ways are gardens useful to communities and beings other than humans? Here are some ideas: to preserve green space and protect the earth from being cemented over,for plants to synthesize carbon dioxide and excrete oxygen into the air which keeps the atmosphere, and animals (including humans) happy and alive, gives bugs and insects a healthy habitat to live in and thrive, to make pollen for bees and butterflies, nectar for hummingbirds and other creatures, to give the plants a safe place to exist and just be, of which they have a great right to. I found the chapter "Back Yard Homestead" easy to identify with. Much of the thought process and worldview that (name of guy)____ shared was similar to my own. I appreciated the exploration of the world trade organization and its effects on the planet. It is dangerous to have such a powerful group of unelected decision makers influencing global economics, environment, trade and food with corporate interests at the forefront of their agenda. Small farmers like _____ , who comprehend the magnitude of catastrophe and destruction (economic, environmental and emotional) that policy makers like the WTO and other corporations can inflict of the planets communities, base their life on decoding the precise way to live within the system without mindlessly supporting the "machine of destruction". What I mean by that complicated sentence is this; I deeply appreciate and respect the way that ____'s story demonstrated a mindfullness and sensitivity to the delicate web of which we are all a part. In the US it is so easy to fall into the trap of consuming without pondering the origins of our consumption, and what it took to get that item to us. It is so easy to do anything without pondering its implications for the web of life. Everything we do, everything we say, every time we drive, or buy something, or write on a piece of paper, or use a pen, ot wear some clothes, and on and on...what we are using has had a long long journey from it original source. What we need to ask ourselves is- did the journey cause harm along the way, if so, how does that change our decision in supporting the production of the product. Is simply not consuming it going to help? Do we need to do more? I loved the issues brought up in the chapter. It is so interesting to think about landscape and habitat before we began making changes and thinking that we could do better. We have been lead to believe that the agricultural revolution was one of humankind's greatest achievements, but was it really? What was so bad about life before cultivation? Was it that we were at the whim of mother nature? We had to go where there was food, seasonally travel, unable to build permanent luxurious housing...but by escaping that reality and settling in the a permanent place for the purpose of farming, what did we lose? Was that the beginning of making mother earth a slave to our whims? Or was it the beginning of a sensitive relationship of reciprocity? In my mind it may have been both. The readings are giving me some very precious food for thought. The Earth's Blanket has helped me gain a clearer picture of what life may have been like before the onset of a culture of control and domination over the earth. It never occured to me that entire landscapes have changed in the past 100 years, so simply and thoughtlessly. It always confounds me that any person could think that they were clever enough to outsmart mother nature. I deeply respect and feel grateful to be reading stories of a culture that was not so audacious. Their humbleness is their greatest honor. Their thankfulness gives them more to be thankful for. WEEK 6 REFLECTION The two chapters in this weeks reading brought up alot of powerful issues for me. I was particularly struck by the "Snow Geese" chapter about the family at Rent's Due Ranch. I found the family dynamics really interesting, and the perspective of a woman who was a member of the womens liberations movement of the 60's and 70's finding her place and voice within a very traditional family farm. I was also struck by her desire to "change the world" as a youngster, and the intersting irony that that desire manifested in an unlikely way; being a wife and a mother on a family farm. I love the quote by Jenny Kurzweil that " I don't know if 20 years ago Joanie or Micheal could have ever forseen how trying to maintain the tradition of family farming would have become such a radical political action in the face of industrialized agriculture"(113). This idea is really poignant to me, as my life is following a somehwat similar model. The other topic that this chapter delves into; the use of GMO seeds, strikes me on a deep level. Whenever this topic comes up in my life, I am in awe that myself an others are not doing more to stop this madness from continuing. I often wonder how we can all go about our daily lives, knowing that this issue may be responsible for impending worldwide devestation of ancient varieties of plant life, what is it that keep us struggling to maintain status-quo when the future of everything beautiful on the this planet is at risk? WEEK 7 REFLECTION I really love the opening idea of chapter 6 in The Earth's Blanket. It begins by sharing the settlers perspective of the beauty of Vancouver Island on the site that is now the city Victoria, and how they unkowingly were seeing the product of 5,000 years of maitenance,hard work, wisdom and love by the coastal Salish poeple. I find it so interesting that the anglo perspective of First Peoples is that they passivley lived off the land. My own perspective changed and deepened so much when i understood the reciprocal relationship between the people and the land. I loved the discussion of the wise use of fire and the family plots of berries, and saltwater plots. My world really opened up in reading this chapter, and I don't think I'll ever veiw nature or TEKW the same again. I feel like this book has shared more truth and wisdom than most anything else I've read in a long time and I am very grateful. _________________________________________________________ WINTER REFLECTIONS _________________________________________________________ Reflection #1 (Week 2 ) Address the Following Questions: 1. Compare the descriptions of ecosystems or zones within each text (Keeping it Living and The Natural History of the Puget Sound Country) A.)Keeping It Living describes four general "biogeoclimatic zones" defined by begetaion, topography and climate. 