Ziigwan: End of Summer Blog Post

In the beginning of August, we were presented with the opportunity to visit the Petroglyphs Provincial park. Here we were able to facilitate engagement for campers within this site,
showing how to respect to the area and learning cultural teachings which went along with the land there. It was very special to see how the petroglyphs had a different effect on each of the campers and us staff; which petroglyphs drew the most attention and why and what they learned from them. The petroglyphs are a powerful place and being able to introduce the place to the campers was absolutely worth it. 

Some of the teachings were new to me and many of the
campers and other staff. However, what was really interesting is that some other teachings came back to me after being there. 

Also, during the walk around outside the petroglyph site, a
camper pointed out a crevice in the rock and we saw a five-lined skink, the only reptile in Ontario, which was super interesting to say the least.

During this trip, we were also able to go on a medicine walk with Matt. Having the opportunity to walk around and as he teaches us things about the different medicines; which plants were good
for what; how they were selected for medicine and so on. It definitely captured our attention and of some campers, and learning the practicality of Anishinaabemowin as a language through how the plants are named is very important to me.

Being able to facilitate such an experience all the while learning and having the experiences made it one of the high points of my summer, from the teachings to the outdoors and fresh air to
the animals and medicines we saw and learned about and I hope the campers got as much out of the experience as I did.