I would like to acknowledge Lekwungen People, also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations communities. Thank you to the plants, animals

And trees that grow and would not thrive without indigenous peoples.

 I admire the art, culture and practices First Nations peoples bring.

I feel so grateful that I live on this land and get to learn and go to school here.  

 I also give thanks to the ancestors and hereditary leaders for looking after the rich resources and cultural teachings of this beautiful land.

Throughout our time visiting Swan Lake we read this book and responded with our own thoughts to various sections. This is one of my responses.

Braiding Sweetgrass

Ways I can appreciate the wart are talking a walk along the gorge.

Ways I can enjoy the gift of strawberries (or other food from the Earth) is bake with it and give it to someone I love.

Ways I can give back to the earth are gardening, and being grateful.

Ways I can communicate with the natural world is walk  my dog.

Ways I can help others see the earth as a gift are showing them what was the earth before it was in the state it is in now.

Ways I can engage in reciprocity with the world around me include leaving it better then It was. ❤️🌎

One of the activities we did at Swan Lake was pulling invasive plants like English ivy, it took a lot of hard work and all students made an effort to eliminate ivy the best we could. I learned when pulling ivy it’s important to pull the roots and bag it so it can’t grow back. We had equipment like gloves, clippers and shears. It was tricky to only pull invasive plants and not hurt the native plants around it.

 Without pollinators, the human race and all of earth's terrestrial ecosystems would not survive.  

pollinators include bees, flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, among others.

In the plant-pollinator relationship, the pollinator benefits by feeding on food rewards provided by the flower, primarily nectar and pollen. In return, the plant benefits as the pollinator moves from flower to flower, transferring pollen as it forages for the food rewards.

A plant I learn about in ethnobotany is ocean spray

I can identify ocean spray by its large clusters of small white flowers.

In the winter and fall ocean spray is brown and dried up, you can find oceanspray all around the sides of the trail. The blossoms have been used in the treatment of diarrhoea. 

Ocean spray was used by indigenous peoples for arrows, mat-making needles and knitting needles, fishing spears, salmon and clam barbecue skewers and root-digging sticks.

(replace photo with one of your own) Braiding Sweetgrass

Cedar would be Rarity from my little pony because Cedar wood tends to be used for its natural beauty, which means it isn't typically hidden in the framing of construction projects. With this visual appeal, cedar lends itself to be used in many applications, fencing, decking, siding, trim and furniture. Rarity and cedar are both known for there beauty. But underneath the beauty cedar has many uses from the roots to the leaves, which

Is the same as rarity with her creative mind for fashion and how she can sew up everything like the cedar can heal almost everything.

Braiding sweeet grass

Once upon a time, there was a small village nestled in the mountains. The native peoples living off the land and their own hard work. They relied on the herbs and plants around them to cure them, they believed that nature held the key to good health.

One day, a young girl named Aponi she was sick. She had a fever and a terrible cough that would not go away. Her mother, who was a skilled herbalist, knew that she needed to find something to help her daughter.

She searched through her herb garden and the surrounding woods, looking for a plant that might cure Aponi's illness. After hours of searching, she finally came across the Oregon grape. The plant's leaves were dark green and shiny, and it had clusters of small, yellow flowers that bloomed in the spring.

The mother knew that the Oregon grape was a powerful medicinal plant. She brewed a tea from its roots and leaves and gave it to - to drink. Within hours, her fever broke, and her cough became less severe. She was soon back to her old self.