1. "Coastal Douglas Fir Zone"- characterized by forest dominated by Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and associated with tree species (grand fir, pacific madrone, broad leafed maple, wester red cedar) In drier areas there are Garry oak, with uneven distribution of praries with important plants like Camas. 2. "Coastal Western Hemlock Zone"- Found at low to mid elevations along the coastline, with a moister climate, mild temperatures. AT its "climax stage" is dominated by the dense forests of the western hemlock, pacific silver fir, western red cedar ans (close to the shoreline) Sitka Spruce. 3. "Mountain Hemlock Zone"- found at mid to high elevations all along the coast, with colder winters and precipitation falling as snowfall instead of as rain. This zone is dominated by cold-tolerant trees such as mountain hemlock, yellow cedar and sub-alpine fir. 4. "Alpine Tundra biogeoclimatic zone"- exists above the tree line in the mountains with long winters that are too cold to support much tree cover. Low, perennial plants do well here. The Natural History of the Puget Sound Country describes these zones a bit differently.The author discusses a few ways that epople have characterized the pacific Northwest into zones int he past, and shares the highlights and downfalls of each. This quote summarized nicely the authors opinion of these zoning techniques; "A scheme that includes only three or four zones of necessity overlooks marked variations in plant and animal life within a given zone." He also discusses how ecologists can identify 3 major forest types within the "western Hemlock Zone": Western Hemlock/Sword Fern, Western Hemlock/Cascade Oregon Grape, and Douglas Fir/Salal. (These sub catagories are defined by their dominant tree and herb/shrub components.) 2. Discuss your understanding of relationships between natural systems and cultural systems in the Northwest. My understanding of the relationships between natural systems and cultural systems can be described as full of respect and wonder but still developing in scope and detail. I am grateful that the readings from last quarter illuminated a glimpse of understanding of a way of life where humans needs for cultivation of rescources could be woven harmoniously with the health and wealth of the ecosystem. While I always thought is was possible, it seemed dreamy and imaginary, intangible and hard to grasp in reality, as though it existed in a magical time and place quite different from the 3-D reality we are currently living in. I see now the rality and detail of it. The hard work, the grit under the nails, and the tapestry of plants that weave together a full picture of life and all the areas of functioning materials we need to survive and be confortable, "The Forest was Our Walmart" I appreciated the explanation of how lands were divided into territories and passed down through families. I also think its important that for a cheif, as an overseer of land management, to be supported and to hold his place legitimately with the tribe, had to redistribute wealth and resources. Meisers and greediness were not tolerated. 3. List the plants in both texts that you can identify: Sword fern (polystichum munitum),Lady Fern (athyrium felix-femina),Fireweed (Epipilobium angustifolium),Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum),Nettle (Urtica Diotica),Mullein (Verbascum Thaspus),Cattail (Typha Latifolia),Colt's Foot (petasites frigida),Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa),Camas (Camassia quamash),Plantain (Plantago lanceolata),Dandelion (Taraxacum officnale),Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum),Salal (Gaultheria shallon),Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium),Cascade Oregon Grape (Berberis nervosa),Rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum),English holly (Ilex aquifolium),Snowberry (Symphoricarpus albus),Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla),Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii),Western Red Cedar (Thuja) 4. List three ideas you've gained through the reading and Saturday activities that you could apply to work on a habitat area in the Longhouse Garden. 1. The idea that has struck me the most was the way that ecosystem habitats blend into eachother and create new combinations. I looked at the sayuyay sister garden site in a new way, paying attention to the forest that borders the open area, and the open streambank with lovely cattails, and thinking of how to transition gracefully from one area o the other. 2. The lovely discussion of the concepts involved in a healthy old growth forest will continue to inspire me, in a spiritual and practical/physical way. "The old-growth forest eloquently dramatizes the ecological adage 'Everything is connected to everything else'" (Kruckeberg:131) _______________________________________________________________________________ Anna Thirkield Address the Following Questions: 1. Discuss your understanding of relationships between natural systems and cultural systems in the Northwest, but add into the mix your new understanding of the roles you might play as an agent of healing, that is your 'identity' in relationship to your understanding. My understanding of the relationship between cultural and natural systems has not changed much in the last week, but I have been surely exploring possibilities related to my role within that framework. I truly enjoyed the reading from The Herbalists Way. It offered so much insight from