Post date: Aug 20, 2012 4:1:17 PM
As more people are becoming aware of the balconies and garden spaces in the Education building, traffic is increasing around the Indigenous gardens. I noticed this the other week, as I was taking my pictures, since someone had pulled a plant from the garden. They obviously saw that it ‘didn’t belong’, and labelled it as a ‘weed’ that must be removed. Interesting, since some of the plants that we have planted in our gardens are commonly labelled as ‘weeds’ and removed from gardens all over Edmonton!
This got us to thinking about how to make it clear to visitors to the gardens that we would like to keep everything in the garden, no matter whether it was planned or not. We have made signs with the following information to help people understand that even though they may believe they are helping, they are actually hindering the process that we would like to see develop in the garden.
“A part of the initiatives of the Indigenous Teaching Gardens is to develop gardens of native plant species to support Aboriginal curriculum initiatives in the Faculty of Education. The gardens will contribute to sustainability by:
providing a space for indigenous plants which may have been pushed out of their natural habitat by invasive / introduced species from other places
(re)connecting students in the Faculty to life and learning outside the classroom
creating community both within the Faculty and between Faculties, as the spaces will be open to others for research and events
Because we want to maintain the gardens as a space in which these native plants can grow and interact within the environment, as they would in the world beyond the planters, we are attempting to regard the garden as ‘maintenance free’. In this sense, plants growing in the garden will not be trimmed, fertilized, or otherwise manipulated for the aesthetics. Plants not specifically planted in the gardens will also not be manipulated or removed, since these are likely also naturally occurring and may even provide certain helpful elements to the garden as a whole.
In keeping with our philosophy we ask that you leave all species in the garden, regardless of the fact that they may be considered ‘weeds’ by most. If you will be removing portions of our species that are edible or useful for various reasons, please be sensible in what you take. Others after you would like to enjoy the beauty of the garden, and we want all of our species to return for many years to come.”
Now, having made this sign, we have realised that we have an abundance of tree saplings in the West garden. Although trees grow and occur naturally in the environment, the teaching gardens are not a space for large trees. This can cause problems with roots, weight, and structural issues. So, they will be removed for safety purposes. I spent Friday morning removed over 100 small saplings, and about 40 transplantable saplings remain.
Since we would rather see these trees have a proper place to grow instead of simply being pulled and mulched into the garden, we have put a call out to faculty and graduate students in the Faculty of Education to see if anyone is interested in bringing a tree home. If you are interested, I will be out on the West balcony August 23 between 9:00 and 11:00 giving them away. Bring your own pot and soil! If you are interested but cannot make it, please email me at slappelt@ualberta.ca.
... The signs will also be out by the gardens in the near future, so you can consider all the plants in the garden within how we view the garden within Aboriginal perspectives.