It’s the last week of the Nature House Program! Make sure to come out to one (or more) of our final events of the summer - basket weaving, owl house building, documentary screening, project designing, and harvesting. We will also be saying goodbye to our marine ambassadors and could use a (gentle) hand taking them back to their coastal homes.
This Saturday at Howling Wolf Market will also be the last opportunity of the summer to pick up one of our fancy ThINC shirts, so if you’ve been ThINCing of grabbing one, now is the time!
Wednesday, August 23
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm drop-in
Harvest Hours at The PAG (all ages)
Location: The People’s Apothecary Garden, Lot 62
Thursday, August 24
2:00 pm start
Wild Creatives: Twined Basketry with Stephanie Cottell (all ages)
Location: The Nature House at The Portal, 254 North Cove Road
Join local plant lover and fibre art enthusiast Steph in a creative exploration of crafting with Yellow Flag Iris, a plant that is considered invasive in this ecosystem. Crafting with natural, biodegradable invasive plant materials can help people recognize and manage the spread of these often tenacious species and take pressure off native plants while offering an opportunity to learn new skills (or reawaken old ones!) and make lovely, Earth-friendly things! Steph will share two techniques: cordage making and a simple twined mini-basket.
Please email Steph at stephanie.cottell@gmail.com by Wednesday evening if you plan to come so she knows how many supplies to prepare.
Also, kids are welcome with an adult. Never too soon to play with fibre!
6:30 pm start
ThINC Tank: Screening: Kiss the Ground (2020) OR Gather (2020) (youth, adults)
Location: The Nature House at The Portal, 254 North Cove Road
Tonight we’ll be screening Kiss the Ground (2019) - a concerning yet hopeful documentary about industrial agriculture, soil health, and climate change.
“A revolutionary group of activists, scientists, farmers, and politicians band together in a global movement of "Regenerative Agriculture" that could balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world.
OR
Tonight we’ll be screening Gather (2020) - a beautiful film about reclaiming Indigenous food sovereignty, overcoming genocide, and building power and resiliency around food.
“Gather is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. Gather follows Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation (Arizona), opening an indigenous café as a nutritional recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a young scientist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation (South Dakota), conducting landmark studies on bison; and the Ancestral Guard, a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation (Northern California), trying to save the Klamath river.”
Friday, August 25
10:00 am start
Young Naturalists: All About Owls! And Owl Box Building with Rob Welsh (all ages)
Location: The Nature House at The Portal, 254 North Cove Road
All young Naturalists - come and help Rob build 6 Owl Nest boxes for the WESO recovery project. Your nest box might provide a safe home for a Western Screech Owl family. Tools, instruction and owl facts galore. Remember, you can’t be Scowlin’ if ye be Owlin’!
2:00 pm start
Expert Excursion: Community Action Projects with Charlotte Fesnoux
(youth, adults)
Location: The Portal, 254 North Cove Road (please park at Heneage House or Fairyslipper Forest)
A Thetis Island tool library, fruitful community gardens, a collaborative solar power project, resource exchange, trail network expansion, a native plant nursery - the list goes on. Projects that boost Thetis Island’s resilience and sustainability are endless and are all possible. But to increase the chances of project success, a solid foundation - exploring the realities of the project, roles, responsibilities, and overall project sustainability - is essential. This Friday, from 2-4pm, Charlotte will facilitate a workshop on how to collaborate on sustainable action projects, and will provide a lattice in which you can grow your project. Be ready to ideate, engage, and collaborate!
This workshop is ideal for parents engaged in homeschooling activities and anyone keen to participate in collaborative projects that make our island home more sustainable.
Those who know Charlotte, know her for the work she does at ThINC, or for the two 1,000 pound “dogs” you might see ‘walking her’ around the island, but she is also an educator with a passion for place- and project-based authentic learning and sustainability initiatives.
Saturday, August 26
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Seaquarium Drop-in: Sea Critter Release!
Location: The Nature House at The Portal, 254 North Cove Road / The Government Dock
Parting is such sweet sorrow, but the endearing and charismatic critters in the Seaquarium need to return to their sea homes today. We’ll be carefully releasing all the fish, sea stars, crabs, and other creatures, and you are invited to the farewell party! We will begin by releasing some of the shallower water dwellers at the beach at the Portal, and then around 3:00pm we will go to the community dock to release the creatures who need cooler, deeper waters.
Sunday, August 27
10:00 am - 12:00 pm drop-in
Harvest Hours at The PAG (all ages)
Location: The People’s Apothecary Garden, Lot 62
Today is the last scheduled ‘open hours’ at the PAG. The garden is beginning to wind down for the season - but there are still lots to be harvested! The plantains (ribwort and broadleaf) are going to seed and are a great (and healthy!) addition to breads, soups, and smoothies!