Reflections on Consumption: Seeds for Tomorrow

November 6th

Today, we gave back! We planted more spruce trees along the northern edge of the Environment Centre’s property. We carved sticks to mark them. We transplanted kale we had sprouted into larger pots to grown indoors. We plan to donate it to the Turtle Trauma Centre when it is grown. And we planted seeds for pollinator plants that need cold to germinate. This is my first time attempting stratification. We buried some pots outside and put some seeds on damp cloth to be stored in the fridge and freezer. Some of these seeds may need two winters to germinate, but we can simulate that with the indoor ones. Very exciting.

This brings a certain sense of relief. In the spring, I joined hundreds of new butterfly rangers with the David Suzuki Foundation and bought seeds for my group to plant. It was difficult with COVID and I ended up doing most of the work and planting most of the seeds into my own garden. This was finally bringing the pollinator garden I had envisioned to life, if only in the hopeful start of planting seeds! We have a hive of bees at the Centre and my plan is to plant the pollinator garden under the hive (which actually enters into the building so that students can observe the hive) and have the students make information signs. This was supposed to have been done earlier in the season but with the extra work I took on, the planning for it didn’t happen. Now it is! A lesson in perseverance and patience and letting things grow in their own time. And taking the time to let them grow

In many ways, making time for things is like weeding a garden. To tend a garden well, you need to weed. And to prune. And to thin. I’m really bad at thinning. I don’t like to kill the little carrots that have put so much energy into growth. I have to recognize, though, that this is what did me in bad stead earlier and is why I overtasked myself. Sometimes you need to prune and thin to enable particular growth to flourish. Perhaps I can practice in my garden what I also need to practice in my life and vice versa.

I gave my gifts of tea and potatoes and received some potatoes in return. I think about making tea gardens, perhaps a collaborative project we can do with another group at the Centre. I love collaboration and connection, though I acknowledge that also takes time, and to perhaps choose what I can and cannot do.

I go home. Check the election results. Turn my phone to DND and enjoy my family.

References

David Suzuki Foundation (2020). The Butterfly Project. davidsuzuki.org. https://davidsuzuki.org/take-action/act-locally/butterflyway/.