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Nature Centre: Discovery Atrium 9am – 4pm Monday to Sunday
Nature Centre: Café 9am-4pm Tuesday to Saturday
Office Hours: 9am - 3pm Monday to Friday
Trail Use: 9am - 4pm Monday to Sunday
Info Booth: Closed for the season

Medicine Walk and Sweetgrass Braiding Workshop

This event is over

INDIGENOUS CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

Date and Times: 

Saturday July 15th, 10am-1pm

Saturday July 29th, 1pm-4pm 

Friday August 11, 1pm-4pm

Thursday August 24, 1pm-4pm

Cost: $7.50 per session

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Tickets must be purchased first to ensure your spot(s) are reserved. Order number is required to fill out form.

Click here to register

All ages and abilities are welcome, recommended for ages 10 and up

Join us on a walk with a knowledgeable guide and get to know the wild plants in Heartland’s backyard and their medicinal and cultural significance to some of the original stewards of these lands. The experience continues with a visit to our Indigenous Friendship Garden where you will harvest sweetgrass learning about the importance, uses and proper harvesting procedure. This is followed by braiding of the grass where you will learn the teachings and significance of the braid, why we braid sweetgrass, and how to braid it. The walk to and from the Garden is about 0.7km on accessible trails.

We are honoured to have Louis Harris lead this experience. Louis is a member of the Six Nations, a confederation of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora. He attended the University of British Columbia’s Bachelor of Science program in Zoology; Earth and Environmental Science and joined Heartland Forest’s environmental team in 2021.

This workshop will be held outside on grass and gravel trails so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear dependent on the weather.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Bring a hat, comfortable shoes, sunglasses, water, sunscreen, bug spray and a camera
  • Be aware of ticks! The garden is located near our wet meadow and there have been sightings of ticks in the area. Be sure to check for ticks before/after departing the garden, and when you get home. 
  • During the Harvesting Ceremony there will be a smudging portion, which is 100% optional, and will be held outside in the Friendship garden. Smoke from the smudge can negatively affect people with asthma and other respiratory conditions. 
  • The Medicine walk to the garden will be along our paved paths accessible to mobility devices. The garden is also reachable by car if participants are unable to walk the distance from the building. 
  • We go rain or shine!

For more information email
louis.harris@heartlandforest.org

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