a voice that was familiar and inviting. I could really appreciate the wisdom Nancy shared in discussing the experience of beginning your own practice. I graduated from a Nutritional Counseling Program almost 2 years ago, and although I was trained to begin my own practice, I was very daunted by the idea. I still have some self-judgement to work out, feeling like I'm not smart enough or credible enough to be able to give people sound advice, or the even larger issue of not living what I know. Until I let go of my own unhealthy eating patterns, I can't be of much use to others. Nancy's kind voice helped me to not be so hard on myself, and I saw my struggle in a new light. Seeing this as something that a lot of healers go through was liberating for me. The simple truth is, that once I am face to face with a person seeking understanding of food and plant medicine, most of my self-doubt dissolves, and I find myself creating a heart connection with the person, and the wisdom just flows through me...not from me. I remember it is my job simply to be present, the share my own experiences, to invite people to create their own friendships with food and plants, and let that be the healing experience. 2. List the new plants discussed in the text that you can identify. 3. List two or three new ideas you've gained through this week's readings that you could apply to your Longhouse Garden project work. "Our hope lies in having a living relationship with the plants we use for medicine" -Ryan Drum Anna Thirkield There are so many connections between the work we are doing in this class and my life and experiences. Working with the sayuyay Garden is a dream come true for me; to create a living relationship with plant medicine- the relationship itself is healing. For me, my love of plant medicine began on the printed page- I used to pour myself over natural remedy books ( I still do), I would feel enlivened and so excited by plant medicines and preparations. Then studying and recommending herbs became my job; in a retail environment. Even in that purchase- driven world, I was crafting a relationship with the plant world. I would strive to use my intuition as often as possible when relating to the plants, as well as studying the hard facts. My favorite part of my job now is encouraging people to make friends with the plants, taste them smell them, invite them into their life. This is also a favorite pass time for me at home, and the lines between food and medicine have blurred and merged into one. It has been a joy to weave this love into my work at Evergreen, and to get my hands into the soil again. A day of waking to work in the garden, gathering plant medicine and returning home to prepare it is a dream day for me, and my work in this class has helped me to craft that perfect day for myself in reality. Everything from the readings and activities has woven seamlessly together...I can see the forest as a garden, and have made friends there, when I am with the plants, I enjoy reflecting on the relationships they've shared with First Peoples, and the food, medicine, shelter and spiritual lessons they provide. The philosophy of "Keeping It Living" will stay with me for the rest of my life, as I craft my own way of keeping things living around me. Plant Studies have given me the space to create a a deep and meaningful relationship with a plant, to look at it from every angle possible, and had helped me to ask myself more questions when looking at new plants. Michael Moore is now a dear teacher of mine, my journal is my companion and I am on the road to creating a life full of dream days . For this I am excited and grateful. Anna Thirkield 1.How is winter manifesting in you and in the world around you? I have gone through a range of emotions and energy levels during this season of winter. Early on, the cold usually stops me in my tracks, I feel more uncomfortable in my clothes, and need the softest, purest fabrics next to my skin. I felt the call to re-wardrobing myself to have clothes that fit me comfortably. I am surrounding myself in my home with the warmth of bright colors and am creating loving friendships with my wool and down blankets. I have watched the trees outside my window drop their lushness, and slowly reveal their skin and bones to the world. The moss clinging to their trunks is now my source of green, and the faithful evergreens feed us their deep tones. Throughout this process, the depth of my emotion has surprised me, and been an source of frustration and regeneration. At times, I feel incredibly stuck, suffering over my suffering, depressed over my depression. I am disappointed in myself for having such low energy, for not creating more with the down time I’ve recently been given. I have found that when I feel this way, the best way to free myself from the depths is to accept and trust in the changes coming my way. When I remind myself that I am safe within my own life, within my own experience, and give myself the room the be still, without action, and trust that I will spring forth when the time is right. 2. What is your relationship with your journal? Is it deep and fulfilling? If not, what could you do to engage with it and learn from it more? My relationship with my journal can alternate between being deep and fulfilling and chore-ful. I have found that the winter season I am more interested in writing than drawing. I have been feeling a chill over my creative spirit, except for poetry. I have several times made trips to the woods on sunny beautiful days to spend time with my journal, but often leave without a great entry. To engage with it and learn from it more, I think I would be better off, at least for now, bringing home specimens to draw later, rather than sitting in the cold. I would also like to include more photography, and write and draw from that captured moment. 3.What is medicine? What is a garden?
Anna Thirkield
categories [ Reflections ]
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