Reflecting on Reconciliation

Aug. 15, 2017

Our second day on Canada C3 was a day of thinking through what reconciliation means for me.  As one of the themes of this journey, we’re practicing reconciliation by learning about the ways of knowing of the Inuit, as well as the those of First Nations’ peoples across Canada.  The morning found us in Tay Bay for our first hike on the land, guided by Jaypooti Aliqatuqtuq, an Inuit hunter, guide, and bear guard who is on this leg with us.  His deep knowledge of the land was apparent in his explanation of bear tracks, owl pellets, native plants, and hunting sites – he is attuned to details in nature that most of us missed.  Another one of the respected members of our journey is Charlene Bearhead, a knowledge-keeper from Edmonton.  A mother of 6 & grandmother to 7, Charlene has been the Education Lead on the National Truth & Reconciliation Commission, and is now the Education Coordinator of the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls.  She is also a co-chair of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, which supported the Legacy Room on the ship.  This contemplative space is filled with gifts from First Nation and Inuit communities along the Canada C3 route – lacrosse sticks, an Inuit drum, handmade snowshoes, books, and many meaningful artworks.  Charlene gave us a wonderful introduction to the Room and to the Fund (if you’re not familiar with it, please look it up.)

We were honoured to witness Jaypooti give Charlene a gift of polar bear claws for this room, which came from one of his hunts – it was an emotional moment that touched us all.  And the day ended with our first spectacular polar bear sighting on an ice flow, as well as observing broad-winged murres and kittiwakes on the steep cliffs Cape Hay.  Paul Smith, a bird biologist on the trip, shared his knowledge of how these remarkable birds survive in this harsh climate. This led me to think of the knowledge, the relationships, and the resilience we can learn from the Inuit, from First Nations’ peoples, and from ‘more-than-human’ beings like polar bears and seabirds, if only we take the time to listen, to observe, to feel and to connect.  For me, part of reconciliation is learning to see and respect the deep connections between all life forms on this planet, and how we can play active roles in contributing to their – and ultimately our own – health and longetivity.

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HilaryInwood, August 17th 2017 | Posted in eco-adventure, professional development, Uncategorized

What an Incredible Start!

What an incredible start to our journey!  Our first night found us anchored in the Polar Prince icebreaker in the harbour of Pond Inlet on the northern tip of Baffin Island, which is surrounded by the stunning mountains of Sirmilik National Park. The water was calm, the sun was shining (well into the night), and the temperature was warm – we had found a bit of northern paradise.  While a satellite glitch stopped us from communicating with the rest of the world on our first full day on Monday, it didn’t stop our activities. We headed into the zodiacs to get into Pond Inlet, to visit the town of 1800 and listen to Minister Catherine McKenna’s announcement of the establishment of the Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area. This is a good news story for the environment in Canada – it will be the largest area of this type in Canada by far, helping to protect the rich diversity of northern Canada for generations to come.  (The Inuit residents of Pond were happy to see the rest of Canada finally recognize what they had known for hundreds of years!)  The afternoon found us aboard the ship of Students on Ice, an annual expedition that takes 200+ students and educators.  We shared two incredible meals with this amazing collection of people, learning more about their stories and expertise. There were a range of workshops led by Inuit educators – my favourites were Inuit throat singing and how to skin a seal, though the Inuit games played by the young people were a hoot to watch. By 10.30, just when we were ready for bed, we were trying on our survival suits in an emergency drill in the former helicopter hangar (now a gathering place for briefings.)  We discovered that there won’t be too many dull moments on the journey, and that full sleep may have to wait until we return home.

  

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HilaryInwood, August 15th 2017 | Posted in eco-adventure

Canada C3 the trip of a lifetime!

While August is a signal for some educators that summer is half over, I feel like mine is just beginning – I’m heading out on a journey of a lifetime! I’ve been accepted to go on the Canada C3 Journey, a Canada 150 Signature project that aims to better connect Canadians through deepening our understanding of the three coasts (C3) that surround us, the land that sustains us, and the diverse peoples who animate our beautiful country. The centrepiece of this project is an epic 150 sailing trip that travels from Toronto to Victoria via the North West Passage; I’m on Leg 9, traveling from Pond Inlet to Cambridge Bay beginning August 13th on a retired Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker. I’ve been tracking this incredible journey since it began on June 1st, and can highly recommend watching the videos and reading the blog – what a way to learn about how Canadians are addressing Diversity & Inclusion, the Environment, Reconciliation, and Youth Engagement (the four themes of the journey.) Please join me on the C3 journey as I share my experiences in this blog, via Instagram (hjinwood) and on Twitter (@OISEese and @eseinfac). I can’t wait to get underway!

