Martin Johnson

WAHRS at work on the Farm

The UBC Farm Project has been a regular part of my week for the past few months. Every Tuesday, up to 5 WAHRS members meet at VANDU at 8:30 am, rain or shine, and take the bus to UBC. When we get there those who oversee the garden provide us with breakfast and coffee. But before we share food, we take a moment for a smudge (purification) ceremony to help clear our minds of day-to-day troubles and focus on our time ahead. Then it’s off to work in the garden or in the kitchen. Each time the work is different. We help set up the germination process for the seeds, or transplant them into the garden; sometimes we pull weeds, harvest vegetables or pick berries. We cleared blackberry bushes to prepare the ground for a teepee, but then decided to put it up in a different location. It was a new experience for me putting up the teepee, and I learned how it was done. (…)