Shared Ground

Amanda Bostlund
Shared Ground

Meet knowledge holders, foresters, naturalists, activists, scientists, visionaries, and outdoorsy people of all stripes to share delight in the wonders of forest ecosystems. We talk about issues of forestry, conservation and interconnected topics, and discover sustainable, ecological, respectful ways of relating to the forest. Maintaining and regenerating forest ecosystems is one of the most important necessities of our time, and contributes to everything from carbon sequestration to healthy children. Join Amanda Bostlund as she meets with various folks in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia) and beyond to talk about forests as our shared ground, for all species, humans and not. We explore the incredible value of thriving forests, methods and mindsets for their protection, and regenerative solutions for how we interact with and within them. One of the main purposes of this podcast is to hear opinions, perspectives and ideas from many different people, and not to treat any of them as the be all and end all. What you hear does not necessarily represent the opinions of the host. The hope is that you consider whatever content you hear for yourself and enjoy the journey of making sense of these complicated, interconnected issues of our time. Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharedgroundpodcast/ Support Shared Ground: https://ko-fi.com/sharedground Podcast artwork was generously provided by Andrew Danylewich of ADJA Studio and Gallery: https://www.adjagallery.com/

  1. APR 13

    Action and Collaboration (a compilation)

    This episode is a compilation of segments of hopeful, local stories from some previous Shared Ground conversations, as well as an update about the newly formed Lichen Camp, which protects an area of old growth forest at Goldsmith Lake in Annapolis County, within the Kespukwitk District of Mi’kma’ki.  You’ll hear wisdom and inspiration from Katherine Barrett, Shawn Feener, Teresa Quilty, Nina Newington, Rob Bright as well as several forest protectors at the Last Hope Camp.  Following are the full episodes from which these segments originated (in order of appearance) Inspiration from a Community Food Forest Save Our Old Forests: A Conversation with Rob Bright Forest Protection and Community Care with Nina Newington Celebration and Reflection; onward to Last Hope Campaign! EPISODE RESOURCES: Ne'ata'q Food Forest website , facebook page Save Our Old Forests (SOOF) website , Facebook and Instagram hashtag #saveouroldforests Friends of Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area on Facebook Interview on CBC Info Morning with Nina Newington about Lichen Camp  Some upcoming Earth Day events (2024): April 20: Build compost and soil from yard waste at Ne'ata'q, The Food Forest in Lunenburg April 21:  SOOF Soup Sunday & Earth Day Celebration in Centrelea Citizen Science Workshop (Part 1) @ The Wooden Monkey in Halifax Find all upcoming SOOF events here Note from Nina regarding support for Lichen Camp and Goldsmith Lake: We welcome campers, visitors and donations. Please email lichencamp AT...

    54 min
  2. MAR 9

    It's Better with Bees! A story of hope and collaboration

    Better with Bees is a student-run club focused on urban environmental sustainability at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, within the Sipekne'katik district of Mi'kma'ki. In the words of Topsy Olatunji, a student member of Better with Bees: “Our project centers on involving the Mi'kmaw community in establishing a healing garden and a Wabanaki pollinator garden, topics I will delve into deeper in the episode. We aim to educate and cultivate environmental awareness on local bee populations and pollinators in our ecosystem.” And from teacher Christopher Hall: “In the spring of 2022, Charles P. Allen High School (CPA) was approached by Alvéole, an urban beekeeping company, to house a beehive at the school. This beehive inspired the work that CPA’s Better With Bees does as a community change maker. Working with students we have developed a plan to not only make tangible impacts on climate change, but also to showcase a native species garden. By building a Wabanaki pollinator garden surrounding a Mi’kmaq Medicine Garden, we hope to demonstrate that gardening with native species is a beautiful urban possibility.” Shared Ground host Amanda Bostlund was excited to speak with three of the many people involved in Better with Bees during Helping Nature Heal's 18th Seedy Saturday event in Bridgewater this February. Here's a bit about them, in order of appearance. Topsy Olatunji is a proud member of The Better with Bees club at Charles P. Allen High School. As a member of both the media team and website subcommittee, she is consistently engrossed in their mission to promote sustainability within the urban environment. Christopher Hall has been on staff at Charles P. Allen High School for 19 of his 26 years of teaching. Using both the academic setting and extracurricular activities, he is able to encourage students to draw on their strengths in the pursuit of meaningful goals. Khaled Al-Sakkaf is a Grade 12 IB student who is deeply invested in the intersection of environmental sustainability. Currently, on Fridays, he devotes his time and skills to the Better with Bees Meadow Project, serving on the technology and data team. Through his involvement, he aims to harness his skills to drive positive change and sustainability initiatives. His commitment to volunteering reflects his belief in the power of innovation to address environmental challenges and create a better future for our planet. EPISODE RESOURCES: Better with Bees website Instagram YoutubeThe United Nations Sustainable Development Goals From  Sackville Rivers: “The Legend of the Petroglyph at Bedford Basin” RE3 conference Alvéole https://www.alveole.buzz/Ne’ata’q Food Forest at the Bluenose Academy in Lunenburg  https://foodforestatbluenose.ca/Cortado Tasting Room  on FacebookThe She Shed Other Shared Ground episodes mentioned:...

    41 min
  3. 10/14/2023

    The Sky Pillar: A bridge to the night

    A carbon-sequestering art and research installation, the Sky Pillar at the Deanery Project was designed with architecture students from Dalhousie University. As Executive Director Kim Thompson puts it, the Sky Pillar is "a bridge to the night", and was created as an anchor to the Deanery’s annual SeaLight SkyLight festival. Kim says, “We’re trying to get people outdoors, connecting with nature, at night, which isn’t something we always do in our century”. Listen to this conversation with Kim Thompson and Dr. Jenn MacLatchy as they talk about how the Sky Pillar came to be and how it brings together art and science, land and sky. This installation sparks an interest and understanding in night time wonders and gives an interesting angle from which to view our place in space, to think about navigation, and to connect to the seasons. Tune in also to discover the relationship of the Sky Pillar to bioluminescence, Japanese Knotweed, and biochar!  (And a bonus: a luminescent fungi chat.) The Deanery Project is nestled in a forested, sheltered cove of the Atlantic Ocean. It is an environmental arts and education centre that hosts many intriguing buildings, workshops, projects, and art installations. It is located in Lower Ship Harbour, on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore of Mi'kma'ki. Visitors and students come here to experience creative natural building techniques, to learn about permaculture, to help out on the land, discover community, practice citizen science, collaborate on an art installation, and/or to join a group for one of the wide-ranging programs. Here, one can find everything from a solar wood kiln to to retreat facilities. In response to the challenges of our times, the Deanery is also a convening space and living laboratory; for research and for building capacity for communities. Kim Thompson is Executive Director of the Deanery Project. She imparts her love for learning, art, social justice and sustainability into everything she does and is passionate about nature, family, natural building, art, traditional skills and community. An adjunct instructor with the School of Architecture since 1998, Kim is deeply committed to creating experiential, educational opportunities for pre and post secondary students at the Deanery, and welcomes anyone interested to learn and become involved with the variety of things going on there. Dr. Jenn MacLatchy (she/they), is an artist, a kayak instructor, and researcher of settler descent living in Mi’kma’ki. Her doctoral research was focused on using arts-based methods to engage with waste, weeds, and wastelands to form a settler method for decolonizing relationship with land and tending to liveable post-Anthropocene futures. (Episode 16 of Shared Ground is about this) (You may also like to check out Episode 17: An Intro to the Deanery Project) EPISODE RESOURCES: Find out more about the Deanery Project at Thedeaneryproject.com https://www.facebook.com/deaneryproject https://www.instagram.com/deaneryproject/ Open houses are on the 1st Sunday of each month To discuss an idea; a potential art residency, a science research project or something with youth, contact Kim at 902-845-1888 or email thedeaneryproject@gmail.com Asitu’lisk a...

