July was an exciting month for the Cowichan Valley Earth Guardians. We spent time together working in Kin Park Youth Urban Farm in Duncan, attending and presenting on webinars, and continuing to digital strike online.
Our crew has been extremely grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to get together in the last month. Being able to spend time together as a community is hugely important to us.
There are so many ways to make change and be in community, and CVEG is proud to have expanded our ideas and our reach as a result of this pandemic. We are now combining both new and old ways of change-making in our work.
Diversity and creativity are key to getting our message out there – by creating change that truly means something, not only to us as individuals, but to the entirety of our community.
Earth Guardians In Kin Park
I love the term “cross-pollination.” It’s been something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately as I reflect on the work I’ve done as an activist over this past year and a half. So much of it has been cross-pollinated, and I think that reflects the interconnectedness of activism and advocacy work.
In my opinion, no one social or environmental issue can be resolved on its own. The relationships between social, climate and environmental justice are unteasibly intertwined and immensely complicated – justice equals justice and all types of justice are important and essential.
This summer I have been working as a Program Assistant and Farmer at Kin Park Youth Urban Farm in the heart of Duncan. Through my work at Kin Park, I have been able to share and create opportunities for volunteerism and community for my crew. I have loved being able to be a link between CVEG and Kin Park Youth Urban Farm.
In Kin Park, CVEG members have been working on activities such as weeding, mural painting, garlic harvesting and much more. The mural that CVEG is helping to create is the one that our crew had anticipated painting in celebration of World Bee Day in May. The mural is “pollinator” themed and features bees, lupine, coneflower, fennel and daisies.
Because of COVID-19, our crew had to cancel our World Bee Day event, as I’m sure many of you know. However, now that we are allowed to gather in larger groups, the Cowichan Valley Earth Guardians are finally getting to work on our much anticipated mural.
If you are interested in seeing how our mural progresses and the other things CVEG is working on in Kin Park, make sure to keep up with us on social media!
Digital Striking In August
In July, CVEG participated in our first in-person Painting Party at Kin Park Youth Urban Farm in partnership with the Kin Park SusTEENability Program.
Crew member Stephanie Lindstrom was also featured on multiple popular Instagram accounts for her digital striking efforts! Great job Steph!
CVEG Leader-in-Training Jasmine Hachey also used her birthday as an inspiration for a digital strike sign reading: “Happy Climate Crisis.” Being able to use our passions and the things that are going on in our lives as jumping-off points for change is critical in keeping systemic change at the forefront of our minds.
Make the change you strive for personal, connected and meaningful, and see it out with help from communities like this one.
(Katia Bannister is the leader of the Cowichan Valley Earth Guardians crew. She is a 16-year-old youth climate activist and community organizer. Katia lives on Thetis Island and is a Grade 12 student at Queen Margaret’s School in Duncan. After secondary school she hopes to pursue a career in ethnoecology).
