What is a Healing Forest?
No two Healing Forests are the same, but they all create space for Indigenous Peoples to heal from the violence of Residential Schools, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), and the Sixties and Millenial Scoops; they foster learning and education about Canada’s history, the natural environment, and Indigenous Knowledge; they promote relationship-building and community through co-creation and co-use of the space by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples; and they foster a deep sense of connection between humans and more-than-human world.
Reciprocal Healing
In the same way that we can find healing and comfort and solace in nature, we also hope that we can restore and heal nature itself to find a reciprocal path of joint nurtured healing.
What Does this Look Like?
Healing Forests can house a variety of spaces and activities, including:
- Indigenous art classes
- Walking trails
- Gathering spaces
- Sacred medicinal gardens
- Outdoor classrooms
- Native tree planting projects
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremonies