Nicola Harwood spent another two weeks at the Woodhaven Culture Centre. Nicola shared some words below about the time she spent working on her artistic practice; see below.

Another productive, restorative residency at Woodhaven Eco Cultural centre.

This year I made a point of connecting with some of the humans (rather than just the deer and quail!) who support the centre and the land conservancy next door. I attended a wildflower walk with Nancy Holmes in the conservancy and got know the history of the land, plans for the future and to meet several neighbours and women who help to steer the Conservancy Society.

On our walk we noted wild Blue Clematis, tiny White Blessings and lots of Oregon Grape in bloom. We also discussed the dying cedar in the forest and the issue of ground water management that badly needs to be addressed in order for the forest to stay healthy. It is heartening to see the care these folks put into the land and also worrisome that these trees are leaving us. I hope very much that the Regional District of the Okanagan and the City of Kelowna listen to these caregivers and start to strategize about how to make sure the groundwater, which is there, but being culverted and so unavailable to the trees, is brought back. I really hope the neighbours also get involved as I noticed that most of the cedars in the neighbourhood, not just in the forest, are dying due to this ground water engineering issue.

Thanks to UBCO and all the people who surround this residency with love and support. It continues to be an unmatched treasure in the valley. So necessary for the animals, birds, insects, plants and their strange companions, us artists and writers.

Some of the work I created there, working in monoprint.

View Nicola’s residency post from her previous time at Woodhaven in 2022. Find out more about Nicola Harwood: www.nicolaharwood.com.