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Transformative Botanical Representations

Ly s D i v i n e N d e m e y e & Meredith Wilson

School

University of British Columbia School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture

Course

LARC 582L| DES 450L Transformative Botanical Representations

Instructor

Divine Ndemeye

Meredith Wilson

Date

2023 Summer Semester

This publication is supported by the University of British Columbia School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture and Remesha Design Lab Published in December 2023

This course took place on the on the unceded, unsurrendered, and ancestral homelands of the Hən̓ q̓ əmin̓ əm̓ and Sḵwxw̱ ú7mesh Sníchim speaking people’s of the xwməθkwəyə̓ m (Musqueam), Sḵwxw̱ ú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

Contents

Forward- Divine Ndemeye p. 6-9

Part 1. Who are we to them?

Part 2. Who are they?

p. 10-33

p. 34-49

1. Not Just Flowers - Kylie Ip

1. Arbutus Menziesii - Kaitlin Wiebe

2. Coconut - Angela Ragandac

2. Forest for the Fronds - Jennifer Reid

3. A Botanical Culture - Ang Zhai

3. Growing into Character - Nabil Basri

4. Secure - Cynthia San

4. Towards a Botanical Language - Lucas Wang

5. The Poppy - Lana Radomsky 5. Lesson from Ghost Pipe - Elliot Bellis 6. Generational Relations - Zahra Hirji 6. Mobile Microcosm - Mackenzie Parry 7. The Seed Doesn’t Fall Far From the Dandelion - Ellen McElroy 8. My Plant Guardians - Lana Radomsky

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

7. Bog Blanket - Mackenzie Parry

Part 3. Are we so small?

Part 4. Uproot, Uplift

p. 50-69

p. 70-103

1. A Thousand Memories Sit in the Middle

1. Interwoven Relations - Elliot Bellis

- Connor Budd 2. Hitch-hiker - Connor Budd 2. Finding Awe in Place - Isobel McLean 3. The Garden of Grief - Sabrina Careri 3. Invasive Species - James Gray 4. Identity - Angela Ragandac 4. Take a Breath - Lucas Wang 5. Queer Botany - Madelaine Snelgrove 5. Forget-Me-Not - Madelaine Snelgrove 6. Blue Willow, Reimagined - Kylie Ip 7. Brittle Courage - Ellen McElroy

Concluding Remarks- Meredith Wilson p. 104

Forward Divine Ndemeye

I would like to start by extending my deepest gratitude to all the students, and to Meredith my Teaching Assistant. The following publication is a compilation of student work from the “Transformative Botanical Representations” course offered in the Summer of 2023. This course invited students to critically challenge modes of documentation and representation of plants in contemporary landscape design discourse. Botany and planting design are key pillars in landscape architecture and spatial design at large. However in contemporary landscape design, plants are often represented through Western cultural and taxonomic conventions, abstracting them from their biophysical and relational contexts (Gagliano, 2019). Western botanical representations were used as a means for European colonial powers to document and study exotic plants in order to domesticate and control them as part of the broader imperial project. Many forms of contemporary landscape architecture perpetuate colonial approaches to plant studies through scientific and

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

dissective botanical drawing styles which reinforce the notion of plants as sterilized objects, ultimately perpetuating Western values (Datson and Galison 2007). These approaches assert human dominance over plants, and rob them of their agency and sacredness. In designing and delivering this course, we were guided by this main area of inquiry: How can we relate to and document plants in ways that acknowledge their sacredness and agency and lead us to better relations? My intention with this course was to engage students in discourses and practices to disrupt the Eurocentric visual narrative and offer alternative representational techniques, styles, and media that would invite meaningful kinship between humans and plants . Students were invited to employ a multitude of representational methods and ways of working and engaging in critical spatial discourses. Questions and narratives on our positionality, ancestry, culture, intersectionality and critical reflection guided the discussions

and work during the course. We adopted a decolonized and embodied enquiry–centering oneself in the work with values/process based design. Acknowledging that we are on the unceded, unsurrendered, and ancestral homelands of the Hən̓q̓ əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwxw̱ ú7mesh Sníchim speaking people’s of the xwməθkwəyə ̓m (Musqueam), Sḵwxw̱ ú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples, we aimed to center a respectbased design lens of MST and Indigenous sovereignty, and Afrofuturism. COURSE STRUCTURE The inquiries of the course were not intended to be a scientific exercise but an ethnobotanical cultural and artistic study. In this course, we are challenged to ask different questions that can guide us toward kinship with plants. All assignments focused on communication and representation as a means of expressing complex critical thoughts and personal narratives through storytelling. The students were assigned to complete

Students at the Van Dussen Botanical Garden Photo Credit: Divine Ndemeye

a weekly relational ethnobotanical narrative whereby they chose a plant and challenged conventional botanical representation through the layering of relational and cultural meaning. Through different forms of research (embodied, secondary, experiential), students are asked to think and relate to the plant beings from a lens of stewardship, care and reciprocity, and to layer stories and meaning using different modes of representation.

Gagliano, Monica. Thus Spoke the Plant: A Remarkable Journey of Groundbreaking Scientific Discoveries and Personal Encounters with Plants. Readhowyouwant Com Ltd, 2019. Daston, Lorraine, and Peter Galison. Objectivity. Princeton University Press, 2021.

The final assignment called for students to bring three plants into conversation as a means to portray or unpack a feeling or emotion (anger, happiness, confusion, sadness, surprise, etc.) of their choosing. Using storytelling as a technology, students communicated a feeling within a speculative or realistic context set up through their narratives. In addition to these exercises, the class had an extensive list of readings from Indigenous and Afrocentric perspectives that engaged students with critical spatial practice and discourse which supported the exploration of alternative ethnobotanical representation which would instigate and support transformative and reciprocal relationships with plants. Efforts towards such shifts are particularly imperative as we face a climate crisis, which can be addressed by shifting from extractive relationships with the land into relations of kinship that center reciprocity and care. I hope that you will appreciate and be transformed by the works of this class to relate to plants in ways that acknowledge their sacredness and agency.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

To the students who made this class possible: Haley Adams Nabil Basri Elliot Bellis Connor Budd Sabrina Careri James Gray Zahra Hirji Kylie Ip Ellen McElroy Isobel McLean Mackenzie Parry Lana Radomsky Angelica Ragandac Jennifer Reid Cynthia San Madelaine Snelgrove Lucas Wang Kaitlin Wiebe Ang Zhai

Thank you,

Divine N.

Images showing students in different outdoor class activities Photo credit: Divine Ndemeye

1. Who are we to them? Identifying our personhood in relation to plants

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Contents 1. Not Just Flowers - Kylie Ip 2. Coconut - Angela Ragandac 3. A Botanical Culture - Ang Zhai 4. Secure - Cynthia San 5. The Poppy - Lana Radomsky 6. Generational Relations - Zahra Hirji 7. The Seed Doesn’t Fall Far From the Dandelion - Ellen McElroy 8. My Plant Guardians - Lana Radomsky

Not Just Flowers A Celebration of Women & Plants

are socially and financially empowered by the caretaking, harvesting, and use of this plant. II. Indigenous peoples of Mexico & corn

Name

Kylie Ip

As the Indigenous peoples of Mexico have

Date

June 20, 2023

nurtured and harvested this crop for thousands

Medium Acrylic on canvas

of years, corn holds a deep significance to their cultures and livelihoods2. Corn is a major food crop in global economies today3, yet the media

Not Just Flowers: A Celebration of Women &

rarely highlights stories that reveal the fact

Plants is an artistic representation of a wall

that 43% of agricultural workers and 15% of all

mural that proudly celebrates the role of

landowners are female worldwide4. It would

women with plants through the ages. To convey

be remiss to portray corn without recognizing

the emotion of pride, the wall mural is an eye-

Indigenous women’s work in growing

catching way to bring art into the community

the Three Sisters – a mutually beneficial

and spark engagement. I began my research by

combination of beans, squash, and corn2.

looking for plants that are historically related to empowering women. I found three multi-

III. Marjory Stoneman Douglas & sawgrass

cultural stories that I would like to share with a

Marjory (1890 – 1998) was a journalist,

mural:

environmental activist and advocate for women’s rights who dedicated much of

I. The female agricultural workforce &

her life to conservation work of the Florida

bamboo

Everglades. Her famous book, “The Everglades:

The bamboo is often viewed as an invasive

River of Grass” is a detailed study of the

plant with its destructive roots wreaking

ecology, history, and cultural significance of

havoc in gardens and building foundations.

the wetlands, with a call to action to preserve

A less discussed narrative is that the plant

the Everglades5. Sawgrass is the primary

supports many economies worldwide as a

plant in this ecosystem6, and it was through

renewable resource to create goods. In Africa,

Marjory’s efforts that the wetland was saved

bamboo has helped reduced rural poverty by

from becoming the site of a proposed airport5.

providing women with jobs creating bamboo

Due to her work, sawgrass and the Everglades

products such as fabric, furniture, shoes, and

are viewed as a key ecosystem worthy of

briquettes (a block of combustible material)1.

preservation, rather than a wasteland ripe for

By generating income and livelihoods, women

development opportunities.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

The mural is a powerful tool for us to critically think, in this instance, about the recognition of women, plants, and the resulting design implications in landscape architecture. The selection of the three stories enables us to reflect on how deeply intertwined plants are with gender roles and sociocultural, political, and ecological contexts. While I come from a position of privilege and have not personally experienced these narratives, I believe we can start unpacking stories such as these to help us form better relationships with plants and inspire us to continually develop a more informed and rich perspective in design thinking. It is key that our heritage with plants and the important partnership we contribute to the care-taking of this planet is shared. Perhaps this is a first step we can take to help communities engage with the landscapes they

reside in and nurture better human-nature

the World. National Geographic. https://education.

connections.

nationalgeographic.org/resource/wbt-staple-food-

National Geographic. (2023). Staple Food Crops of

crops-world/. 1

IFAD. (2016). IFAD. The benefits of bamboo: sup-

port for livelihoods, the environment and women’s

empowerment. https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/

women are crucial for a better future. But they’re not

story/the-benefits-of-bamboo-support-for-liveli-

getting what they need to succeed. IFAD. https://www.

hoods-the-environment-and-women-s-empower-

ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/these-numbers-prove-that-

ment.

rural-women-are-crucial-for-a-better-future. 5. Gar-

IFAD. (2022). These numbers prove that rural

den Therapy. (2023). Crazy Plant Ladies Through the Wattenbarger, M. (2022). Eater. https://www.

Ages: Women Naturalists, Botanists, and Horticul-

eater.com/22849244/oaxaca-mexico-corn-indige-

turists Who Made History. Garden Therapy. https://

nous-farming-practices.

gardentherapy.ca/crazy-plant-ladies/. 6. Britannica.

(2023). Everglades. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Everglades

Not Just Flowers A Celebration of Women & Plants Name

Kylie Ip

Date

June 20, 2023

Medium Acrylic on canvas

As a model of a wall mural, this piece recognizes and uplifts women and their role with plants with pride. Three pairings are portrayed: •

the female agricultural workforce & bamboo,

•

Indigenous peoples of Mexico & corn,

•

Marjory Stoneman Douglas & sawgrass.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Coconut T h e Tr e e o f L i f e Name

Angelica Ragandac

Date

May 26, 2023

Medium Digital photo collage

The coconut tree is one of the most famous symbols used to depict the tropics, alongside the sea and sand. In this illustration, the coconut trees stand in the background, and its uses are highlighted in colour. Aside from being a tropical icon and for products like coconut water, milk, oil, and extracts or flavourings, rarely does the global market see the other values of the coconut tree, which is the “tree of life” in the Philippines. With this illustration, I hope to showcase the essence of the coconut tree and what it means to Filipinos - not just how the world uses it as a commodity. It is our shelter, our food, our source of livelihood, and it is what bonds our communities.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

A Botanical Culture Connecting People with Plants Name

Ang Zhai

Date

June 16, 2023

Medium Digital drawing

It is as if plants have become independent individuals that can only be used by landscape architects with their appearance and some materialized role to attract them to use. How do I find a way to connect the declining plant culture with landscape design? Can I find more interest in reviving the connection between plants and specific cultures to inspire and attract landscape users? With this in mind, I reflected on the botanical monarchs that have survived in Chinese cultural history, looking for them in ancient Chinese poetry and paintings. Plants were often considered to be noble characters with heroic traits. How can I combine them in terms of appearance and ecological habits to create a meaningful atmosphere?

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Secure

the outside world. Despite good intent, as we

Nurture In Nature

of oblivion. Using the leaves of the White

Name

Cynthia San

Date

June 20, 2023

physical properties through the colour white,

grew up this created a harmful environment

Medium Mixed media & shadows

Cedar as a paintbrush, and emphasizing its I have created different silhouettes of things that I think about when describing my mom. When placed together, the hedge is dense and complex, yet having moments of seeing

This project explores how plants in my

through its soft side and the intricacies of its

everyday life have consistently created a sense

role within the landscape as the main protector.

of security. The sensorial and physical qualities

This hedge presents itself as a beautiful

of northern white cedar, mint, and ground

protector, but is also seen as a barrier towards

elder have flourished through an unspoken

reality and obscuring one’s vision of reality.

reciprocity between my family and the plants and the plants amongst themselves.

Ground elder is a perennial plant native to

Instead of anthropomorphizing nature,

Europe. In my home it is situated at the foot of

this project naturalizes the human to the

the Hedge as a secondary source of security

environment. Each member of my family

in the form of tall ground cover. The dense

takes form in one of the three species noted

invasive leaves are often mistaken as a toxic

as a result of their character. This approach

plant but can offer medicinal benefits. My dad

has allowed me to deepen my sense of

often has a ‘tough-guy’ energy because of his

understanding and reciprocity between the

troubled past, but looking past his attitude and

environment and humans through a personal

actions I know he has a soft core. The ground

lens.

elder thrives in the shade that the hedge provides as it is placed north and allows for

The Northern white cedar is a perennial

stability and a reciprocal relationship between

evergreen native to North America. Its hedge

each other, thus creating a greater foundation

form encloses my backyard space and acts as a

for the future of the plant. Through this

physical and visual barrier from the communal

teamwork, they can create white flowers, which

dog area beyond. When sitting beside the

is representative of my sister and I. The dense

hedge I feel secure and as if there is something

leaves provide an informal barrier at the foot of

hugging me or protecting me. My mother has

the hedge that might seem uninviting to others,

always wanted to protect my sister and I from

but to me, I find security.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

The mint plant is widespread in many Asian countries including my family’s native country, Myanmar. This plant is situated in front of the hedge, facing south and is continually exposed to sun. Despite my sister’s distaste for the plant, the two share many traits. Myanmar’s national dish is a fish noodle soup, depicted here with white ribbons, uses mint as a final garnish. Having mint in our backyard gives us easy access to this practice. Like mint, my sister has always questioned her connection to our country; and this is one of the few dishes she will eat. Mint has a strong smell when rubbed. When my sister is aggravated, particularly from the overprotection of my mom, she can be strong-willed. But the mint can also be cooling - represented here by the paper fans. This plant is much more independent in our garden, but will always have the hedge behind it as support. I find security through smell as it reminds me of cooking and time with family through cultural practices and our relational dynamics. These three plants gave me a sense of security through the “naturalization” of my family members as notable characteristics and feelings through moments. These plants within my everyday life have continually given me this security through consistent reciprocity. Without these relationships, they may not flourish in such harmony.

The Poppy A Dangerous Beauty Name

Lana Radomsky

Date

June 2, 2023

Medium Construction paper + Collage

In my representation, I wanted to showcase the multi-faced reality of the poppy. Through my research I reflected on how each element of the poppy is responsible to a different use. I split up the story into three narratives to give space and significance to each aspect of the poppy. The poppy’s dark history comes from its milky latex liquid which contains opium. This substance has been the source of a violent past such as the Opium wars in the mid-1800s and history of addiction, pleasure, ritual, and escape. This is contrasted with the deep red flower of the poppy and its symbolism towards remembering, with a collective desire for peace. Within its capsules is perhaps a symbol of hope. The poppyseed is a popular ingredient in sweet foods that encourage joyful sharing. This project intends to reveal the multiplicity of symbolism within a single plant in a simple and legible way through a playful, crafty, and poetic representational form.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Generational Relations Growth of Plants and Evolution of Ideas Name

Zahra Hirji

Date

June 2, 2023

Medium Digital work

Through these assignments, I analysed my position of plants that matter to me, have impacted me on a daily bases. The different methods of representation, allowed a non colonial lens to add a layer to the research collected- politically, environmentally and culturally. As I explore and travel around the world, I wonder how migration and the mix of different cultures has affected our understanding of ethnobotany.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

The Seed Doesn’t Fall Far From The Dandelion Communicating Biological Connection Name

Ellen McElroy

Date

June 16, 2023

Medium White conte, pencil colour & thread on black paper

Many people, to my surprise, think of the white and yellow dandelions as two completely unrelated flowers. This ethnobotanical drawing speaks to this misconception, representing the two flowers as one, or as a product of each other. The use of the mother’s womb and umbilical cord showcases the idea of biological connection and relation. The dandelion seed, which is a product of the old dandelion, or in the case of my drawing, a product of the mother, is placed in the center of the womb, marking the first phase of the baby’s development. The second frame shows the baby mostly developed right before birth. The third and final frame then reveals the two, mother and child, white dandelion and yellow dandelion as biologically related.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

My Plant Guardians Day In The Life Thesis Edition Name

Lana Radomsky

Date

June 20, 2023

Medium Coloured pencil

The story is a humorous spin on the hypothetical journey through my thesis. It follows me as I gain intimate relationships with three plant heroes: chamomile, cottonwood, and weeping willow. These plant guardians are there to reassure me when I feel uneasy to tell a story of comfort, hope, and happiness. It implies that plants are sentient and can serve as a companion to our daily stressors. The comic is meant to explain the quality in which the plant beings assist me and nurture me back to regular homeostasis. There is an undertone of humour in which everyone can find relatable and encourages the viewer to reflect upon the plants that have soothed them.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

My Plant Guardians

Ultimately, I realize that the word

Day In The Life a Thesis Student

representation of these feelings.

Name

Lana Radomsky

Date

June 20, 2023

Through this comic I establish the intimate

Medium Coloured pencil

‘peacefulness’ was a more accurate

relationships I hold with each plant. Comics are powerful in their ability to tell stories through sequencing. I wanted the reader to grasp an understanding of the relationship between

I went through many iterations testing

me and the plants. In other words, from the

different ways to show my relationships with

source to the execution. For example, when

various plants. It was a difficult task to stick

I tend to stay up late and think about my day

to one emotion involving three plants, but

(past events), I seek out a cup of chamomile tea.

some ideas were more useful than others. In

There is a conflict, and it is resolved through

my process, I decided to create personalities

the plants’ innate qualities. The conflict is that

for the plants. I choose to reciprocate this idea

I cannot fall sleep because I am over-thinking;

through the feeling of calmness from each

chamomile is there to help me sleep. In

plant. Upon critique, I realized I had fixated

addition, the comic gives another entity to the

too much on each plant’s personality, that I

notion of what I plant can be.

lost a core aspect of the project which was to

show the relationships between the plants and

I call the collection of plants my plant

myself. I transitioned into creating a comic

guardians and there are multiple ways to

about how each plant has personally made me

interpret this. The plant guardians seem to be

feel calm. The emotion through which I explore

fragments of spirits of their plant that help me

each plant evolved into a different feeling, from

progress though life. Here I am challenging

calmness to peacefulness. Upon reflection, I

the idea that plants are an “it.” We can go

interpreted that each plant gave me peace in

to plants to help us heal in the same way we

my present, of my past and for my future. To

can receive healing from other people. Thus,

think back on the idea of calm, chamomile

plants are like a they, a living organism with

helped me with staying clam from thoughts I

senses. It challenges the practice of landscape

had about past moments, and willow having a

architecture by attributing plants as a living

symbol of wisdom helped me stay calm about

organism rather than an object. Many times, we

my future events, and cottonwood helped me

choose plants because they are a certain color,

think through my thoughts in the present.

but it is important to look at plants holistically

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

considering their cultural significance, and personal use as well. Asking questions like, “Are they associated to a special use or quality that is beneficial to the ecosystem around us?” This course has taught me to look at plants with a more inclusive mindset. I don’t only see plants for their appearance but the deeper qualities that each possesses. It has opened my feelings towards plants and encouraged me to look further into a plant’s qualities. How does it make me feel? How does it culturally make others feel? I am astonished that I had so many innate memories with the plants around me that I took for granted. It is amazing to see how rich plant relationships can be. Thus, I pledge I won’t take the plant relationships I gain for granted anymore. It will be my duty to actively engage with plants on an intimate level. I will be encouraged to take on an embodied approach to the many projects in my future and show my sensibilities to plants around me. In all, plants deserve to be the centre of attention as they are the most important medium in this profession.

2. Who are they? Listening to the sacredness of plants

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Contents 1. Arbutus Menziesii - Kaitlin Wiebe 2. Forest for the Fronds - Jennifer Reid 3. Growing into Character - Nabil Basri 4. Towards a Botanical Language - Lucas Wang 5. Lesson from Ghost Pipe - Elliot Bellis 6. Mobile Microcosm - Mackenzie Parry 7. Bog Blanket - Mackenzie Parry

Arbutus Menziesii Grandpa’s Madrona Name

Kaitlin Wiebe

Date

June 16, 2023

Medium Unfired ceramic clay

The slow, intentional act of hand building with clay makes me feel connected to my grandfather’s ways of making. The routine action of placing or removing items from the vase will serve as an everyday ritual of memorial, something that will make me think of him and the Arbutus tree lofting over his beloved backyard. The red clay, speckled with brown peeling “bark”, mimics the colours of the arbutus tree and its changes through time. The hue, saturation and texture shifts during each step the clay goes from wet, to dry, to bisque fired at 900 degrees Celsius then glaze fired at 1200 degrees. It can be likened to the arbutus tree, whose colours shift between brown, orangered, yellow-green and grey depending on the time of year and it’s age. They are ever evolving and changing just like us, our appearances, our memories, and our relationships both with ourselves, with others and with our surroundings.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Forest For The Fronds Worlds Within Worlds

develop, adding both layers of protection and new places for other species to make their home1 . As the furrows deepen and the canopy closes just enough for some cool shade, moss

Name

Jennifer Reid

begins to colonize these narrow valleys, often

Date

June 19, 2023

following the path of stem flow, where the

Medium Cardboard & cardstock

rain droplets trickle down the stem, bringing nutrients and hydration to all. Once there is sufficient moss, licorice ferns propagate, with tightly wound fiddleheads emerging from green fringes and unfolding like ornate ribbons showing off the forest’s age. As dead tissue from the tree’s exterior builds up under the moss, ever more niches are provided for even more fronds, more lichen, more bugs, and more life, which in turn provides a source of abundance for other forest dwellers. While very much different in terms of ecology and time, the slow dance between these 3 life forms can be likened to the three sisters of Indigenous agriculture. The three plants support one another creating a total which is

Pondering plant relationships.

greater than the sum of their parts2 . In this case, it is the Douglas fir which acts as the initiating structure on which the moss will

To honour the feeling of wonder, I chose three

grow. The moss then provides a bed for the

species to represent the increasing complexity

ferns which set out their rhizomes in the thin

forests take on from early succession to old

layer of soil created by the interaction of the

growth stages. Here, the Douglas fir’s stem

moss and the exfoliating bark. There are many

acts as the foundation for other lifeforms

interchanging plants which can take on the

to colonize. At first, the bark is smooth with

role of sister. As time passes and the furrows

streaks of grey, but over time the stem widens,

deepen, more life will find its place in their new

and the bark thickens. Deep ridges and furrows

home, and in turn provide for many others.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

So much has been lost to the logging of old growth forests along our coastline, and it continues to this day. Apart from Lighthouse Park and a few other pockets, the entire forest in and around Vancouver was logged upon the arrival of European Settlers. Despite the messages instilled in us as children, to “take care of the environment,” the actions we see our leaders take are confusing at best, and a betrayal at worst. People’s discontent with the status quo surrounding the logging industry was on display over the last few years with the Fairy Creek protests, which as of this summer is considered the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian History3 . Prior to that, only the Clayoquot protests (the War of the Woods) that took place 20 years ago earned that badge. In both cases, the people were angry that companies were logging down swaths of old growth trees in complete disregard to both the spiritual, intrinsic and ecological value that they provide. 1

Michel, A., Winter, S., & Linde, A. (2011). The effect of

tree dimension on the diversity of bark microhabitat structures and bark use in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. Menziesii). Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 41, 300–308. https://doi.org/10.1139/X10207. 3 2

Kimmerer, R.W. (2013). The 3 Sisters; in Braiding

Sweetgrass. Milkweed Editions.

Oudshoorn, K. (June 21, 2023). The fallout of Fairy Creek. CBC

RadioOne. https://www.cbc.ca/radiointeractives/features/thefallout-of-fairy-creek.

Chapter Title/Theme

Growing into Character Animating the inanimate living Name

Nabil Basri

Date

May 26, 2023

Medium Plant press

“Acerrel, The Driven Pokemon, This elusive pokemon hides in the canopy of maple trees. It jumps from tree to tree trying to fulfill its dreams of flying in the air, not knowing that what it has achieved is already admirable. Its burning spirit creates a draft so its wings can catch it.” The journey of my grandfather in the army is embedded in the design and description of the character I created. Pressing the maple leaves is a way for us to animate the tree and consider an aliveness that we cannot perceive.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Towards a Botanical Language Media Exploration Name

Lucas Wang

Date

May 26, 2023

Medium Watercolour

The central pillar of my work in this course has been to further explore a variety of media, and to further consider the role of those media in conveying a message. I have been particularly interested in how specific media will selectively foreground certain elements in botanical representations while de-emphasizing others. These can be physical, emotional, or sensational aspects of plants and fungi, and how to choose an optimal medium for a particular message.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Lesson From Ghost Pipe W h a t C a n t h e G h o s t P i p e Te a c h U s A b o u t R e c i p r o c i t y ? Name

Elliot Bellis

Date

June 16, 2023

Medium Mixed media

In my own experience as a white settler, I have been drawn to ghost pipe. I have always associated finding the plant with a good mushroom harvest year. It carries mystery and it carries wisdom. With this project, I explored my relationship with the plant, emphasizing the underground mycorrhizal connections with neon wiring and illuminating the above ground plant parts to almost ‘flicker’ with imagination. Ghost pipe shows me that knowledge can be gained when one gives back to the land and does not take from closed practices without asking. It also shows the importance of cultural narratives embedded within a plant, beyond larger botanical classifications that may miss the full story of the value that a plant provides.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Mobile Microcosm

privately hands. Land could be made more ‘productive’ for agricultural purposes,

L a b r a d o r Te a , We s t e r n B o g L a u r e l & B o g C r a n b e r r y

enabling an accumulation and concentration

Name

Mackenzie Parry

Date

framework, fen, bogs and wetlands were

June 20, 2023

considered unproductive land similar to that

Medium Mixed media

of wealth. Within this emerging capitalistic

of the commons. Where the enclosure of the commons presented resistance in the form of social protest and unrest, the economic

The nature of a bog is of an in-between

hostility of bogs conflicted with capitalistic

space, not land nor water but fluctuating in

modes of production. This unruliness to

the middle. This in-betweenness resists the

development may be a part of the Western

ability to be economically productive land. To

contempt for bogs that painted them as

transform a bog into productive land within

dangerous and wasteful spaces.

a capitalist framework means an immense amount of labour to drain and fill the land.

I am drawn to bogs as a space of precarity and

Even after this process of remaking the land

unruly resistance to capitalist accumulation,

is complete, foundations shift and sink, and

as well as their significant role in climate

flooding is prevalent. The layers of peat topped

resilience. By paying close attention to the

with sphagnum mosses and other bog-adapted

plants that live atop the nutrient-poor peat that

plants can retain large amounts of water that

accumulated below, we can build connections

reduce the risks of flooding and the severity

and relationships to these critical ecologies.

of storms. They are a stabilizing force in their water management and ability to sequester

Wetland soils are oxygen deficient, restricting

great volumes of carbon. In recent history,

which plants can survive on the surface of

there has been an increased awareness

the bog. Oxygen diffuses slowly through wet

of the value of bogs for their ecological

soil, which in turn slows the decomposition of

significance and diversity. This awareness of

dead plant matter. Plant material accumulates

their importance bogs is in response to their

faster than it is able to decompose forming

destruction over the last two hundred years.

a foundation of peat. This layering slowly deepens the bog over thousands of years. The

Within early capitalist England, the

plants that have adapted to the nutrient-poor

enclosure of the commons saw a forceful

conditions grow amongst the sphagnum moss

appropriation of commonly held land into

that covers the bog in a soft blanket.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

A visit to the Shorepine Bog in Pacific Rim National Park fueled this exploration. An 800m boardwalk allows you to walk through the bog and get up close to the plants along the way. Travelling with my friends and their 3-yearold son helped me find a number of significant plants. On our knees, we looked over the boardwalk to the sphagnum and occasional sundew or bog cranberry that made up the tiny world below. Bog cranberry is typically eaten fresh or cooked and served in oolichan oil. Traditionally they were stored in fresh moss or by drying into cakes1. Western bog laurel and Labrador tea grow together and are easy to confuse. The Nuu-chah-nulth name for bog laurel is tiitiimaptk’uk (‘resembles Labrador tea’) which reflects the similarities as a defining factor2. The Tlingit used bog laurel topically to treat skin ailments. The Haida combined bog laurel with Labrador tea to make medicinal tea1. The leaves of Labrador tea can be used fresh or dried to make a tea with a rich aromatic

Mobile Microcosm- an interpretation of the relationship of companion plants in three dimensions.

fragrance1. Coast Salish plant names often reflect their location and use. For example, the Squamish name is máqwam which means ‘swamp tea’, similarly in Halkomelem máqw əm

Pojar and Andrew MacKinnon, Lone Pine Publishing, 2016.

means ‘swamp marsh, bog’ or ‘swamp tea’2. All three plants are often found in close proximity. Once I was able to identify them, I was able to better understand their relationships to one another.

Pojar, Jim, and Andrew MacKinnon. Plants of Coastal British

Columbia: Including Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Edited by Jim

Turner, Nancy J. “Appendix 2B. Names of Native Plant Species in

Indigenous Languages of Northwestern North America.” Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America, vol. Volume 1, Mcgill-Queens University Press, 2014, pp. 1-225. 2 vols. Chapter Title/Theme

Bog Blanket Sphagnum Moss Name

Mackenzie Parry

Date

June 16, 2023

Medium Water colour and embroidery

Like many of the plants I have been drawn to in this course, the sphagnum moss and the bogs they are found in hold significant memories. These memories have been overwhelmingly from my childhood when I was able to wander through the ravines and forests that met the edge of my neighbourhood. The Bog Blanket allowed me to look at the wide variety of beautiful sphagnum mosses. There are roughly 380 accepted species that have been identified. I started with watercolour tiles of various species and then stitched them together with embroidery thread. The moss is reflected through the softeness of the watercolours. The next phase of this project would be to experiment with textiles and yarn to make a larger and possibly interactive bog blanket.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Are we so small? Confronting a great scale of change

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Contents 1. A Thousand Memories Sit in the Middle - Connor Budd 2. Finding Awe in Place - Isobel McLean 3. Invasive Species - James Gray 4. Take a Breath - Lucas Wang 5. Forget-Me-Not - Madelaine Snelgrove

A Thousand Memories Sit In the Middle T h e R e l u c t a n t Tr a n s i t i o n Name

Connor Budd

Date

June 22, 2023

Medium Digital drawing, inkjet plot

How do you process a fading familiarity? The slow disappearance of that which defines a specific landscape? The trunks, boughs and atmosphere created by Grand fir and Douglas fir punctuate a thousand moments of my life, but drier and hotter summers in the Southern Gulf Islands have turned the forests these trees once constituted into arboreal ossuaries. These illustrations are a procession through a feverish, wailing grief. A negotiation with a painful and complicated transformation, seeking new “saviours”, like Garry oak and its associated ecosystems, that might provide some comfort, and become a new silhouette to encircle a thousand more memories.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

A Thousand Memories Sit In the Middle T h e R e l u c t a n t Tr a n s i t i o n Name

Connor Budd

Date

June 22, 2023

Medium Digital drawing, inkjet plot

it for a while, but eventually it has nothing left Grey, crackled trunks of Grand fir cling to the parched loam of the hillside. The heat seems to make the trees sweat their sour, citrusy sap from ruptured pitch blisters. Moss scrambles up, and clothes old branch stumps. A lichen like acid-green spray paint dusts the trunks. Douglas-fir is uphill, with trunks furrowed and gouged, and bark like cork, pillowed with moss, and cratered by centuries of woodpecker visits. Some have weathered past fire, with 25 foot scars of blackened and charred wood to show for it. I’ve known the atmosphere so long. I once found sanctuary here, but I suspect it is fading. Something is out of balance. It’s never damp anymore, there is a continuous thirst in the land. Mounds of saw dust encircle the bases of Grand firs, and linger on moss like dandruff, while whole trees flash bronze; tell-tale signs of fir engraver beetle, and symptoms of change. The cumulative effect of years of intensifying summer drought. It still rains, but never at the right time. Not anymore. Grand fir can tough

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

to defend itself against insects or infections. I once mistakenly believed Douglas-fir would inherit Grand fir’s sites. It seemed to make sense to me. It survives in less-hospitable places, right? Yet on the hillsides and valleys alike, even they grow thin, sickly, and chlorotic, with sparse needles. Greying, withered sticks, gathered in masses. How do you process fading familiarity? That which defines a specific landscape, a setting. Their trunks, boughs, and atmosphere encircle a thousand of my memories. The loss of them brings a feverish grief. Part of what constitutes and created me is leaving this world. It is naive, but sometimes I believe the ecologically familiar might persist. The reality is I must save what I can, and accept that it will disappear. To remain sane, I negotiate a reluctant transition, scrambling for new sources of solace in potentially false saviours, like Garry oak and its ecosystems. On desiccated hillsides, amid the carcasses of firs, it persists. Lustrous green, and ringed

by golden grasses. Their ambiance is not new, but it is still foreign. The firs are embedded in me, as I was embedded in them. The memories associated with Garry oak are fewer and often younger. If I place my trust in oaks, do I betray myself, those firs, and their ecosystems? Then again, what choice do I have? I must create a relationship to something else to give myself a sense of place and continuity, and to alleviate sorrow. Give oaks a chance. In place of monolithic evergreens, find new familiarity in crooked, winding branches, scaly bark, and leathery, green leaves that wither with winter. I find respite in what else Garry oaks could bring, and the things I can devote myself to, and welcome into fir-shaped voids; rolling mosaics of camas, sea blush, western buttercup and spring-gold. Whispering seas of grasses.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Finding Awe In Place T h e Fe r n , T h e R e d C e d a r, a n d t h e Fu n g i Name

