National Healing Forests: an Example of Reconciliation in Action

Our presenters Patricia Stirbys and Peter Croal will give a brief outline of the genesis of this initiative,  and their respective motivations for creating this project. The talk will then describe how communities, schools and churches etc can develop their own Healing Forest. Benefits of the Healing Forest will be described along with some recent examples of completed Healing Forests.

In 2015 Peter co-developed the  reconciliation  initiative called the National Healing Forest Initiative with Patricia Stirbys, Cowessess First Nation. Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and has a B.Sc., Geology Degree from Carleton University (1979). Since then Peter has been working in the field of environmental assessment and international development for over 35 years.  Peter is particularly interested in how climate change affects indigenous peoples, and how the knowledge of Indigenous peoples can be applied to developmental challenges. He also works on expedition cruise ships to Antarctica and the Canadian Arctic as a guide and lecturer. His work has taken him to over forty developing countries, including a two-year stint of living and working in Namibia with his family. Peter started his career prospecting for uranium, zinc, silver, petroleum, peat, and groundwater in Canada. He sits on the boards of several not-for-profit development organizations. Peter is an avid gardener at his home and his own small community plot. He also is a member of a community supported farm and volunteers at the Ottawa Food Bank farm.

Patricia Stirbys is a citizen of Cowessess First Nation (Saskatchewan) and works in the nuclear science and technology sector. Born and raised in Ontario, she holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa and has worked with Indigenous communities, industry, and government on a broad range of issues. Her goal is to always foster positive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities that can lead to lasting gains for Canada. “As an Indigenous woman, walking on the land is important to help connect me to nature and the world around me.  I have a large and wonderful flower and plant garden at my home that I tend to from Spring to Fall. I enjoy watching the baby shoots sprout in the Spring and grow into amazing and diverse plants as the weather warms, then cools again.

This presentation will be a free Webinar.  There is no registration required.  A recording will be available for members only for 14 days after the presentation. 

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How to view the presentation

To join the presentation, please click on this You Tube link to go to the OHS You Tube Channel.   To simply watch the presentation there is nothing else you need to do.  The presentation will also be recorded and available at this link afterwards. The easiest way to find the channel is using the link; if you are on You Tube and do a search please use Ottawa Horticultural Society (we aren’t the only ones that use OHS as an acronym!)

Starting the video

Once you are on the site, you must click on the rectangle of the video to start watching.   Until 7:30 you will see a screen that says the presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m., so please be patient.

If you think you may want to ask a question

There will be a Q &A session at the end of the presentation when your questions submitted will be put to the speaker by the moderator.  There are two ways to ask your questions during the presentation:

1. You can put your question in the live chat panel on the YouTube page while the presentation is running. To make a comment, you need to be registered and have a personal Youtube channel. Steps to do this are described below.
2. If you don’t wish to register, you can still watch the video and can email a question during the presentation to  info@ottawahort.org

How to create a personal channel  

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1646861?hl=en

 Follow these instructions to create a channel that only you can manage using your Google Account. 

1. Sign in to YouTube from a Google account on a computer or using the mobile site.
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