Pulling To Gather
A community project bridging art and ecological restoration.
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2024 Event Archive
April 27th: Earth Day Celebration
Location: Colliery Dam Park, Nanaimo Date: April 27th, 2024 Time: 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM Audience: Open to all ages and families
This Earth Day celebration marked the culmination of Pulling To Gather’s month-long initiative to restore Colliery Dam Park’s ecosystem through art and community action. The event showcased the project’s achievements and highlighted the power of collective environmental stewardship.
Attendees experienced a diverse array of activities and exhibits that demonstrated how art and nature conservation could work in harmony. Local artists displayed works inspired by or created from invasive plant materials removed from the park. Environmental activists shared information about ecosystem restoration and climate resilience.
Throughout the day, visitors had opportunities to:
- Engage with artists and learn about their eco-inspired creations
- Participate in hands-on conservation activities
- Attend talks by environmental experts
- Enjoy performances that celebrated the interconnectedness of art, nature, and community
This gathering aimed to inspire reflection on the impact of individual and collective actions on our environment. It also encouraged attendees to envision and work towards a more sustainable future for their community and beyond.
We planned 12 weeks (March-May) of intensive Earth Activities that included the day of celebration at Colliery Dam Park, where areas largely overtaken by English Ivy would turn into arts-in-action sites. Key stakeholders included City of Nanaimo, Snuneymuxw Nation, Crimson Coast Dance, stewardship groups and local artists. The celebration event, presented by City of Nanaimo, was to take place on April 27th (Earth Day Weekend). We were to gather both Indigenous and settler/guest communities for Celestine’s story and an array of artists would showcase art works born out of Earth Activities.
10 ivy pulling parties at the park between March and May invited community members to be part of ivy-harvesting. They also offered opportunities for the artists to meet and work with the community. Pulled ivy vines were to be available for artists to use as their creation material.
Geraldine Manson & Nancy Turner at Wildwood Ecoforest
Invasive Plants in Native Plant Habitats & Creative Interventions Moderated by Mayita Mendez
We have been delighted to hold this special morning conversation over a warm cup of tea and snacks in the forest. Snuneymuxw Elder Geraldine Manson and ethnobotanist Nancy Turner shared their in-depth knowledge over a casual and friendly dialogue.
Did you know that invasive species are one of the biggest threats to biodiversity? It’s a complex topic as many invasive plants hold significance in the origin of their cultures and habitats and that’s why they were brought by settlers along with their gardens on Native lands. Pulling To Gather artists have been working on the ground and thinking through our relationships to the land. For settler artists, it has been a unique opportunity to scrutinize our responsibilities to take care of the ecology.
This conversation was moderated by photographer Mayita, who has been working with a group of local women, photographing their moments during ivy-pulling parties and exhibiting them on April 27th at Colliery Dam Park Pulling To Gather Earth Day celebration!
This event is took place during SAVE 21 ACRES & OPEN HOUSE EVENT at Wildwood Ecoforest.
Speakers
C’tasi:a Geraldine Manson
‘Elder-in-Resident’ since 2008 with Vancouver Island University located in Nanaimo.
A key part of Manson’s role is supporting the movement of aboriginal knowledge related to Traditional Protocols and history of Snuneymuxw First Nation into the existing curriculum offered at the University. Her passion is history connected to the surrounding mountains, rivers that flow into the ocean and all resources each contain. Geraldine has recently published two books that offer insight to history of her Ancestor’s legacy. At present she is focused on her third book titled, “Medicinal Bundles”.
Nancy Turner
An ethnobotanist, and a retired Professor, from the University of Victoria here in BC. She has worked with First Nations elders and cultural specialists in northwestern North America for over 50 years, helping to document, retain and promote their botanical and environmental expertise. Her 2-volume award-winning book, Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge (2014; MQUP), integrates her long-term research. She has authored/co-authored/co-edited 30 other books, including: The Earth’s Blanket (2005); “Keeping it Living”(2005); Plants, People and Places (2020); Plants of Haida Gwaii (2021); and Luschiim’s Plants (2021), and over 150 book chapters and papers. She has received a number of awards for her work, including Order of British Columbia (1999) and Order of Canada (2009), and honorary degrees from VIU, UNBC, SFU and UBC.
Facilitator
Mayita Mendez is a professional photographer born in El Salvador, raised in NYC, and living in BC Canada. She worked as a photojournalist in New York and was on staff for the daily New York City based newspaper Newsday. Her photography has been featured in major newspapers across the USA, from The New York Times to the Los Angeles Times. She was a awarded a Presidential Scholarship at the Rhode Island School of Design where she received her MFA. She has exhibited her work on both Protection Island and galleries in New York City. She is currently working on a project that investigates women’s relationships with the natural world.