Isobel McLean

Date

June 20, 2023

Medium Storytelling & digital drawing

I chose the feeling of ‘awe’ to be represented by the sword fern, western red cedar, and the forest’s mycorrhizal network. I chose these organisms because they inspired a feeling that simultaneously made me feel small compared to their long histories and lifespans and powerful as I realized that decisions that I made now could impact the next several hundred years. I struggled for a while with how best to represent how these plants/organisms evoked this feeling in me, and what came up first was a story. The story that follows is a reflection on my overall learnings from this course, while the pages that follow represent the images that were drawn to visually interpret the story.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Finding Awe In Place

Standing in the forest you are confronted with

T h e Fe r n , T h e R e d C e d a r, a n d t h e Fu n g i

shaping how those who come next will find

Name

Isobel McLean

Date

June 20, 2023

Medium Storytelling & digital drawing

all of these histories along with your role in their own places. You are reminded of this through the sword ferns that protect this earth, in the understanding that they might live six of your own lifetimes before returning to the soil. That within their vast lifespans they reproduce not through seeds, no they’re much too old

It’s easy to forget your place in the world

for those, but through spores that they shed

among the din of everyday life. Not your

through their fronds. Their networks extend so

physical place, but your relational one; your

far back that our brains haven’t yet evolved to

role within vast historical, social, and ecological

comprehend it.

networks that have both shaped you and will be shaped by you. Even when reminded of these

As your eyes sweep upwards beyond the lush

connections that tether You, concepts of time

fronds, they scan to the sky along the tall trunk

and scale can remain too abstract and nebulous

of a red cedar. Though they have not existed

to gain a full understanding of this place. It is

quite as long as the ferns, you are still humbled

only when confronted with those who clearly

by their size and their even longer lifespans.

and proudly display their own positions, that

These trees are connected to the rest of the

the profound weight of your own relations can

forest, but hold different meanings as well.

feel tangible.

As the Tree of Life they remind you of a way of relating that seems to have been forgotten

I feel this in the forest here.

elsewhere; a method of reciprocity instead of extraction that allowed for the survival of those

Here as in the physical place which holds

before us. Everything from the roots to the

histories of rich traditions, stewardship, and

leaves could be used without destroying the

care within its relational network. Stories of

tree, a balanced trade of life for life. Though

kinship that predate the violent acts of those

you will likely never fully understand the

who wish not to understand their place, but to

extent of the complex rituals and traditions that

twist this complex network into a hierarchy

the redcedar co-created, the knowledge of its

they could control.

vital role within the past, present, and future of this place bolsters your perception of your own position within this network.

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Beyond the connections between time, scale,

may never cross my mind. I also realize the

history, people, and plants, the forest offers

limitations of myself; my size and my time in

you a physical network of its own. As a branch

this place seem almost insignificant.

falls from the cedar to the forest floor, it reminds you what’s beneath. Much like your

Standing among the ferns, trees, and networks

own position in life, none of these plants are

of the forest I can remember my place.

solitary creatures. Though the branch has been seemingly separated from its home, it remains connected by an invisible (to you) network of fungi. The mycorrhizal network mediates conversations between those of its kind and the plants that it connects. It speaks of reciprocity and care so that the forest can remain in balance. Though this system remained hidden to many until recently, its vastness connects organisms across great distances, sharing knowledge across scales of time and space. It reminds us that ours is a limited way of knowing the world, but that even without our knowledge we are connected to everything that surrounds us. In these moments, when histories and relations unfurl before me, I am in awe. The responsibility of my place becomes all too real and I am reminded of how much power I hold to influence the world despite my own mortality. I understand that, like where I place my feet on the forest floor can change the trajectory of the smallest organisms and systems that exist at an almost unfathomable scale, my decisions beyond the tree canopy will shape relationships I hold dear and those that

And I am in awe.

Invasive Species Broom, Blackberry, and Ivy Name

James Gray

My experience with these plants is usually

Date

June 17, 2023

antagonistic, I have spent a lot of time removing

Medium Photography

them from yards, gardens and parks. With these images I wanted to get close to these plants. I wanted to hold a broom seed that can

This story takes place in W̱ SÁNEĆ territory. I selected three invasive species: English ivy, Scotch broom, and Himilayan blackberry. I picked these plants because I have mixed feelings about them. I grew up on Vancouver Island and my favorite plants are native to that area. Invasive species have always been pitted against the places I love. They same invasive species are also some of the most common plants in the landscapes I love, and I have never known these places without them. The emotions I associate with these plants are disgust, admiration, and resignation. When I first notice one of these invasive species my reaction is disgust. I see them as a problem in my environment, something that needs to be solved. If I spend time pondering a thicket of Himalayan blackberry, a tree covered in English ivy, or broom stretching for miles along the side of a highway, I feel a certain sense of admiration. These plants are thriving in a harsh environment. When I see them blanketing the ground I realize that they are here to stay, and I become sad.

stay viable for 60 years in my hand. I wanted to smell ivy’s mildly toxic saponins. I wanted to pick blackberry thorns out of my leg. I wanted to document my plant journeys. To create these photographs I traveled to Victoria. The plants can be found in Vancouver, but the ones growing in Victoria feel closer to home. I got close to the plants, holding a set of binoculars backwards, to allow me to see them in their tiny glory. Things like the aerial roots of English ivy appear to be menacing tentacles at this scale. I traveled around the plants, as if they were a world unto themselves, chasing insects and waiting for leaves to stop shaking so I could take a photograph. I see these images as documents of a performance. The performance was researching invasive plants in a particular ecosystem, traveling to them, and then traveling along the plants themselves. Above all, I am struck by their other-worldly-ness. These are the most common of invasive species and each one is growing, struggling, and dying, in a drama that plays out in neglected yards and old ditches.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Take a Breath Overcoming Anxiety Name

Lucas Wang

Date

June 2023

Medium Cardboard, leaf stamping, St. John’s Wort

This project aims to represent the sensation of being lost in anxiety, and the subsequent relief and catharsis which is felt when resolving it. The puzzle box medium seeks to turn the experience of engaging with the project into the medium of conveyance, as opening a puzzle box is not an endeavour which can be solved by brute force, and simply trying harder. To experientially reflect the conscientious calm which it takes to pull oneself out of an anxious spiral, opening the box requires careful, thoughtful, action.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Take a Breath Overcoming Anxiety Name

Lucas Wang

Date

June 2023

Medium Cardboard, leaf stamping, St. John’s Wort

Rubus armeniacus and Calystega sepium, the

The requirement of thoughtful and

Himalayan blackberry and hedge bindweed,

conscientious effort which these two plants

respectively, were selected to embody feelings

demand, whether that be carefully extricating

of anxiety.

oneself from a patch of blackberry brambles, or slowly pulling away bindweed from a delicate

Himalayan blackberry spreads quickly, and

surface, is the common thread that unites

grows into dense patches which interdict

them in this representation. The constricting

movement in whole areas, leaving you

bindweed evokes the tightness in the chest that

scratched and bloody after trying to get

is commonly felt with anxiety, and the ever-

through. If you get caught in a patch, trying to

twining, shading nature of it references the

struggle out by brute force often just leaves

claustrophobic panic which can set in. Thorny

you more entangled as the thorns become

brambles, and being tangled therein, has long

embedded deeper into your skin and clothes.

symbolized a state of being lost in hostile wilderness.

Hedge bindweed is an invasive species which grows and twines around plants, posts, and

The fact that one needs to carefully extricate

anything else within tendril’s-reach. It grows

themselves from the thorny canes instead

quickly, and often goes unaddressed until it has

of struggling, is explored here via botanical

completely wrapped up the underlying plant

representation. The same could be said about

or structure and the vines, constrictor-like,

solving the puzzle box. If one tries to struggle

can be difficult to remove. Pulling them away

on, it will often make a situation worse. If one

carelessly can easily damage the plant or the

stops, takes a breath, and makes intentional and

underlying structure on which the vines are

thoughtful steps, the task is manageable.

growing. Any attempt to take them down must be undertaken carefully and intentionally.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

The theme of thoughtful action is reflected

in the medium of a puzzle box. It is not a package that can be ripped apart, and rushing the process of figuring it out will often be counterproductive. Rather, it necessitates the person engaging with it to slow down and pause before making actions that are fully thought through. Upon opening the box, metaphorically untangling the problem at hand, the rewarding interior of the box is revealed. Hypericum perforatum, St. John’s Wort, was chosen to help convey that release of tension when anxiety is alleviated. In its form, the flowers resemble small sunbursts, with spreading petals and sepals, and a radiant crown of stamens. The sunny appearance goes towards representing the dispersal of anxious cloudy skies, but the connection is not simply in appearance. The plant has been in use all throughout European folk traditions as a medicine plant, to treat anxiety and depression, a use which modern studies have supported. In form, traditional cultural usage, as well as modern medicinal practice, it is the very antithesis of anxiety.

