Autumnal October Updates, Grant Application OPEN!
Sonya Rokosh
Good morning friendly folks,
A few upcoming opportunities outlined below AND help us celebrate Farm to School Month - for all of October! F2S Grants just opened on Monday, so check out the links below and come to the grant-writing workshop on October 20th.
Please note that October is also Circular Economy Month, with a showcased week of Waste Reduction celebrations from October 17-23rd. This will be Canada’s 21st Waste Reduction Week! Wow. Think of all the great connections to food waste management (composting, worms, holistic eating, etc) and living a most sustainable life. https://wrwcanada.com/en
For those of you close to the Shuswap, please note this opportunity happening on October 14th and 15th:
PERMABLITZ at the Lighthouse Community Food Forest downtown Salmon Arm at the Salvation Army.
We would have classes help us with raking, moving leaves, taking out plants, composting and being a part of the process. If tools are a barrier, we can supply as many as we can.
If your class (or any individual) is a good fit, they can contact Melanie Bennett or Keli Westgate of Lekker Land Design who is leading this event. lekkerla...@gmail.com
Grants
Farm to School BC
Start Up Grants $3,000 / Scale Up Grants $1,000
Deadline Nov. 13
For more information and to apply: https://farmtoschoolbc.ca/grants/
NOTE: Grant writing workshop being hosted Oct. 20, info and registration at above link.
An offer: if you have a school food program or garden project you need some help finding resources for, please contact me! I may be able to help you find resources.
School Food
October is Farm to School Month!!
Share your great project with the world by submitting it through the Farm to School BC website.
New USDA Farm to School resources
Come to the Table: Exploring School Food Together
Oct 27 and 28
The gathering is a part of the Indigenous School Food Event Series and is hosted by the School Food Development Project (SFDP) funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and hosted at the University of Saskatchewan. The SFDP is exploring community-designed, culturally appropriate school food programs. The event will be a chance to learn from the experiences of successful, Indigenous-led school food programs and to facilitate the sharing of information, resources, and planning.
Teach Food First - An Educators Toolkit for Exploring Canada's Food Guide
Resource for K-8
https://healthyschoolsbc.ca/teach-food-first/
Youth Advocacy for a Canadian Healthy School Food Program
Join fellow youth-led organizations from across Canada to explore how to engage and centre youth in a national campaign for school food.
Tuesday, October 11
More information and registration
Serving Traditional Indigenous Food in Schools Webinar
The Indigenous School Food Circle is hosting a webinar on how school food programs are serving traditional Indigenous foods.
Wednesday, October 12
More information and registration
First Comes Food: A Podcast by Canadian Feed the Children
This podcast explores the surprising ways communities are feeding children and families in the face of a global food crisis.
Visit canadianfeedthechildren.ca/podcast for more (site becomes live on October 16th)
Outdoor Learning Resources
Take Me Outside Week Oct 17-21
A full week of events and learning opportunities.
Information and registration here.
From the Outdoor Learning Store:
A wonderful collection of free Virtual Workshops on the theme of educating outdoors
New resources available
If you don't know about these guys, their mailing list is PACKED with resources
Reconciliation
A Just Recovery Through Reconciliation
Over the course of six months, educators will explore the four-branch framework of environmental inquiry and the associated Indigenous lenses, that present tangible entry points towards a reciprocal relationship with the Land participating as a co-teacher.
More information and registration
On September 30 Sue-Anne Banks, Indigenous Lead for the BC Chapter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, sent out these words and links:
The “orange shirt” in Orange Shirt Day refers to the new shirt that Phyllis Webstad was given to her by her grandmother for her first day of school at St. Joseph’s Mission residential school in British Columbia. When Phyllis got to school, they took away her clothes, including her new shirt. It was never returned. To Phyllis, the colour orange has always reminded her of her experiences at residential school and, as she has said, “how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.”
https://www.cbc.ca/kids/articles/what-is-orange-shirt-day
One of the most important parts of today is first listening to Indigenous people's stories, and also bringing awareness and sharing stories with each other to learn and grow.
I have shared some relevant links to check out:
National Friendship Centre search:
https://nafc.ca/friendship-centres/find-a-friendship-centre
Please be advised that some stories are not easy to hear and to protect your heart while being open to learning and unlearning.
Taking back our spirits: Indigenous literature, public policy, and healing
Authors Jo-Ann Episkenew (Author)
Voices from Hudson Bay: Cree Stories from York Factory, Second Edition.
Authors: Flora Beardy & Robert Coutts
*Please, note this is written by a cousin of mine (Flora Beardy) and notes my Great Grandfather Alex Spence p. 43.
Gather: Richard Van Camp On The Joy Of Storytelling
Author: Richard Van Camp
*RVC is one of my writing mentors in the 2022 Audible Indigenous Writers Circle
Life in the City of Dirty Water: A Memoir of Healing
Author: Clayton Thomas-Müller
*Clayton is my primary mentor in the 2022 Audible Indigenous Writers Circle
Land Acknowledgement:
