Celebrating Fifteen Years of Engaging Programs!

EARTH PATH nature programs ran Fridays from September 18 to November 27
Educators Corinne and Erika hosted 10 girls and boys, aged 6-12 with Pierrot’s ongoing support. Activities included sharing and gratitude circles; stories and teachings from First Nation’s lore; drumming and music-making, fire-keeping; exploring; nature crafts and games and plant, bird, and animal studies.

• Gatineau-based Cobra du Mandingue presented two drumming and dance workshops with fifteen musicians and dancers in May and June.
• Propeller Dance co-founder Shara Weaver taught three outdoor dance classes in July, attracting ten to fifteen participants.
• EARTH PATH youth programs ran 3 week-long camps from July 6-10, 13-17, and August 17-21 Educators Corinne, Bryarly, and Erika provided an in-depth mix of outdoor engagement activities, serving twenty seven girls and boys from 6-12 years old with Pierrot’s able assistance.

• Tree-planting with Tree Canada, l’Agence des forêts privées de l’Outaouais and Les Conseillers forestiers de l’Outaouais
  Supporting reforestation to capture carbon and beautify the community, we teamed up with Tree Canada to plant 20,000 trees and create a 20-acre forest. Species include Burr and Red Oak, Black Walnut, Black Cherry, Red and Black Maple, Red Pine, Tamarack, Trembling Aspen, Yellow Birch, and White Spruce.
• ACRE Chelsea hosted a bird walk on June 13 Naturalists Rachel Vallender, Geof Burbidge, and Stephen Woodley led three small-group tours to discover and identify over 30 bird species in the forests and fields of Eco Echo. These included:American Crow, American Goldfinch, American Robin, Baltimore Oriole, Black-and-white Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-capped Chickadee, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue Jay, Bobolink, Cedar Waxwing, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Catbird, Hermit Thrush, Indigo Bunting, Northern Cardinal, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Red-wing Blackbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Ruffed Grouse, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, White-throated Sparrow, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

EARTH PATH programs ran Fridays from Sept. 7 to Dec.7 serving twelve girls and boys between the ages of 7-12 yrs. with mentors Corinne, Pierre, and Amber, an herbalist. Core activities included sharing and gratitude circles; stories and teachings from First Nation’s lore; fire-keeping; exploring; and nature crafts and games. Interwoven with core routines were plant, bird, and animal studies, harvesting and processing medicinal herbs and wild edibles, wildcrafting and salve-making, orienteering, and tracking.

EARTH PATH offered two week-long camps: June 26-30 for eleven young people between the ages of 6-12 yrs. and July 16-20 with nine participants. Activities revolved around plant and animal studies, nature-based crafts and games, pond life investigations, skills in enhancing forest awareness, fire-keeping, and fort and shelter-building.

• Wakefield’s Annual Earth Day Celebration-Sunday April 22 Eco Echo sponsored a unique film Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees about the pioneering discoveries of botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger. The event celebrated the public launch of the La Pêche Global Forest.
• EARTH PATH programs ran Fridays from Feb. 23 to June 1 welcoming thirteen participants between the ages of 6-12 yrs. supported by mentors: Corinne & Bryarly McEachern and Pierre Blin.

EARTH PATH Nature Program offered eleven classes from September through November serving eight children, ages 6-11
Our fall session included explorations in the forests and meadows, harvesting wild apples and making applesauce, plant and seed identification, a study of owls in our region, a geology study where we tested pH levels in soils, harvesting medicinal plants, and shelter building. Interspersed throughout was time for crafts (milkweed pod mice, painted pods, pinecone owls, painted acorns, plant posters, leather armbands, walking sticks, landscape cutouts), fire keeping, sharing circles, wildcrafted tea parties, games, music, and stories.

• EARTH PATH Nature Program offered its annual summer camp in June engaging ten young people in outdoor activities.
• In August, Gardens that Seed Living Communities featured permaculture expert Jane Hayes (gardenjane.com) in a vibrant session on designing & growing gardens to strengthen the spirit of community. Over twenty participants, including members of Cohabitat Wakefield, discovered “hands on” techniques to engage others in the fun of gardening together.

• Aboriginal Architect Douglas Cardinal presented conservation development concepts to over 120 people on April 22 at the Community Centre. His vision for sustainable, healthy, “small footprint” homes would  enhance the Eco Echo learning community.
• Eco Echo sponsored Wakefield’s Earth Day 2016 opening night film, THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING, based on Naomi Klein’s inspiring book, for an estimated 100 attendees.
• EARTH PATH Nature Program continued its programming with Friday sessions serving eight young people.

• Eco Echo supported the workshop titled: Climate Change Challenges and Community Solutions in the Gatineau Hills October 26 at the Wakefield/La Pêche Community Centre.
• EARTH PATH Nature Program offered eight enriching programs in October and November.
• On September 17, the Ferme Minnes Farm introduced its sustainable development project at the Community Centre. Visit: FermeMinnesFarm.ca
• Our Winter Solstice Celebration on December 21 with Joanna McMillan welcomed friends and neighbours to honour the turning of the seasons and the New Year!

EARTH PATH Summer Camp returned in July with a one-week summer camp serving eight children that balanced the development of naturalist skills with community building. Campers had the opportunity to do crafts with natural materials.

• Eco Echo again celebrated Earth Day in April in partnership with Wakefield Ensemble at the Wakefield/La Pêche Community Centre, sponsoring the Rooney’s new film titled Precautionary Principle: The Nicole Bruinsma Story.
• EARTH PATH: Nature Connections offered thirteen day programs from February through June.The program provided nine children from 6-11 years old with an opportunity to build community and connect with nature through creative play and exploration, while strengthening their naturalist skills and wilderness awareness. The long cold, snowy winter tested participants’ fortitude and adaptability!

• Eco Echo sponsored a screening for 200 people at the Black Sheep of Land Awakening by filmmaker Raúl Alvarez.
• Owen Tuf and Pierre Bisson planted a half acre of indigenous wildflowers from The Wildflower Farm. Sylvia Spring and Christopher Minnes planted organic sunflowers that were donated by Eric Corneau and Maude Bertrand.

Master R.D. Chin, Feng Shui architect offered an inspiring two-day workshop to heal and transform relationships with the land and community by enriching the knowledge and practice of this ancient art.

• During the last two weekends in September, Eco Echo hosted land artist Marc Walter during the 24th Artists in Their Environment Studio Tour. Over 200 people walked the pathways to enjoy sculpture and artwork around and inside the historic barn. Marc’s sculpture “Le Souffle” graced the main entrance to Eco Echo from the highway.
• On Sunday November 4, POCO members and children came together to prepare the orchard for winter with mulch and mouse guards. Holes were dug in preparation of thirty bare root trees and several mature trees selected from the Green Barn Nursery.
• The Winter Solstice on December 21 was celebrated with a Sacred Fire Ceremony by Joe Hiscott, honouring all those working to ensure a vibrant future for our community!

An Earth Day Festival on April 24 hosted neighbors, families and visitors who explored the land, enjoyed tractor rides, visited the Quarry amphitheatre, played on haybales, walked the labyrinth, co-created an environmental artwork, Le Cri, with land artist Marc Walter, listened to music, and celebrated the planting of the first cherry tree in the Community Orchard.

• Members of the La Pêche Organic Community Orchard tended and cared for a variety of 35 fruit trees as they established roots in their new soil.
• Two weeklong programs in August 2010 presented by Isabel Diaz and ARTerres Eco-Art Camp engaged twenty seven young people between ages 6-13 in a variety of interactive and creative outdoor learning activities.

• Les Mycologues amateurs de l’Outaouais joined us in September for the third annual program and discovered 117 delicious and unusual mushroom varieties.
• A Homa Therapy Workshop presented by Sahaj Kaur Durnin, ayurvedic nutritionist, shared the ancient knowledge of Agnihotra with community members.
• Land artist Marc Walter’s “outdoor studio” in the fields and woods at Eco Echo welcomed hundreds of visitors over two weekends in October during the 22nd Annual Artists in their Environment Studio Tour.
• The La Pêche Organic Community Orchard (POCO) planted an additional 40 bare-root fruit and nut trees, bushes and vines for hibernation throughout the winter. It is now the most diverse orchard in the Gatineau!
• Organic farmer Ryan Wilson led an ecological property design workshop in November and inspired twenty community members to take a “hands-on” approach to managing their own property using the principles of permaculture.

Eco Echo hosted a welcome ceremony for over 100 community members that inspired programming contacts and began local partnerships.

A week-long day camp with Earth Lore Wilderness educators Pierre Blin and Heather Burrill, introduced 5-10 year-olds to nature’s abundance.

Weekend workshops with the Mycologues amateurs de l’Outaouais, permaculture expert Brad Peterson (Environmental Design) and organic farmer Ken Taylor (Green Barn Farm) introduced 40 community members to permaculture practices.