Forget-Me-Not The Book of Remembering Name

Madelaine Snelgrove

Date

May 2023

Medium Cardstock, book pages, watercolour

As a kid, my family moved around almost every year or two. The landscape around me was constantly changing, but there was a plant that always seemed to make itself seen to me: the forget-me-not. Its name, fitting my memory of it very well, is believed to come from a few different stories. I chose to represent the forget-me-not in the form of it bursting from the pages of a book, as if calling out to the viewer to not forget it. Using pages of a book as parts of the flower and grass it’s growing in highlighting the stories it tells and the symbology of the plant itself.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

4. Uproot, Uplift Growing towards values-based design thinking

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Contents 1. Interwoven Relations - Elliot Bellis 2. Hitch-hiker - Connor Budd 3. The Garden of Grief - Sabrina Careri 4. Identity - Angela Ragandac 5. Queer Botany - Madelaine Snelgrove 6. Blue Willow, Reimagined - Kylie Ip 7. Brittle Courage - Ellen McElroy

Interwoven Relations How can we model respect? Name

Elliot Bellis

Date

June 2023

Medium Wood panel, nails, yarn, paper

Uncertainty. Discontent. Confusion. Where to go forward in landscape architecture? In a time where thousands of years of plant and human relationships entangled with one another have largely become unbound, how can I find a path in this complex field to reconnect people whose connections have been severed with plant communities that we all share relations with? With these three feelings I challenged myself with finding a model for stability, hope, and trust. Through this dichotomy of emotions, I looked towards plants and fungi as teachers, and to do so, I consulted my memory for relationships with plant communities that embodied these feelings when I was growing up. Is there an existing blueprint for how to model a sustainable community? How can I cultivate a community of landscape architects that is full of respect to provide the greatest good for the landscape?

72 72

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Interwoven Relations

To learn from the underground relational

How can we model respect?

learn through the process of modelling these

Name

Elliot Bellis

Date

June 2023

Medium Wood panel, nails, yarn, paper

web of these three species, I knew I needed to unseen root connections. My process began with nails on a board to set the location of gaps and networks I observed in these forests that support the three species. I left space for salal, modeled root networks of Douglasfir, and created nodal linkages where the

Growing up in Washington state, hiking and

mycorrhizae links trees with roots at the root

looking for mushrooms was more than a

tips. I then used one color of yarn for each

weekend activity for my dad and I. It became a

relationship (brown for Douglas-fir, orange for

way for us to ground ourselves and even a form

Pacific chanterelle, and green for salal) to map

of meditation as I got older.

relationships. I observed larger Douglas-fir with many established root nodes were able

I learned during these hikes the

to establish more ectomycorrhizal networks

interconnection shared between Douglas-

throughout the model ecosystem, sharing

fir (Pseudotsuga menzeisii) and the Pacific

between systems of the smaller trees.

chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus), where Douglas-fir offer the gift of carbon in exchange

Upon completion of the model yarn ecosystem,

for nutrients and water from the chanterelle. I

I realized I was seeking guidance on how to

was told, where salal (Gaultheria shallon) grew

model sustainable relationships between

alongside douglas fir, a chanterelle was soon to

other people and with the land in the field of

be found. I noticed that the salal would fill the

landscape architecture. While the large scale

voids in between the Douglas-fir and through

provided some guidance, I needed to learn from

the ectomycorrhizal connections of the

each one in the community as a teacher.

chanterelle underground. Expansive networks underground remained hidden, acting as a

The three teachers became:

living trade network in the forest. 1.

and asks for help, providing help in return.

between these three beings, I wanted to explore

This teacher is in the limelight and is long

their role beyond the morphological processes

lasting. Typically, this teacher is the leader.

involved in the underground web of networks.

Douglas-fir – Visible and seen, provides care

Through the depiction of the relationship

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Pacific-chanterelle - Often invisible and

unobserved. Provides support for other and asks for help in return but goes unnoticed. Typically, this teacher is the provider. 3.

Salal – Often encountered, this teacher is part of the environment but can be detached. It grows in groups and provides shelter for the unobserved but doesn’t provide direct exchange in return. This teacher is sometimes the freeloader.

These three teachers are important to the functioning of a cohesive ecosystem - how can we this apply to our own community? I laid out the three teachers as a guide on the model. I wrote out 56 action steps to model the community I desired, consulting the model

optional reflections / unanswered questions / guiding thoughts (max 100 words) unanswered questions / guiding thoughts (max 100 words) optional reflections /

ecosystem as a guide along the way. I then divided them into categories based on their

of difficulty to achieve. I tied these to each

inferred achievability: easy, moderate, and

connection with the notion that others could

challenging. At this point, I realized I couldn’t

take what they were desiring during times

build a model alone. It was so obvious that I

where people were looking for guidance, and in

nearly missed the message, but I needed to

exchange, they would give back an action for a

rely on the community to build the model that

sustainable community of their own.

was desired. I stopped myself at 56 actions and realized this model could be useful for

This model of these three relationships

the entire community of students I share the

serves as a living tool, recognizing that the

program with and could serve as a blueprint

relationships will be dynamic and change

that allows for growth toward a sustainable

overtime. To grow the web of shared resources,

community in the future.

contributing tangible actions towards the model will result in a transformative and well-

The model became interactive. I tied the 56

balanced system. This is a model that brings

actions steps I created as a base, selecting

me hope for the future of what it means to work

length of mycorrhizal connection as the factor

with the landscape.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Hitch-hiker Names that stick with us Name

Connor Budd

Date

June 13, 2023

Medium Digital Collage

Knowing a place through its plants requires more than identification or naming, but the recounting of nuances, the strange little details of our relationships to them. Everything uplifting and irritating. As we delve, and realize the volume of plant memories embedded within us, we can begin to reconstruct place. The emergent narratives might be complex and convoluted, telling of personal or ecological transformation, in a past, present or possible future. For better or for worse, to think on the plants that surround us is to better understand the land and ourselves.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

The Garden of Grief Understanding grief through plants Name

Sabrina Careri

Date

June 23, 2023

Medium Model making

This project is situated within a context of grief. Although the feeling of grief is often associated with the loss of a loved one, grief can include a variety of other ways an individual experiences this form of loss. To portray this feeling, I utilized meadow planting that is evocative of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I then developed a language of colour and symbolism through planting to depict each of these stages. I selected meadow planting because this type of ecological condition is a symbol of transformation. Experiencing grief is a process by which individuals go through and then overcome – though never entirely – resulting in some form of physical, mental, or spiritual transformation. Meadows mark the transformation of the seasons from winter into spring, and rebirth.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

The Garden of Grief

Following anger is bargaining, typically

Understanding grief through plants

is a transitional period between two very

Name

Sabrina Careri

Date

June 23, 2023

Medium Model making

associated with the colour green. Bargaining intense emotional states of grief – anger and depression. In this stage, an individual is in the process of negotiating a situation back and forth with themselves, others, or a higher being. As such, I chose to represent bargaining by the green leaves and stems of the plants

The first stage of grief is denial. Denial is

selected for these former and latter stages.

associated with the colour grey, and typically

Plant elements are composed for their fluidity

marks the start of the grief cycle. I selected

in mind to represent the period of bargaining,

White sagebrush, Artemisia ludoviciana, to represent the denial stage because this plant

Next in the grief process is depression, typically

is a symbol of strength and resilience. White

associated with the colour blue. I chose

sagebrush is a hardy plant, best known for

Cornflower, Centaurea cyanus, to represent this

thriving under harsh growing conditions,

stage of grief as it is a symbol of vulnerability

whose leaves are grey in colour. Resilience and

and tenderness. Cornflower initially grew as a

strength are both traits that individuals who

weed in cornfields and is now endangered in

are experiencing grief,will begin to develop

its native habitat of agricultural lands, caused

throughout their time in all five stages, and sets

by the over-use of herbicides. The flower is a

the foundation for the grieving process.

deep blue, with distinct tiny bracts. Depression is a time of grief where an individual

The next stage is anger, typically associated

experiences intense sadness, feeling a high

with the colour red. I selected the Common

degree of vulnerability and tenderness toward

poppy, Papaver rhoeas, to represent the stage

themselves, others, or the situation at hand.