    35 min
  4. 09/10/2023

    SOOFstock: A festival for the forests

    So many people have come together through the Save Our Old Forests campaign, started in Annapolis County, within Mi'kma'ki. The folks behind it have recently hosted a successful music festival to raise awareness and funds, and to provide connection, support and inspiration for all those who care about the trees and animals in our Wabanaki Acadian forests. In this special SOOFstock episode, meet some of the people involved (from musicians to volunteers), glimpse a rainy forest walk at the proposed Goldsmith Lake wilderness areas with Bob Bancroft and Donna Crossland, and get a small taste of some music at the festival! EPISODE RESOURCES: Save Our Old Forests website , Facebook and Instagram hashtag #saveouroldforests (For some wonderful photos of the event, take a look at their social media.) Links to websites or pages of the musicians and artists interviewed: https://anitacazzola.com/music https://www.facebook.com/samsonwrote/ https://www.facebook.com/CuckooMoon/ https://thestrangevalentines.com/home https://www.amandasuutari.com/ Suzanne Simard’s website with videos and links to her books Nature Nova Scotia  Blomidon Naturalists Society  The online public consultation mentioned by MLA Carmen Kerr, started on August 23: Collective Protected Areas Strategy Engagement The website of the settler education Rob mentioned (who went to Last Hope Camp) See this NS Forest Notes page for information about the decline of bird populations (including the Blackburnian warbler). The full paper can be found here Forest degradation drives widespread avian habitat and population declines  Facebook pages and groups: Bridgewater Watershed Protection Alliance (BWPA) Nova Scotia species at risk   Annapolis Environment and Ecology Treaty Truckhouse #2  Citizen science M'ikma'ki   Past Shared Ground episodes that...

    1h 19m
  5. 08/15/2023

    Inspiration from a Community Food Forest

    Join us for a conversation about Ne’ata’q, The Food Forest at Bluenose Academy in Lunenburg/E'se'katik (in Nova Scotia, within Mi'kma'ki). Outisde this P-9 public school is an area where the grass has been replaced with a forest-to-be; with plants that will help one another, provide learning and delight for the children, and bring so many people from the local community together while sharing indigenous knowledge and working towards food security. This food forest builds on a belief of the importance of resilience and connections for a healthy community, and the involvement and enthusiasm that can come from within it when different points of view are sought out.  Meet three folks from the project team, and hear some of the history, their motivation and the interconnected benefits of the food forest, which is of benefit not only to the children of the school and the greater human community, but other beings as well. Katherine Barrett is a writer, editor and permaculture gardener. She has a graduate degree in Botany and has worked on environmental issues for many years. Katherine facilitates communication within and about the food forest project. Shawn Feener is a Mi'kmaw knowledge holder and a conservationist. He is Regional Coordinator of Mi’kmaw Education Services for the South Shore Regional Center for Education.  Shawn has lived close Pijinuiskaq or the Lahave River his whole life and has had the pleasure of working with some of the beings that call Pijinuiskaq home. He completed a diploma in Wildlife Conservation at Holland College in Prince Edward Island, a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management at the University of New Brunswick, and is currently working on a Bachelor of Education at St. FX in Nova Scotia. Teresa Quilty is a grandmother, nature-lover, grower-forager, and community organizer. Her previous work in both non-profit and corporate settings spanned education, communications and organizational development. Her idea of fun is learning how to make good things happen in a community of skilled, creative and generous people. EPISODE RESOURCES: Ne'ata'q Food Forest website email address facebook page The article mentioned about the Anishinaabe Studies professor about how Indigenous food forests shape ecosystems: ‘TODAY WE HAVE GARDENS BUT BEFORE WE DESIGNED… ENTIRE LANDSCAPES’ The other Shared Ground episodes mentioned: *Meeting Mi'kmaw Knowledge Holder Shawn Feener (episode 10) *A 3-pronged approach to Sustainability with Rosmarie Lohnes (episode 3) *A Two-eyed seeing approach with Clifford Paul, with Elder Albert Marshall (episode 14) ~ To support Shared Ground -- Thank you!! ~

    58 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Meet knowledge holders, foresters, naturalists, activists, scientists, visionaries, and outdoorsy people of all stripes to share delight in the wonders of forest ecosystems. We talk about issues of forestry, conservation and interconnected topics, and discover sustainable, ecological, respectful ways of relating to the forest. Maintaining and regenerating forest ecosystems is one of the most important necessities of our time, and contributes to everything from carbon sequestration to healthy children. Join Amanda Bostlund as she meets with various folks in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia) and beyond to talk about forests as our shared ground, for all species, humans and not. We explore the incredible value of thriving forests, methods and mindsets for their protection, and regenerative solutions for how we interact with and within them. One of the main purposes of this podcast is to hear opinions, perspectives and ideas from many different people, and not to treat any of them as the be all and end all. What you hear does not necessarily represent the opinions of the host. The hope is that you consider whatever content you hear for yourself and enjoy the journey of making sense of these complicated, interconnected issues of our time. Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharedgroundpodcast/ Support Shared Ground: https://ko-fi.com/sharedground Podcast artwork was generously provided by Andrew Danylewich of ADJA Studio and Gallery: https://www.adjagallery.com/

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