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HilaryInwood, August 4th 2017 | Posted in eco-adventure

Playing with Gelli Printing

I’ve started playing with a new printmaking technique that has possibilities for low impact, biodegradable art-making.  Gelli printing is an approach to monoprinting that creates one-of-a-kind prints.  It utilizes a flexible printing matrix (or base) made out of natural materials – you can either buy one of these, or make your own using Knox gelatin powder and glycerin (the latter a less expensive option.)  Due to its flexibility, it can capture both positive and negative impressions of items layed on the matrix.  Laying down natural items like leaves, grasses, or ferns works beautifully, whether you lay down a base of pigment first, or after the item has gone on the matrix. This can be a great way to capture the experience of a nature walk.  I like the effects of acrylic paint with this technique, rather than water-based print making inks, but as these aren’t particularly environmentally-friendly, I need to experiment with creating a more natural form of pigment with it.  Check out all of the images on Pinterest that artists have posted for Gelli printing – hopefully it will inspire you to try it yourself!

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HilaryInwood, July 1st 2017 | Posted in eco art education, elementary project

Bringing Creativity into Sustainability

I was lucky enough to spend some time learning firsthand from Mitchell Thomashow two summers back, a wonderful scholar, educator, and writer who has been influential on my own development in environmental & sustainability education (ESE).  His EcoIdentity book was one of the first books on ESE that I read years ago, and now I’m working through his Bringing the Biosphere home (also an excellent read.)  Mitch’s latest work focuses on the Ecological Imagination, recognizing the important role of expression, imagination, and creativity in working towards sustainability   (http://www.mitchellthomashow.com/ecological-imagination/ )  As part of the workshop he gave at OISE, he mentioned a book published by the Museum of Modern Art called BioDesign:  Nature+Science+Creativity (http://www.biology-design.com/ ).  It’s a fascinating look at how we can partner with natural organisms and their ecological design capabilities to create sustainable products, buildings, and communities.  It takes the idea of environmental art-making to a whole new level.  MOMA has posted a preview of the book on their website to give you a glimpse into a more sustainable future…I just need to find a way to do this, even if small-scale, with students.  Ideas anyone?

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HilaryInwood, February 21st 2017 | Posted in eco art readings, nature-based art, resource book

Learning about Place-based Education

We were lucky to bring in David Sobel from Antioch University to OISE this past summer to do a talk and day-long workshop on place-based education.  David is the guru of Place-Based Education (PBE), having written extensively about it in his many books (looking to Mapmaking with Children, Childhood & Nature, or Place-Based Education, to name only a few).  Working with his partner, Jen Kramer, David led our teachers through a variety of art-based learning activities based on creative mapping, collages, and miniature worlds.  Our teachers would be the first to tell you that they aren’t ‘artists” or ‘creative’, yet all were fully engaged in these experiences as David and Jen had us consider the places in which we grew up, and the places we live in now as a starting point to thinking about PBE.  David’s rich set of examples of PBE, drawn from schools all over the US, inspired us with its ‘real world’ learning that can take place when using this approach – creating museum exhibits, cleaning up wetlands as just two examples. In Jen’s afternoon workshop, the teachers created beautiful collages using discarded artworks of key parts of Toronto, inspired by author’s book; a few examples are shared below.  We ended the day feeling better prepared to tackle PBE theoretically, practically, and aesthetically!

