Bio: Sean Steele is a writer, educator, musician, and academic. He holds an MA in the humanities from York University and a BA in philosophy and history from Concordia University. He is currently writing a PhD thesis that explores the emergence of the sacred within the context of secular music festivals. His scholarly writing has appeared in Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, The American Studies Journal, and The Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning. Sean works as the research lead for Seedlings Forest Education, an organization that provides outdoor educational programs for children. He is an outdoor enthusiast who loves to camp, hike and climb in the forests and mountains of Vancouver Island.
Canadian Geographic - Journeying into Miyawaki Forests - Blog Post 6
Sean Steele • Apr 11, 2024
A new Earth Stories Blog exploring Miyawaki Forests
Blog Post #6 with Outdoor Educator Sean Steele
On January 3rd of this year, Canadian Geographic published a short article about a series of mini-forests that were planted across the country in 2023. These projects are part of a national pilot project, organized by Green Communities Canada, to plant mini-forests in and around Canadian cities. The mini-forests on this map are part of a series of ongoing and future projects eligible for funding through the Living Cities Canada Fund Demonstration Steam to design, plan, plant, and nurture new urban green spaces.
The article features a map that points out where each of these forests are located, with additional information and photographs taken at each of the respective planting day events. As the article states, “Six new mini forests were planted in cities across Canada in 2023 as part of a national pilot project to combat biodiversity loss and create new green spaces in urban areas — and the work is just beginning” (Canadian Geographic). Here’s an image of the interactive map, which visually highlights how these projects represent the tip of the iceberg:
Five of the six mini-forests have been planted in Southern Ontario, and one in Richmond, BC. I wanted to focus on this map (see image above), and the ongoing work of Green Communities Canada, because I find these projects inspiring. As a staunch optimist, I see this largely blank map in a positive light – as a space of pure potential. I envision yellow markers popping up in and around every urban environment in Canada from St. John’s to Whitehorse. My optimism is buoyed by the fact that these are far from the only mini-forests that have been planted across Canada in the past several years. These are just the ones funded by this national pilot project.
The sole mini-forest outside Ontario was planted in Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond, the same Lower Mainland city where members of Earth Literacies volunteered to help plant a Miyawaki forest on the grounds of Richmond Secondary School. The result is that two mini-forests have sprung up 6 kilometres from each other.
To me, this signals the beginning of an ever-growing network of green spaces created by teams of organizers, community workers, and volunteers. Eventually, I envision this map populated with markers that not only indicate new mini-forests but also advertise upcoming projects in need of volunteers. By gathering information and sharing resources, teams of dedicated people can help each other secure funding, successfully navigate roadblocks, issues, and complications, troubleshoot common problems, and share pictures of the urban forests they help create.
Each of the six mini-forests marked on the Canadian Geographic map include images of the planting events that helped create them. Here is a photo from the mini-forest planted in
Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond, BC in April 2023.
In a previous post, I talked about IVN Nature Education, a Dutch organization that guides schoolchildren through the process of planting and caring for a Miyawaki forest. The photo above offers a similar opportunity for young people to become invested in the stewardship of a green space in the community where they live. Located near a playground in the same park, this new Miyawaki forest offers fresh opportunities for children and their families to watch as the integrated network of densely planted trees and shrubs burst into life. In a matter of years, this small plot of city park will be transformed into something that can stand tall as a living example of a community that came together to positively contribute to their environment. To use another example, check out these images from the planting day for the first Pocket Tiny Forest in Toronto:
A collaboration between the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Program (SNAP), the City of Toronto, the Pocket Community Association (PCA), and the Network of Nature, the Pocket Tiny Forest brought children and their families together to plant the first pocket forest in the city. As the name suggests, a pocket forest takes the same approach as a Miyawaki forest but on an even smaller, more compact scale.
These two examples offer snapshots of the kind of grounded, small-scale community projects that can gradually grow across Canada. In years to come, I hope to see the map created by Canadian Geographic populated with dozens of new urban mini-forests, including new images showing people of all ages coming together to help create healthy green spaces where they live.
For the latest blog submissions to Earth Stories from Sean, as he documents his Miyawaki Forest Journey (and how you might do the same in your 'backyard'), check our Earth Stories Blog every couple weeks and / or subscribe to the Programs in Earth Literacies Newsletter where new articles will be posted and delivered via email.
Above: Children helping to plant a Miyawaki forest as part of an IVN Nature Education program - Image source
A new Earth Stories Blog exploring Miyawaki Forests Blog Post #4 with Outdoor Educator Sean Steele
Earth Literacies presents a new Earth Stories (blog) series exploring Miyawaki Forests
When I found out that the organization I was helping to support didn’t get the grant to fund a Miyawaki forest on a small plot of land adjacent to a city park, I initially felt somewhat discouraged. But, almost immediately, I realized that this kind of news wasn’t about to take the wind out of my sails...
Earth Literacies presents a new Earth Stories (blog) series exploring Miyawaki Forests. "It all started with a blank slate. Or, in this case, an empty patch of soil beside a park. As a research lead with Seedlings Forest Education, an organization in Victoria, BC that facilitates nature-based learning for children, it was my job to help the leadership team think about what they could do with a new parcel of land."
