Durham College says Indigenous garden taking shape at Whitby Campus, with student involvement across programs
Durham College says it is developing a new Indigenous garden at its Whitby Campus as part of the campus food forest, a project that began with an Indigenous ground blessing in May and is being done in partnership with the Barrett Centre of Innovation in Sustainable Urban Agriculture.
The college says the garden will be used as a hands-on learning space involving students from several programs, with planting, construction and design work tied to the site.
In a post dated Oct. 7, Durham College said the garden is part of its food forest, which it describes as a mix of edible plants grown in layers intended to reflect the structure of a natural forest.
The college said sweetgrass and tobacco are among the plants in the garden.
Carey Yeoman, strategic initiatives manager at the Barrett Centre, said in the college’s post that the May ground blessing marked the beginning of what was described as an “Indigenous Agroecology installation.” Yeoman also said the garden is intended to support learning about food production and caring for soil.
Durham College said the project includes participation from multiple programs. Horticulture Technician and Horticulture – Food and Farming students are involved in planting and harvesting.
Carpentry and Renovation students built raised planters and benches for the garden, the college said.
Graphic Design students are contributing signage, illustrations and interactive QR code elements intended to help visitors learn about the space, according to the post.
The college said Culinary Management students are exploring ways to work with and harvest crops grown in the garden.
Jennifer Fournier, identified by the college as a teaching and learning consultant in Indigenous pedagogies, said the garden brings together “community and learning” and gives students a chance to see connections across areas of study.
Durham College said a naming ceremony will be held in the future to announce the garden’s Anishinaabe name. No date was provided.