Photo: Contributed
(L to R): TD branch manager Doug Brayshaw, Kalamalka Garden co-ordinator Justen Peters, Okanagan College regional dean Jane Lister and TD branch manager Chelsea Schroth.
TD Bank Group has earmarked $85,000 over the next three years to ensure youngsters and new Canadians are able to enjoy and learn about an Indigenous garden at Okanagan College’s Vernon campus.
The first part of the donation occurred earlier this year, allowing more than 250 students to visit the K’nmaĺka Senqâĺten-Kalamalka Indigenous Garden.
“My class had a fantastic experience at the Indigenous garden,” BX Elementary School Grade 4 teacher Kim Tyssen said in a press release. “They learned so much about the traditional use of local plants and were really excited to get the opportunity to touch, taste and see them. They also really enjoyed the traditional stories and Syilx song.”
The K’nmaĺka Senqâĺten-Kalamalka Indigenous garden was created in 2017 by a small group of employees and students from Okanagan College as well as members of the Dennis family. Elder Theresa Dennis granted the permission required to gather and harvest 30 plants from Syilx Okanagan nation land and transplant them into the garden. Some of the plant life in the garden includes hawthorn, wolf willow and sage.
Garden tours are provided by Justen Peters, a member of the Syilx community.
“My family has lived in the Okanagan since time immemorial,” Peters said. “I feel a deep connection to these hills, to these rivers, to these lakes. In our Indigenous language nsyilxcn, we say timxulax (teem-who-lah) when we refer to our mother, the earth.
“I am honoured to have been mentored by elders from the Okanagan Indian Band on how to work with Indigenous plants, and I’m excited and proud to share pieces of my culture with students, newcomers to Canada, or anyone willing to listen.”
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