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HilaryInwood, January 7th 2017 | Posted in eco art education, elementary project, professional development

Results of the Biodiversity Mapping Project

What a busy end to the spring!  While one group of my students was helping with the installation of our Bee the Change project, another was working alongside me and the K-8 students at Keele PS on the Biodiversity Mapping Project. The latter was a 10 day eco-art project that resulted in eight large murals for the school, acting as aesthetic responses to the children’s learning in science, art and geography over the course of four months.  They studied the concept of biodiversity – species, ecosystems, and genetic – through research, reading, and outdoor exploration, and shared what they learned through drawing, painting, and creative map-making. Each of the murals has a similar background – a map of part of the catchment area of the school – that if put all together, show the neighbourhood around Keele.  On the top layer is one form of life that contributes to local biodiversity, from insects (gr. 1s) through to genetic diversity (gr. 8s.)  Around the edge is text written by the students to act as a framing device – in some cases poetry, in other cases the names of the species depicted.  We worked to reduce the eco-footprint of this painting project by minimizing and collecting the painting wastewater, as well as by reusing old mural panels. The results are meaningful AND beautiful, helping the students, teachers and community members better understand the importance of local biodiversity.  I’m very appreciative of the opportunity to work with the wonderful teachers and students at Keele; the help from my teacher candidates was the topping on the cake!

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HilaryInwood, August 13th 2016 | Posted in Eco-art sites, elementary project, Uncategorized

People are buzzing about ‘Bee the Change’

OISE is abuzz with our new bee installation.We completed it this last week, and we think the results are sweet!  As reported in an earlier post, we’ve been working to raise awareness about the plight of bees.  In Ontario, like other places around the world, we  depend on bee pollination to cultivate a third of our plant-based foods – without bees, our complex ecosystem and food systems would be radically changed for the worse. Our bee populations have been declining rapidly, more so than in other places.  This is being referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder; many believe the causes of CCD are habitat loss, climate change, neonicotinoids (a type of insecticide), Varroa mites, and Nosema (a fungal digestive disease). 

There are over 70 Ontario bees depicted in the installation, each been hand drawn by a member of the OISE community onto an adhesive material made from 100% recycled plastic. We interspersed these images with facts about bees and actions viewers can take to help counter CCD.  The work, like many of the others we have created, in positioned as part of the ‘Take the Stairs’ Campaign, a walking art gallery that encourages our community to take the stairs rather than elevators (saving energy and improving health and wellness of the walkers).  A few photos of the installation are below –  we think it looks ‘beeautiful’!

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HilaryInwood, May 30th 2016 | Posted in eco art education, pre-service project, Uncategorized

Understanding Biodiversity Through Mural-making

How do you help elementary students understand the importance of biodiversity?  I’ve been invited to work at a local elementary school in the spring with students in classes from grades 1 to 8, working on developing their knowledge of this complex concept through a series of murals for the school.  But where do you start with a ‘big idea’ like this?  I began by talking with the teachers leading the project to get an idea of what they wanted; there were parameters for how they could proceed already in place.  Then I did some brainstorming of words, images and text for my own reference points.  Researching was the next step; I read about and watched videos on biodiversity and looked at other artists’ works to see what has been done in the past.  All of this led to developing ideas on paper, which were revised by talking with the teachers. We have considered how to lesson the environmental impact of the murals along with this; we’re re-purposing existing panels, rather than buying new, and planning to capture all of the waste water from our acrylic paints. The planning process has been bringing together aspects of art, science and geography, and drawing on the principles of creativity and design thinking.  Check back in June to see how the project has developed; I’ll post our next steps and photos of the finished murals.

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HilaryInwood, March 18th 2016 | Posted in eco art education, eco-art projects, elementary project

Pinning ‘Art in Schoolyards’

I’ve been collecting boards on Pinterest on a variety of eco-art related topics this last year (previous post). One of the boards that inspires me to get back outside is the ‘Art in Schoolyards’ board, where I have been collecting images of innovative art installations on school playgrounds.  Having done some of this type of work in the past, it never ceases to amaze me how artists can jumpstart their creativity in contact with natural and built environments. Some are using found materials to create installations – check out the bottle cap murals or re-painted picket fences that are springing up.  Others are using chain-link fences as a matrix for weaving, crocheting, knitting and lacemaking. Plastic pop and water bottles are proving to be a readily accessible (and free) art material that is being upcycled into flowers, towers, water features, even furniture!  And of course many schoolyard artists are going ‘au naturel’, using branches, plants, clay, and other biodegradable materials to create frames, weavings, mosaics, garden totems, play structures, and insect habitats.  I’d love to see more examples of these – send me your photos or Pinterest pins to help me grow this collection!

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HilaryInwood, December 31st 2015 | Posted in art in school gardens, urban design
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