A participatory gardening installation series that playfully invites urban humans to build an ecosystem: participate in seed selection, decide where to plant, learn to weather disruption, and ensure plants thrive through acts of caretaking. Shaped by those who tend them, four interactive gardens were found at locations across downtown Victoria: SEEDING on the coastal edge of Songhees Point p’álәc’әs, DISRUPTING under the Bay Street Bridge, CARETAKING in the Wharf Street Parking Lot, and PLANTING on the Gorge side of the Selkirk Trestle.
Featured at Theatre SKAM's SKAMpede Performance Festival July 17 & 18, 2021
SEEDING GARDEN:
Thriving on the fringes, hardy wildflowers crop up on the tideline, inhaling the sea mist. Cast seeds where you think new blooms will thrive.
What are we seeding for our future?
PLANTING GARDEN:
Perform acts of public gardening with the plants of a Douglas Fir Forest. Snap a bee-utiful photo of pollinators in action.
Who is at home here?
DISRUPTING GARDEN:
A forgotten garden of invasive plants asks you to decide what stays and what goes.
When can disruption make space for change?
CARETAKING GARDEN:
Inspired by leaf cutter bees in a Gary Oak Meadow, enter the cocoon. Take time to tune in to your senses, contemplate your role, and notice what is absent.
What does stewardship mean to you?
POLLINATORS CREATIVE TEAM
LEAD GARDENER & CO-PRODUCER:
Sammie Gough (she/her)
DRAMATURG & CO-PRODUCER:
Laurel Green (she/her)
CERTIFIED BEE STEWARD & LEAD GARDENER: Myriam Parent (she/they)
INSTALLATION & TEXTILE ARTIST:
Emma-Sky Warner-Dilts (she/her)
DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATOR:
Sophie Fuldauer (she/her)
ACTIVATOR: Zoe-Blue Coates (she/her)
Hych’ka Siem to artist Johnny Aitken.
Special thanks to our volunteers Cheryl, Tony, Janet, Emma, Ralph, Antonio, Aquilles, Jen, Brenda, and Kyrie.
Yarrow Collective's Bee Zine has fun facts from Bee Steward Myriam Parent and Lead Gardener Sammie Gough, with illustrations by Sophie Fuldauer. Pop out this window and print yours at home!
