The planting of the Bowness Medicine Wheel Forest was delayed when a critical water main burst and the City of Calgary introduced stage 4 water restrictions, banning all outdoor watering. It was looking like the event was going to be delayed until September, but thanks to some quick thinking by staff at the Bowness Community Association, water for the planting event was collected from the hockey arena cooling system. This water is normally discharged into a storm drain in the parking lot so it was a great way to make use of the normally discarded water while city-wide water restrictions were in place. Special thanks to Angel's Drive-In for donating about 40 ice cream pails for water collection.

All photography by Albert Woo.

The morning of June 29th was perfect for planting a tiny forest. About 60 volunteers of all ages helped out and once again it was an inspiring community project full of excitement and joyful chatter. Bowness residents showed why this neighbourhood is known for its community spirit. They were joined by nature-loving members of the Calgary Climate Hub, a group of cub scouts from NW Calgary, and enthusiastic volunteers from Simon House in Bowness. Over 600 trees, shrubs, and wildflowers were planted over two hours.

Our forest designer and project manager, Heather Morigeau (centre), welcomed the volunteers to the event and Laddie Miller-Trithara (left), from the Bowness Community Association provided a heartfelt land acknowledgement. As with all our planting events, Elder Marilyn Shingoose (right) offered a blessing and smudge ceremony. Karen Chow, Calgary Climate Hub treasurer, delivered a safety talk before we broke out into groups of four and got down to business. Volunteer captains for each planting group provided a planting demo and instructed participants as they selected plants from kits assembled for each of the 15 planting zones.

As shown above, the Bowness tiny forest design is based on the concept of the Medicine Wheel. The Medicine Wheel is an ancient Indigenous symbol used to transfer teaching about nature’s cycles, stages of life, self care and the Sacred Medicines. The oldest known Medicine Wheel on Turtle Island (North America) is estimated to be 5,500 years old and located near Majorville Cairn in Alberta. Within the Medicine Wheel circle, some of the plants have been selected to reflect the colours of the four quadrants of the wheel. Native plants were selected in accordance with the Miyawaki Method for planting tiny forests and the site was prepared for planting based on the method developed by Japanese botanist, Akira Miyawaki.

After many months of planning, the planting event was the reward for Climate Hub organizers and our community partners. The event brought together members of the community to work together with a common goal and see something wonderful appear in return for their efforts. Over the years the tiny seedlings will grow into a tall forest where volunteers can reflect on the incredible fruits of their efforts. Children will watch the trees they planted grow with them and elders can feel proud of the gift of natural beauty that they helped give to future generations. It's an event that connects people to nature and to each other. They leave with a real sense of accomplishment and can return again and again to appreciate the wonder of a thriving tiny ecosystem.

Join our volunteer list now to stay informed on future planting events.

To support this project, and other grassroots municipal climate action projects, please consider donating to the Calgary Climate Hub.

The Calgary Climate Hub would like to thank Ward 1 Councillor, Sonya Sharp for participating in the event. 

Rock painting was a hit for all ages!

Working hard and having fun!

Many thanks to the Calgary Climate Hub leaders Steve (Host of the Climate Lens podcast), Jared (Director) and Rob (Board Co-Chair) for always providing strong support and enthusiasm for community climate action.

F4C Steering Committee (Rob, Heather, Jared and Heather) - mission accomplished!

Photos by Albert Woo