CLICK THE VIDEO ABOVE TO PLAY I am sure you have all heard that we are made from stardust. The calcium in our bones and the iron in our blood was created in the dust of an exploding star. Over time the dust cools and gathers itself into planets on which life can emerge. You’ve seen images of enduring stars, you’ve seen images of exploding stars (supernovae), and you’ve seen images of steadfast planets. But have you ever seen virgin dust gushing out of a star getting ready to explode? The James Webb Space Telescope just obliged us with such an image (see image above) and it’s an amazing vista to behold! In this first-of-a-kind image, shimmering purple eddies of dust are being cast off in all directions by a very bright star (WR 124) at the center. This swirling dust holds the potential to become the rocks on a planet’s surface, the water in its oceans and the air in its atmosphere. Given enough time, it can become the flesh, bones, and blood of a living organism. With yet more time the organism can develop sentience to build telescopes powerful enough to catch stardust in the act of its cosmic emergence. What we are witnessing is the ultimate generosity of a star that through its last few laboured breaths is scattering the seeds of life into the fecund emptiness of its mother’s womb. These cosmic seeds, forged out of the fire in its core and nurtured for millions of years in its belly, are ready to put down roots in other parts of the galactic expanse. Together with the gas in which they swirl, these proliferous seeds will grow into families of planets and stars, ready to evoke the sacred process of life if conditions permit. Such is the bequest of the stars to the story of cosmogenesis, a glorious pilgrimage our universe is in the midst of undertaking. Sarbmeet Kanwal, PhD Click Here to view our next Earth Literacies program Quantum Wisdom: Second Pillar of the New Cosmology with Sarbmeet Kanwal, Ph.D
Programs in Earth Literacies team member, Parker Cook, captured the excitement of a 10-hour day of forest planting and community building in a delightful 1-minute timelapse video. You’ll want to watch it over and over – seeing different things each time. Below is a quick guide with 5 scenes to help you track the range of people and chores that resulted in this bioregion specific community of plants that will grow 10 times faster, with 20 times more diversity into a 30 times denser than typical multi-strata breathing machine! Scene 1 (below) You’re looking North, with the L-shaped school on the Eastern side. Three ‘sections’ of the forest bed have been prepared with a meter deep mix of soil and humus and a topping of straw. At the top of the pic there are two red tents. In front of them are 400 plants identified by species and arranged in tree/shrub/ground cover categories.
Meet today’s – and tomorrow’s – earth protectors
Richmond School District (in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada adjacent to Vancouver) established an Environmental Stewardship Policy in 1998 which states:
“As a result of our shared guardianship of this planet, implementation of this policy shall be the joint responsibility of the Board, students and staff in collaboration with parents and our community.”The Green Team at Richmond Secondary School has wasted no time taking up their part in this work.
In 2020, RSS was one of 10 schools nation-wide to win $20,000 from Staples in the “Superpower Your School” contest which invited students to address environmental challenges with new technologies. The Richmond team’s project was the installation of solar panels at the school, producing electricity that is added to the school’s power grid making its carbon footprint lower than other schools. A TV located in the foyer details the daily energy consumption so that all students can see their impact.
Betsey Crawford, a colleague of Gertie’s (yes, our Gertie Jocksch who leads the Earth Literacies Team) from The Deeptime Network, is an artist, photographer, seeker and storyteller. On her inspiring website, she shares her exploration of the world identifying and understanding the powers of the universe that are at work in all she experiences:
The Soul of the Earth Website: https://thesouloftheearth.com/powers-of-the-universe/
This is a rich resource for understanding the epic beginnings of the universe, our origins, and our possible futures. It’s a great companion to the deep study of the individual powers of the Universe as explained by Brian Swimme, and explored in the ongoing Programs in Earth Literacies sessions with Bernice Vetter and Margie Gillis, Wednesday from Feb 2 to 16, 2022 - click here to learn more or sign up for the next session.
It seems pretty obvious that we love and care for the members of our family. Many of us hold extended family and neighbours in our circles of care and concern. We include our geographical location in our sense of identity – “I’m from Saskatoon”, or “I was born in Montreal”. And recently, we have made beginning efforts to acknowledge and respect the original families on the land that we currently call our home. In his January, 2022 webinar, “The Call to Become Spiritual Earthlings”, Diarmuid O’Murchu directed our attention to our place in the history of the cosmos, to our location in/of the earth, and to the acknowledgement of the kin with whom we share our home. O’Murchu expanded on the concept of a bioregion as “a natural ecological community with characteristic flora, fauna and environmental conditions.” He distinguished between this naturally bounded place and the artificial construct of the nation state. If we are to live as responsible spiritual earthlings, we need to meet and care for the other members of our local, natural communities – our kin. Bringing it home! In June, 2020, The Nature Conservancy of Canada published Ours to Save, a catalogue of 308 different plant and animal species that live in Canada and nowhere else on Earth. Many of these elements of the evolutionary cosmos are threatened with extinction, and it is our neighbourly responsibility to protect them. Check out your Canadian bioregion and your kin at natureconservancy.ca/ourstosave . Study your home. Here are two bioregion audits you can use to check how well you know your kin, and your neighbourhood. The first was written by Leonard Charles, Jim Dodge, Lynn Milliman and Victoria Stockley for the Coevolution Quarterly, Winter, 1981. https://dces.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/128/2013/08/Where-You-At-Quiz.pdf The second is Tina Fields’ expansion on the 1981 list of questions, divided into categories to allow for deeper inquiry. https://indigenize.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/bioregional-quiz/ Ecolibrium3, an organization committed to building resilient communities in the Duluth, Minnesota area, give us many examples of actions directed at living well within a bioregion. https://www.ecolibrium3.org/duluthclimateaction/communityinitiatives/ Share your ideas Explore your bioregion. Who are your neighbours? Your kin? Who is healthy and thriving? Who needs care? What action have you taken/could you take to live as a spiritual earthling? Tell your neighbours … send suggestions to Programs In Earth Literacies in the comments below!