Reflections from the 2015 Interns
Victoria Cooke: “My absolute favourite part of my internship was participating in the community circles at the beginning and end of each Garden session. This practice was suggested by my internship partner Dancing-Water, and was a way of grounding us and volunteers in the Garden space. …It was really rewarding to hear their testimonies of experience, and I often left the Garden with the sense that the collective experience of sharing those thoughts was the most valuable lesson to be gained: one being cannot do all the work of caring for a community; it takes many strong, gentle hands and thoughtful minds to do that work.” [Read more] – Victoria Cooke, Indigenous Health Research and Education Garden Intern
Jaylin Melnichuk: “Through the learning I’ve done this summer I’ve felt propelled into another facet of my learning. Looking at Indigenous food sovereignty, ethnobotany, language and land, it is all tied together once you’re out in the community experiencing these amazing initiatives. I am now even better equipped to think about land stewardship in a way that rejects colonialism. I am now better equipped as a linguist to understand the importance of biocultural diversity and what it means to “translate the land.” For now, I look forward to applying my kitchen knowledge to preserve more foods for the winter, creating nutritious meals for the winter months’ Feast Bowls. For now, I look to translate this knowledge into materials that will help guide the journeys of future interns, and help them gain insight into what I saw on my journey.” [Read more] – Jaylin Melnichuk, Feast Bowl Intern
Savannah Zachary: “Everyone looked forward to this day at the farm, for it gave all of us, CRUW staff and youth participants, a chance to get out of our routine and participate in new activities and workshops together. From gardening, medicine making, ceremony, cedar weaving and just being being together, each session was full of growing, connecting and learning. It was wonderful to witness the change in the youth as they worked together on their gardens and learned from each other… CRUW and the wonderful people I got to work with added immensely to my personal and academic experience here in Vancouver, and the lessons that each of them taught me will always be in my heart.” [Read more] – Savannah Zachary, CRUW Intern
Kendall Andison: “What I had not fully anticipated was the extent to which the community members, Elders, staff, and volunteers… would be so overwhelmingly generous with their knowledge and their passion. I feel so grateful to have gotten to know, and learned from, so many wonderful people. A particular highlight for me was the ability to participate in the numerous workshops held at the garden. The Medicine Collective’s workshop on salve making was a particular favourite of mine, and taught me a lot about the different ways nature can heal and care for the body. The groups that participated in the Feast Bowl meal preparation taught me about the infinitely varied ways people relate to food.” [Read more] – Kendall Andison, Feast Bowl Intern