Women's wellness program

Women’s W

elln e s s

March 3–4, 2022

Nourish yourself.

Welcome to the BCTF Women’s Wellness Event!

Nourish yourself.

On behalf of the BC Teachers’ Federation, I am delighted to welcome you to this special gathering of BCTF members who identify as women.

The past two years have been extraordinarily trying for everyone, but even more so for us as women. I’m grateful you’ve decided to take the time out of your busy schedules to prioritize nourishing your own bodies, minds, and spirits by being here with us. Over the next two days, we will be kind, gentle, and loving to ourselves and to our colleagues as we deepen connections with other women from around the province.

We are excited to have brought together a diverse collective of womenidentifying wellness experts, offering a broad range of interactive workshop sessions centred around our unique experiences as women. In addition to the formal programming, we are also looking forward to sharing some less structured space with all of you through breakout room discussions and a lunch-hour chat.

I sincerely hope you have a rich and nourishing experience full of learning, reflection, and connection in this safe, supportive space we have endeavoured to create for participants.

In solidarity and sisterhood,

Teri Mooring President

Our warm thanks go out to the following colleagues for their contributions to this Women’s Wellness event.

Women in Negotiation facilitators Alex Adhikary Jatinder Bir Jessica Hill Mahima Lamba Mary Lawrence Angela Marcakis

Nora Moslin Alicia Moura Maria Stinchcombe Laura Syms Winona Waldron Status of Women Action Group Angela Marcakis Serena Mohammed

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Trish Mugford Sheena Seymour

2022 BCTF Women’s Wellness

Agenda March 3, Thursday evening 7:00 p.m. Aboriginal welcome: Carla George 7:20 p.m. Welcome address: Teri Mooring, opening toast 7:30 p.m. Comedy group: Blind Tiger 8:00 p.m.

Breakout room discussions: What nourishes and sustains your well-being?

8:30 p.m. Overview of next day 8:35 p.m. Adjourn

March 4, Friday 9:00 a.m.

9:15 a.m.

10:15 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

10:45 a.m.

12:15 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

3:00 p.m.

3:15 p.m.

4:00 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

4:50 p.m.

Welcome back —overview of the day Panel and breakout rooms Glimmers: Finding Moments of Joy BREAK Interactive workshop, session one 1. Acrylic Mountain Painting: Leanne Whynot 2. Bead and Sew with Una-Ann Moyer and the Red Dress Project: Una-Ann Moyer 3. Nourishing your Garden: Kayla Siefried (Morning session only) 4. Resiliency during Unusual Times: Lucette Wesley, Canadian Mental Health 5. Sparking Joy—Guided Mindfulness Meditation: Eman 6. Tai Chi and Qigong—An Immersive Experience: Josie Loehrich (Morning session only) 7. Talasay Virtual Talking Trees Program: Candace Campo,Talaysay Tours 8. The Resilient Teacher—Understanding and navigating your reactions to life can help you bounce back each time… even after a pandemic: Michelle Davies 9. The “Selfs”: Beki Hardcastle 10. Thinking and Feeling your Way to Health: Bobbie-Raechelle, Women’s Health Collective 11. Tuning in through Journaling: Marian Dodds LUNCH Slam poetry presentation Interactive workshop, session two 1. Acrylic Mountain Painting: Leanne Whynot 2. Bead and Sew with Una-Ann Moyer and the Red Dress Project: Una-Ann Moyer 3. Resiliency during Unusual Times: Lucette Wesley, Canadian Mental Health 4. Sparking Joy—Guided Mindfulness Meditation: Eman 5. Talasay Virtual Talking Trees Program: Candace Campo,Talaysay Tours 6. The Resilient Teacher—Understanding and navigating your reactions to life can help you bounce back each time… even after a pandemic: Michelle Davies 7. The “Selfs”: Beki Hardcastle 8. Thinking and Feeling your Way to Health: Bobbie-Raechelle, Women’s Health Collective 9. Tuning in through Journaling: Marian Dodds BREAK Wellness activity Musical artist: Dawn Pemberton Closing discussion activity—Taking it with you Closing remarks: Carole Gordon

Nourish yourself.

