First week at a glance!
What an incredible experience so far! We arrived at the Ecovillage, being the first ones from our UBC group to get there, and our host, Brandy Gallagher, happily greeted us. She was so warm and friendly with an incredible smile, happy to see us. We were immediately introduced to a few community members who were in the process of stripping cedar for basket making and asked if we would like to take part in the process. Talk about hands on learning! I jumped at the opportunity, and started removing the outer bark layer from the planks that were previous stripped from the cedar trees located beside us. We were then educated on the process of making baskets and hats from the cedar stripping technique and process to the steps of drying and prepping the strips for use in weaving. This was an incredible introduction to what we would be experiencing at this placement! Materials are locally grown and harvested to then prepared in the most natural and environmentally friendly manner. The finished product is used, and reused or brought back to the earth to degrade into its most basic original form.
This week has been incredibly engaging through a variety of activities including an education tour of the village grounds, gardening education, replanting plants, weeding the gardening beds, compost education, assisting in building construction, preparing the CSA (community supportive agriculture) boxes, and participating as part of the community in heart circles, women circles, yoga classes and village cleaning/kitchen preparation jobs.
The community vibe in the village is one of inclusivity, love and respect. Everyone here is so friendly, welcoming and supportive. After only knowing the community members for 24 hours, I became comfortable with sharing with them my personal experiences, cry with them doing heartfelt moments, and have felt as if I am living with family. Before every Heart Circle or Community Meeting the group takes part in a grounding activity through meditation, stretching and calm time. A Check-in is then done with each community member to see how he or she is feeling inside. This can take place through the use of weather metaphors or a description of your feelings and why. The pattern used for speaking is in a counter-clockwise direction, the way of the earth. A talking object is also used during Heart Circles and community meetings when speaking. These heart circles are also opportunities for people in the community to express feelings about any tension with other members or any negativity felt in the village. This is very important at the Ecovillage, for it is believed that keeping things inside is unhealthy for everyone involved.
A challenge that I have encountered during this first week revolves around the drastic change in pace that I have experienced at the Ecovillage compared to what I am so used to in an urban setting, in UBC classes and during placement. The atmosphere here is one of relaxation, and is slow paced and laid back. Coming back from practicum, it has been hard to not have an idea of what is going to happen during the day or what activities we will be apart of. As the week has progressed, I have learned to become far less stressed about a schedule and more accepting of not knowing what is to come and taking each experience to the fullest as they come.
I have learned so much this week already that I never have been exposed to. I have lived in a very urbanized setting all my life and a lot of the educational aspects in the Ecovillage have never been presented to me in my entire educational and personal life experiences. I have learned about gardening techniques like lasagna mulching, transfer ditches and their required 10 degree angle to provide ample water to vegetables. I have also learned about Solar yoga body mapping and how it can assist in the design and building of a home with respect to the sun exposure and the seasons. I have been exposed to some fascinating plants and extraordinary ecologically friendly means of building, such as the use of COB ( a natural building material made from clay water, sand, earth, and organic material like straw or wood chips). This is just a taste of some of the educational aspects I have been exposed to that could be incorporated into any grade classroom.
The hands on way of learning here is similar to the Reggio Emilia Approach I was exposed to and taught in my practicum experience, so I feel that this opportunity will continue to enhance my understanding of this style of teaching. It is so amazing to learn how things are created from the initial stages and to be apart of the process of creating to completion. The pedagogical processes that I have learned throughout my UBC experience are fully aligned with the principle teachings seen at O.U.R. Ecovillage. A part of me never wants to leave and I cannot wait to experience more!