A group of Junior Highs went with Ms. Ruud to Whittier Park in St. Boniface to participate in a day of learning called “Standing with Mother Earth” on Sept. 21st. Although it was a cold morning, the tipis we sat in were warm and cozy and the sun shone on us in the afternoon. We learned about the 4 elements (Earth, Fire, Air and Water) and how they were not only important to Indigenous culture, but also how we can work to preserve our resources for the future. We would sit in a tipi and listen to an Elder talk about the importance of an element in the Indigenous culture and then move to the next tipi where representatives from places like Green Action Centre and The Healing Forest would talk about how we can preserve these elements and resources. We learned about seed saving from Food Matters Manitoba and planted pine seedlings for us all to take home and plant.

What a wonderful day of learning infused with traditional drumming, spoken word poetry, and a lot of experts!