of anger, as this plant is a symbol of war and

hope. It is best known for ‘In Flanders Fields,’ a

The final stage in the grief cycle is acceptance,

poem of the fallen soldiers, and for the flower’s

typically associated with the colour yellow,

recognizable shape and shade of red. War and

sometimes white. The completion of the

hope are feelings through which an individual

cycle returns the composition back to White

can understand anger. Anger is an intense

sagebrush, Artemisia ludoviciana, now in bloom

emotional state of displeasure, and requires

with clusters of yellow flowers stemming from

some form of resolution, or hope, to overcome.

the white leaves and stems. Acceptance is a

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

period of grief where an individual is at peace with a situation or circumstance and is more willing to receive it. This marks a milestone in the transformation process of experiencing grief. As such, the final stage includes a butterfly, which is arguably one of the most famous cultural totems symbolizing personal transformation. Likewise, the butterfly is a mark of pollination, amplifying the ecological condition that ties these three plants together throughout emotional grief. The final composition is an elevated handmade three dimensional paper garden. I chose this medium because I wanted to maintain a level of ambiguity of the start and end of the cycle of

Diagram: Understanding the 5 stages of grief through poliiinator Meadow Plants

grief. Although it is understood that five stages of grief exist, it is important to recognize that not everyone experiences them in the same order or in the same way from start to end. In most cases, grief to some degree is an emotion that never fully gets resolved, therefore it has no end. Working in three dimensions allowed me to capture the ambiguity, where an individual first looking at the composition will likely spin it around a few times, attempting to assume a start or end position when one does not actually exist. Using plants to visualize the process of grief is a powerful tool in which landscape architects can situate their projects. Grief is an overwhelming emotional response to loss, and the practice of landscape architecture can provide people,

families, and entire communities with much needed comfort during periods of emotional distress. The healing powers of plants are unquestionable. Using the language of colour and symbology, we can develop a more universal language for ecology that is grounded in culture and meaning. By going beyond basic botanic identification qualities, using this type of language can provide people with comfort and an understanding of the natural world around us, rekindling one of the greatest losses in human history – our innate human connection to nature.

The Garden of Grief Understanding grief through plants

DENIAL

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

ANGER

BARGAINING

DEPRESSION

ACCEPTANCE

Identity Settler, Filipino, Mother Name

Angelica Ragandac

Date

June 23, 2023

Medium Mixed media

Grateful – that feeling or that show of appreciation. As this settler makes a new home in this foreign land, she brings her own culture and weaves it into the landscape, and in the process, she learns about the local ways. As she learns, she transforms and grows into this woman of unique identity… a woman grateful for what has been her home, and what her new home is teaching and transforming her to become.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Identity Settler, Filipino, Mother Name

Angelica Ragandac

Date

June 23, 2023

Medium Mixed media

as a sweet reminder of home. To a child, she is both beautiful and fun. Her yellow flowers She comes from a foreign land where rice fields

representing the sun, the white puffballs -the

are abundant. More than its role as a staple

moon, and the dispersing seeds – the stars.

food, rice is ingrained in her Filipino culture and traditions. Exported globally, the processes

Beginning this assignment, I have already

of farming, harvesting and consumption of rice

decided to include one plant that would identify

are inseparable from the social, cultural and

my culture as a Filipino. Privileged to be able to

economic activities of her society. The settler

consume rice on a daily basis here in Canada, I

brings these rice grains with her into a new

have decided to carry this plant forward based

homeland.

on my previous assignment.

In this new home, maple thrives abundantly

Figuring out what local plants to include in this

and is a symbol of strength and endurance. To

exercise was tough because as a newcomer, I

birds and humans, her wood is their home, her

can say that I do not have many memorable

syrup provides nourishment, her fluttering

interactions with plants native to this land,

samaras offer play, food and new life, and her

aside from the basic sense of appreciation

foliage a beautiful allegory of time. Beneath

I have for them - especially through the

her, dandelions thrive despite her suppressing

changing seasons.

mulch of dried leaves. Looking at my photo gallery, I found that

Its lion-toothed leaves, wide-spreading and

maple was the first plant I have associated with

deep taproots, and its golden blossoms and star-

Canada. I arrived in summer, and front lawns

like puffballs are marks of hope and strength

were filled with dandelions whose flowers

– a true master of survival. A settler herself,

fascinated me so much, that I never thought of

dandelions have been brought here for their

them as weeds - which was contrary to how my

medicinal benefits, as food, for their beauty and

neighbours perceived them to be.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Weaving elements from both dandelions and rice into the maple leaf symbolized me coming into this land with such identity, and the dandelions herself being a settler who has survived and has built her own home in this land. I became a mother in this new home too, and now my child is learning from the land by interacting with it. He is fond of the yellow flowers and the puffballs of the dandelions,

the land.

and has appreciated the colours and shapes of the maple leaves and the floating samaras. For these reasons, he is included in the process of making this illustration.

ther

The process of making this illustration was as important as the final product itself. This project reminded me of my positionality, which I believe is essential to acknowledge in my role as a landscape designer. Throughout the process, I have come realize that getting to know the local culture, in this case plants within Canada, takes time and a deliberate effort to interact and acknowledge their role and values in the society.

Learning and growing through and

Queer Botany Nature is Queer Name

Madelaine Snelgrove

Date

June 2023

Medium Watercolour, chip board, bookbinding materials

For far too long, nature has been used as a way to demonize queerness. Statements such as, “being gay isn’t natural,” have been thrown around with ease. But when I begin to look around at the natural environment, I see that queerness is inherently natural. “Plant life resists classification, redefines sex, and reimagines ways of being.” 1 “Queer ecology suggests a new practice of ecological knowledges, spaces, and politics that places central attention on challenging hetero-ecologies from the perspective of nonnormative sexual and gender positions.” 2

Dwyer, W. (2022). “Plants and Queerness.” American Society of Plant

Biology: Plantae Blog. https://plantae.org/plants-and-queerness/ 2

Mortimer-Sandilands, C., & B. Erickson. (2010). Queer Ecologies: Sex,

Nature, Politics, Desire. Indiana University Press, pp 22.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Queer Botany

allow viewers to explore in their own way.

Nature is Queer

able to share my own fictional journey through

Name

Madelaine Snelgrove

Date

June 2023

Medium Watercolour, chip board, bookbinding materials

Reading the narrative allowed to the class I was the book’s landscapes. My fictional narrative begins below. On a hot summer’s day on a walk through the meadow, I stumble across a grove of flowering

When beginning to think about this project,

Horse Chestnut trees. I know from my plant ID

I started thinking of curiosity as the feeling I

courses that the tree comes from the Balkan

wanted to emulate through my chosen plants

region but has been introduced to other parts

and narrative. This eventually formed itself into

of the world. As I sit in the shade of the large

a secondary feeling of strength or resilience the

leaves, I can hear the bees buzzing from flower

more that I researched. Curiosity and resilience

to flower, collecting pollen. I reflect on my

immediately remind me of queerness which

understanding of the reproductive nature of

led me to exploring queer botany and ecology.

horse chestnuts, and their ability to reproduce

To me, nature can be queer through a variety

on their own using their stamens and carpals.

of lenses; but it is often used to demonize

This reminds me of the often androgynous

queerness, with statements like “being gay

nature of many plants.

isn’t natural.” The more I researched the reproduction of plants, the symbolism of plants

Stepping out from the shade of the horse

and the resilience of plants, the more it was

chestnut and into the edge of the meadow, I am

clear to me that nature is queer.

surrounded by small, purple violets. The heart shaped leaves settle beneath the proud, upright

The narrative that I decided to use was through

flower stems. I remember a story I heard about

a tunnel book, allowing the separate images to

an Ancient Greek poet named Sappho from

also create one whole image. The book starts

the island of Lesbos who became a symbol for

with an explanation of queer ecology/botany

female homosexuality. I reflect on the botanical

and an introduction to the three plants in the

references in one of her poems: “Many crowns

story: the horse chestnut tree, the violet, and

of violets, roses and crocuses…together you set

the common plantain. My plan was to introduce

before more and many scented wreaths made

the book and my research but not have the text

from blossoms around your soft throat.”

of the story inserted into the book but rather

I’m heading back home from my walk and

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

look down at some weeds pushing through the cobblestones and pavement. But they’re not weeds. No, they’re Plantain, a naturalized plant that has been used for centuries as a healer for burns and other wounds. Why do we have such negative ideas for things that look different or act different to what we’re used to? Why is this plant not seen just as special or beautiful as the rose in a garden? I’m back home, reflecting on my walk and realize that the natural world around me is queer. As a queer person, there are days that I overhear people saying cruel or hateful things about queerness, whether in person or on the news. Beginning to have a stronger understanding and connection to the queerness of plants makes me feel somewhat less concerned about the future of queerness, as it’s all around us, not just in the people we meet but the landscapes we move through. Working through this project has opened up my desire to understand more about queerness both in the natural environment and in the way humans live with the natural environment and I’m excited to explore these topics moving forward.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Brittle Courage Stonecrop, Lavender & Thyme Name

Ellen McElroy

Date

June 2023

Medium Pencil colours on paper.

