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BERT CHURCH HIGH SCHOOL TO CREATE RECONCILIATION GARDEN
In the fall, Bert Church High School is set to break ground on a reconciliation
garden that will eventually grace the front of the school.
Cassie Hearn Jun 17, 2022 7:00 AM
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Mayor Peter Brown visited Bert Church High School's Indigenous Studies class on
June 15 to hear a presentation about the school's future reconciliation garden.
Cassie Hearn/Airdrie City View
Listen to this article
00:04:34
The Indigenous Studies class at Bert Church High School has created a four-year
plan for an Indigenous reconciliation garden that will be featured near the
front of the school.
The plan was unveiled on June 15 during a presentation by the east Airdrie
school’s Indigenous Studies teacher Jennifer Williams. The presentation was
attended by Mayor Peter Brown, City of Airdrie staff, Indigenous Studies
students, and Bert Church High School staff.
Feeling grief over the discovery of the thousands of graves of Indigenous
children in residential schools, Bert Church High School teacher Amy Stachniak
came up with the idea to create a reconciliation garden to show remorse and
recognise Indigenous peoples. Stachniak shared her idea with Williams, and the
two were able to sow their seeds of creativity and start work on the project.
“We want to show our commitment to reconciliation by building and taking care of
the garden, we want to inform the community about the cultures and the need for
reconciliation and a place for people to find peace and reflect,” Williams
said.
The Indigenous Studies teacher then enlisted the help of her grade 10 to 12
students. The class brainstormed design ideas and conducted research to choose
the appropriate plants for the garden.
Williams contacted an Indigenous knowledge keeper to assist the class in
creating the garden in a way that was respectful to the Indigenous community.
“It was pointed out to us by Indigenous knowledge keepers [that] tulips and
daffodils are colonizer plants,” Williams said, after explaining how the garden
was originally supposed to feature flowers that bloom in the spring.
The students instead chose to include four sacred Indigenous plants – cedar,
tobacco, sweetgrass, and sage.
Recognizing that sweetgrass does not grow well in the Airdrie area, Williams
committed to “reconcili-action,” by planting the garden each year.
“We [can’t] just make a garden [and leave it]. Every year we have to do
something,” Williams added.
The reconciliation garden will be shaped like a turtle, with a medicine wheel
featuring the sacred plants in the centre. The sacred circle in the centre,
which will be home to the medicine wheel, will also have orange painted rocks
with inspirational messages that were crafted by the leadership students at Bert
Church High School.
The turtle shape pays homage to Turtle Island, which is the moniker given to
Earth or North America by many Indigenous communities.
One of the turtle fins will feature edible plants, while the other will have
medical plants. The bottom of the garden will host blue flowers to symbolize
water for the turtle.
Two benches will be available for guests to sit on and reflect as they look at
the garden, according to Williams. The benches have been gifted to the school by
FortisAlberta and will feature Indigenous phrases.
Constructing and maintaining the garden will be a school-wide effort, Williams
said. Biology students at the high school will learn about the different
characteristics of the plants; foods classes will learn how to cook with the
edible plants; construction students have volunteered to make signs for the
garden; and art students have agreed to paint the signs, labelling the plants in
the Métis, Siksika, Tsuut’ina, and Stoney Nakoda First Nations languages.
The completion of the garden will span four years, which allows next year's
incoming students to be involved with the project throughout their time at the
grade 9-12 school.
Originally, Williams wanted the garden to be completed by September 30, 2021, to
mark the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation – a new federal holiday
in Canada. However, Williams could not find an Indigenous knowledge keeper until
March of this year and having that voice and guidance was essential for Williams
and the Indigenous Studies class.
Bert Church High School is hoping to break ground on the garden in the fall, but
an official timeline for the project is not yet available, according to
Williams.
Funding for the garden is coming from community donations as well as
fundraisers. Williams will begin working with the Bert Church parent council
next school year to plan fundraisers. While the garden website is still being
built, Williams said donors to the project will be recognized on the website.
Those interested in donating or wanting to help with the garden can contact
Williams by email: jwilliams@rockyview.ab.ca.
Mayor Brown believes the garden is a step in the right direction toward
reconciliation.
“I hope [Airdrie] is becoming a leader in Indigenous relations and traditions,”
he said at the June 15 presentation. “I’m really proud of [the staff and
students] for coming up with this initiative.”
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