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Workshops Acrylic Mountain Painting Come join us for a hands-on workshop to learn how to paint a monochromatic mountain landscape that only uses three colours! Can’t remember the last time you picked up a paintbrush? No problem! This technique is suitable for all skill levels. Optional techniques will be introduced for those looking for a challenge. All materials will be supplied.

Bio: Leanne Whynot is a Visual Arts Teacher for the Surrey School District. She has a BFA from Emily Carr University where she focused on acquiring skills in a variety of media and processes. When she is not teaching and making art, she can be found gardening or going on long walks with her husband and three corgis.

Bead and Sew with Una-Ann Moyer and the Red Dress Project In 2010, Jaime Black, a Métis artist from Winnipeg, conceived of the idea of using red dresses to symbolize and honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). The images of gently swaying red dresses hung from white birch trees called to mind powerful imaginings of the living spirits of those now gone, but not forgotten. Since then, artists across Canada have interpreted this concept in different ways. This workshop will give participants the opportunity to learn more about the MMIWG while beading and sewing your own little red dress pin. Limit of 25 participants.

Bio: Una-Ann is a Tahltan/Tlinglit artist from Prince Rupert. The mother of three, Una-Ann has worked as a Cultural presenter and Aboriginal Support Worker in the Langley School District for the past 21 years. Incorporating traditional designs with a contemporary flair, she works in various media.

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Nourishing your Garden In this workshop we will explore how to create the most nourishing amendment for your garden from your food and yard waste! You will learn the best recipe for compost success, and we will explore why composting matters.

You will learn how to create an amendment rich in beneficial micro-organisms and nutrients that you will notice your plants benefitting from. We will cover the six factors for composting success, how to choose the best composting system for your needs, and how to increase the rodent/pest resistance of your compost pile.

(Morning session only) Bio: Kayla Siefried is the steward of the Compost Education Centre’s demonstration gardens and the curator and main educator of the Adult Education Program. She sees the act of growing food and stewarding the soil as one that can heal on many levels and is passionate about sharing her knowledge. A keen sustainability activist, Kayla finds meaning in advocating for, and living, an environmentally sustainable life that involves bicycles, healthy food systems, and a good amount of outdoor dancing!

Resiliency during Unusual Times Learn how you can build resiliency even while experiencing normal reactions to this unusual time in the midst of COVID. Develop an understanding of the impact the current stressors have on our well-being, how to recognize the signs of stress, and how to react appropriately.

Bio: Lucette Wesley of the Canadian Mental Health Association has over 25 years of experience managing/ directing up to 200 staff in large disability claims operations. Her expertise in disability management and her broad understanding of related fields is the foundation for providing support and innovation in disability management programs with employers, including large corporate, union, and municipal plans.

She was selected as one of the top 50 Women of Influence in the Canadian Insurance Industry by The Insurance and Investment Journal in 2014.

2022 BCTF Women’s Wellness

Sparking Joy–Guided Mindfulness Meditation Join us for a 90-minute interactive mindfulness workshop on being present. Together we will breathe, meditate, and relax, tapping into what sparks joy for us. How can we access joy in the everyday moments? How can mindfulness help us feel calmer, more relaxed, and present? A mixture of breathing, meditating, visualizing, and group conversations are included, plus a reflection worksheet to guide us. We will focus on wellness of the mind, soul, and heart. Expect to walk away feeling light, inspired, heard, and maybe with a spark of joy!

Bio: Eman is an Afro-Queer Egyptian settler. She’s a meditation teacher, empowerment coach, documentary producer, public speaker, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) facilitator. She uses the art of compassion and vulnerability to foster radical system change, which leads us to creating a more just, beautiful, joyful, and magical human experience for all. She creates spaces for authentic and raw dialogue, learning and reframing for the individual and the collective. After ten years in the corporate world, she shifted her focus to building a strong and compassionate community through her business, IronSelf, and her meditation practice.

Tai Chi and Qigong: An Immersive Experience Tai Chi and Qigong are ancient Chinese exercise regimens that promote mind, body, and spirit wellness. They are both designed to increase flexibility, tendon strength, circulation, body awareness, balance, total body neuromuscular efficiency, and mental focus. Its practice nourishes your entire being. During this presentation, you will experience the beauty, flow, and power of “What is the dance of Taijiquan.” You will get a glimpse into how it differs from the nourishing exercises of Chinese health Qigong. This just might be the start of a life-altering exploration into the mysteries that abound within these two healing arts.

Bio: Josie Loehrich has been teaching Tai Chi and Chinese Health Qigong for over sixteen years in North Vancouver and West Vancouver. Josie led a team of Qigong athletes to compete at the 2011 International World Competition, where the Canadian team came in second to China. Josie was presented with the award for Tai Chi and Qigong Promotion by world-famous Master Chen Sitan at the 2013 Extraordinary Martial Artists of the World Lunar New Year Gala.

Talaysay Virtual Talking Trees Program Your Talaysay guides/ambassadors will take you on a virtual forest and ocean tour and share and teach the rich stories and history of the land while you learn how the trees and plants are used by Indigenous people for both food and medicine. Learn to identify plant and sea plant species so when you venture into the forest and onto the beach you, too, will know what is edible, medicinal, and adaptable for technology. Join us and take a cultural journey onto and into the land. Limit of 30 participants.

Bio: Candace Campo’s ancestral name is xets’emíts’á.

She is a member of the Shíshálh Nation and was born and raised in her native community in Sechelt, BC. She holds a degree in anthropology and in education.

Candace owns and operates Talaysay Tours, a First Nations Tourism company that is committed to providing outdoor adventure with authentic First Nations themes. Candace is passionate about art and accredits her parents who have fostered a love for all art, including visual art, storytelling, reading, and writing. Candace has studied art at Capilano University and currently enjoys working in acrylic and oil paints, sculpture, and drawing. Candace works in the public schools teaching studio art and Coast Salish art and design.

Please wear comfortable, loose clothing and bring some water to sip on during the class. No equipment is needed.

(Morning session only)

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The Resilient Teacher: Understanding and navigating your reactions to life can help you bounce back each time… even after a pandemic This workshop for teachers will take you through scientific realities around how dis-ease affects us in our daily life and provides some strategies to promote resiliency in your life and teaching life. Resiliency, or more accurately, the lack of it, is one key indicator of teacher burnout as well as many other complications of health and wellness.

The storylines we replay and the trauma we have endured all form our foundation for dealing with issues that arise daily. The more equipped we are to deal with these issues, the quicker we can bounce back. Listening to the body and acting from intuition builds resiliency and prevents the downward spiral of vibrational decline.

Bio: Michelle Davies had a long career teaching in BC’s public education system before she worked at the BCTF as the Assistant Director of Internal Relations/ Ethics Administrator, and then in the Field Service Division. She is currently working as an Intuition Focused Therapy coach and hypnotherapist. While doing research for her master’s degree, she studied brain plasticity and neurofeedback in search of ways to minimize burnout in teachers. As a mother of five and grandmother to five more, resiliency has been key in her ability to remain grounded and move forward.

The “Selfs”: Beki Hardcastle The way we care and think about ourselves has a huge impact on us, from affecting our well-being to being critical of ourselves, or blocking ourselves from building resilience. Join us to learn about the “selfs”—self-care and self-compassion. Throughout this workshop, there will be opportunities to practise self-care and self-compassion techniques and discuss what barriers we might face when putting these into practice.

Bio: Beki Hardcastle is a mental health educator and leads Discovery College at the Kelowna Canadian Mental Health Association. She is passionate about sharing stories, knowledge, and tools that empower people to support themselves in a way that works for them.

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Thinking and Feeling your Way to Health Learn how your thinking affects your emotions and behaviours. Through meditation, grounding, and other exercises, you will gain more self-awareness and the ability to identify patterned thoughts that may be standing in the way of your mental, emotional, and physical health. Learn how to restructure the distorted thinking that leads to unhealthy eating patterns and emotional and compulsive eating behaviours—for good!

These cognitive-behavioural strategies can also be applied to many areas of your life!