This is my story of the gentle emergence that comes with brittle courage, represented through Stonecrop, Lavender, and Thyme. The plants all benefit from each other’s growth when planted together and have healing properties to some degree, both in their uses and in their symbolism. This projects reveals the idea of working with each and every one of our emotions in a way that supports each other and helps us gain the courage needed to emerge into the world after being in a state of hiding for so long.

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Brittle Courage

With the weight and shame of my late-

Stonecrop, Lavender & Thyme

number, with the fears all consuming, I give

Name

Ellen McElroy

Date

June 2023

Medium Pencil colours on paper.

blooming, with the questions I can’t even in and fall into deep slumber. The second component showcases the subject’s beginning of repair. The subject lies awake in a dream where they find themselves in a field full of Stonecrop, Lavender, and Thyme.

Working more towards this concept of healing

The subject’s first encounter with the plants

and courage reminded me of a song that

marks the beginning of their healing journey.

resonates with me. The song, “Pluto,” was

After some time however, the subject finds

written by a singer and songwriter named Ryan

themselves too comfortable in their safe space.

O’Neal who goes under the name Sleeping At

With the intention of protecting their peace,

Last. The writer communicates vulnerability

they find it difficult to wake up and emerge

and courage in such a beautiful, intimate and

back into the world.

organic way that is truly captivating to me, so much so that I could not move forward without

I lie awake in a field unfamiliar yet affirming.

integrating his words into my narrative and

The flowers are beautiful, fragrant, and

drawings. His words can be found handwritten

abundantly emerging. My hands reach for

in my drawing.

the stonecrops, they grant me their peace amidst my commotion. My nose becomes

With the song “Pluto’’ in mind, I conveyed

acquainted with the fragrance of lavender,

my story through a series of drawings. The

aiding me in my silence and devotion. My legs

drawings have three main components with

feel the brushing of thyme, they lend me their

the first representing an act of surrender, the

courage, strength and healing. I like it here,

second being the beginning of repair, and the

for I am safe and at peace; and I am never

third being emergence.

leaving. But what happens when I confide in my safety for too long? I may discover a

The story begins in the drawing with the

melody but will never establish its song.

subject of surrender, giving in to their feelings

and allowing themselves to feel each and every

The third and final component of this series is

one of their feelings on an intimate and maybe

emergence. After confiding in the safety of the

uncomfortable level.

subject’s self established sanctuary, the plants

Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

watch as the subject finally has the courage to let them go and emerge back into the world. Not long after however, the subject realizes that the qualities of these plants have remained within them, to which they continue to carry and pass on to others and the world around them. Anything can create a positive lingering impression when planted with good intentions. Finally, I realize that I am a sanctuary on my own. Wherever my body takes me, my sanctuary will follow. Though I’m still as fragile as I’ve ever known, I am finally free, and my heart is no longer hollow. With brittle courage I break apart the dirt and pay an ode to the night. Still cautious of getting hurt, I emerge gently, for this serenity is my birthright.

Blue Willow, Reimagined Narratives Revealed On Porcelain Name

Kylie Ip

Date

May 26, 2023

Medium Ink on ceramic

During the 17th-century porcelain trade with China, blue and white Chinese porcelain was highly desirable yet very expensive. Many “Chinese-inspired” ceramic patterns created by European potters began gaining popularity in Europe, with the “Blue Willow” pattern becoming the most famous1. This plate plays homage to the willow’s ceramic history and ecological origins in China while depicting the tree’s diverse cultural and ecological ties, from Celtic legends to Indigenous usage, to demonstrate that the willow can go beyond limited interpretations in porcelain designs or classical botanical representations.

100 Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Blue Willow, Reimagined

G) The weeping willow is a host tree for the

Narratives Revealed On Porcelain

Mourning Cloak butterfly, which lays its eggs on the leaves of the tree2.

Name

Kylie Ip

Date

May 26, 2023

H) When Carl Linnaeus was deciding on a

Medium Ink on ceramic

name for the tree, he remembered the biblical reference for the willow found in Psalm 137: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, ...We

A) A Celtic creation story depicts the tree as

hanged our harps upon the willows...” Linnaeus

cradling two eggs, which become the sun and

believed he had discovered the biblical willow

earth .

and named the tree Salix babylonica. The truth

is that it was an Euphrates poplar, not a willow, B) A European myth is that the sound of the

that grows along those rivers and where the

leaves moving in the wind is actually elves

harps were hung.

whispering as people pass underneath . 2

C) Many cultures use the wood and branches to create baskets and other woven items2. Moloney, L. (2020). Willow Trees in Celtic Mythology. Celtic Mythology. https://celticmythology.com/ willow-trees-in-celtic-mythology-and-what-theyrepresent/. 1

D) Willows like to grow near water and cuttings from the tree easily grow when left in the ground, so it is often one of the first plants to move into disturbed areas3. E) Indigenous peoples used the bark as a pain reliever and to treat fevers. An active ingredient in fresh willow bark is salicin, which decomposes in the human system to become salicylic acid. This acid was later developed into our modern-day aspirin4. F) The willow tree has historically symbolized grief and is often planted in cemeteries today3.

102 Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

Rose, M. (2016). The History, Uses and Folklore of the Willow Tree. Dave’s Garden. https://davesgarden. com/guides/articles/the-history-uses-and-folkloreof-the-willow-tree. 2

3 The Living Urn. (2016). Willow Trees: A Long History with Healing. The Living Urn. https://www. thelivingurn.com/blogs/news/willow-trees-a-longhistory-with-healing.

4 Cohen, J. (2018). Weeping Willow. Bates College. https://www.bates.edu/canopy/species/weeping-

willow/

H B

Closing Remarks Meredith Wilson

In landscape architecture, plant life is a

A shift in mindset is required to move from an

fundamental medium through which we

analytical (i.e. classically architectural) drawing

express a spatial design concept. As a result,

to a drawing driven by narrative. We worked

traditional botanical representations are

together as a class to articulate this process.

necessarily utilitarian. Plant life is dissected

First, a critical engagement with the subject

into its basic material function and usability

matter will start to fuel ideation. Students

in the construction process. Once a design is

were challenged to see plants as something

realized, maintenance regimes work to hold

more than landscape design units, but as living,

the plant life to a static form to maximize

breathing beings with their own sacredness and

spatial or aesthetic function. While this style

agency. What knowledge do these beings hold

of communication serves a purpose, it lacks a

that we are perhaps not privy to? How are our

translation of the knowledge embedded within

lives and cultures affected by their presence?

the plants themselves. As a result, plants are

How can our practice respond critically?

removed from their regional and cultural

We found that after a deep reflection of our

context, not recognized as living beings.

personal relationship to plant life, a powerful narrative can emerge.

There are diverse ways of relating to plants throughout the world that oppose western

We can then start to compose the story.

convention. Plants are recognized across many

The written and visual narratives should be

cultures as meaningful symbols and act as

developed in tandem, and hold equal weight.

important elements in history and storytelling.

The botanical representation becomes

If the field opens up to non-western ideas of

transformative when the idea is communicated

relationality, perhaps a kinship between the

to the audience in such a way that moves them

human and non-human is possible.

- in their mindset, their emotion, their position, etc.

104 Transformative Botanical Representations | 2023

The importance of effective storytelling in design cannot be understated. Narrative is a powerful tool that continues to influence our understanding, viewpoints, and relationships to the landscape. Composing narrative drawings can explicitly integrated into in our pedagogy; it is a skill to be articulated and refined like any other. Slowly, intentionally, and thoughtfully, we can shift towards a values-based, equitable landscape design practice.

Divine Ndemeye is a landscape designer, artist, and educator (Adjunct professor at UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture).

Divine Ndemeye (she/her)

Divine is the Founder and Principal of Remesha Design, a practice engaged in critical discourses and explorations of decolonized design paradigms which center and uplift marginalized communities. Divine uses Afrofuturism as an operational lens in her work; using creative wisdom from Africa and around the world for speculation towards social change. Her spatial design practice is centered around carving spaces that express and amplify BIPOC communities. Divine works to center Black and Indigenous World Views into landscape systems. She focuses on community empowerment, sustainability, and community-lead design approaches. Prior to pursuing a career in design, Divine worked in different municipalities in strategic and urban planning, and has over 10 years of experience in community building and engagement. Divine is the founder and Co-Director of the Black+Indigenous Design Collective; a social enterprise working to build the capacity of Black and Indigenous Youth in the spatial design fields and public art, and working to increase the visibility and agency of Black and Indigenous communities in urban spaces. She is also the host and producer of the Design unmuted podcast, a platform that elevates marginalized voices in design, art and all things creative. You can find out more about Divine and her work at www.remeshadesign.com

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