Bio: Bobbie-Raechelle is a counsellor at Vancouver Women’s Health Collective whose primary focus is holding space for individuals to process and unpack the traumas that they may be carrying around with them. Through an integrated approach, Bobbie-Raechelle uses tools from both the counselling world as well as from her experience working as a trauma-sensitive yoga therapist, inviting individuals into their own body-mind connection and empowering folks to acknowledge their own agency and resiliency.

Tuning in through Journaling This workshop will offer an opportunity for both novice and experienced journal writers to explore journal writing as a tool to reduce stress and expand creativity. In addition to discussing the benefits and uses of journaling, we will practice several journal writing techniques. No one will be asked to share/read anything they do not wish to!

Participants will receive a list of recommended resources.

Limit of 15 participants.

Bio: Over her career, Marian Dodds has worked as a teacher, secondary school counsellor, faculty associate at SFU and UBC, on staff at the BCTF, and most recently, as the 2017 editor for Teacher magazine. Writing is her passion, and she has been an avid journal keeper for over three decades, often using the scribbles in notebooks to develop published articles, blog posts, and newsletters.

A 2019 graduate of the SFU Writers’ Studio, Marian is currently working on a memoir about the time she spent working as a gender advisor in Ethiopia from 2010–13.

2022 BCTF Women’s Wellness

Entertainers Blind Tiger Comedy! Blind Tiger is a comedy company founded in 2015 and based in Vancouver on unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Our professional comedians have decades of experience performing and leading workshops for the public as well as for organizations. Blind Tiger Comedy is committed to fostering a hilarious, inclusive community and programs a range of initiatives each year.

Dawn Pemberton has deep musical roots that take her powerful voice from gospel and soul to jazz, funk and world music. She has become a staple of the Vancouver music scene and can often be found tearin’ it up as a vocalist, teacher, facilitator, choir director and “go to girl” for live performances and studio sessions. A passionate songwriter and performer Dawn crafts her music with a sense of adventure, quirkiness, and serious groove and shapes it into her own unique and dynamic package.

Wellness Sessions (3:15 – 4:00 p.m., Friday, March 4)

Breath Workshop: Shannon Frame Gentle Yoga: Tasha Vu Nia: Jan Jensen Sound Bath Sanctuaries: Sound Quest Zumba and Stretch: Denise Galay

Poets Magpie Ulysses: Writer, Rabble Rouser, fancy talker; Magpie began performing poems at the age of 17 to save her life. She has performed across North America and is a veteran of the national poetry slam community in Canada where she co-founded Vancouver’s famed poetry in schools program and was a member of two national champion Van slam teams.

She was named a Poet of Honour at the Canadian festival of Spoken Word in the Fall of 2012. Having spent the past 6 years raising a new human and past decade caring for her grandmother through Alzheimer’s disease, she has become increasingly interested in questions surrounding genetic memory, place, grief, and how we choose to tell our own stories.

Spillious (Trevana Spilchen) is a Trans feminine settler educator, parent, musician, and spoken word artist of Ukrainian and Irish decent. They won the 2017 Grand Slam Championship of the Vancouver Poetry slam and finished sixth at the 2018 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. Spillious has released three chapbooks of poetry and the last, Tales of Trans-formation has sold 200 copies.

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Commitment to Solidarity That the following Commitment to Solidarity guide the conduct of members participating in BCTF meetings: 1. We believe that union solidarity is based on the principle that all members are equal and deserve mutual respect.

2. We understand that an inclusive union is a stronger union, and commit to embracing both unity and diversity.

3. We commit to ensuring that members of equity-seeking groups are welcomed, fully included, and treated equitably and respectfully at all Federation meetings and events.

4. We believe that all members have the right to feel safe and be treated with dignity at BCTF meetings.

5. We commit to conducting all Federation meetings in an environment free from harassment, discrimination, and intolerance.

6. We undertake to give our full attention to members, presenters, and invited guests who are addressing our meetings.

7. We value vigorous discussion, welcome active participation, and encourage members to share perspectives and debate positions because through such debate we develop strong policies and practices.

8. We appreciate that our union has a long and spirited tradition standing up for firmly held views, and that we do this internally with each other and externally as a collective.

9. We respect our democratic processes and understand that, once our decisions are made, the collective position prevails.

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