The Plant Project: An Introduction

abyelwood

The Reason Behind My Project

Growing up in the Kootenays, a lot of my summers were spent outside. I spent a lot of time hiking with my family, camping in different places, and swimming in the surrounding lakes. I loved spending time outside. My favourite thing to do was learning about new animals in my area, especially birds and mammals. Now that I live out here in Victoria, that passion still stands, especially with the diversity of marine life we have here. Now that I am older, I realize that I didn’t spend anytime learning about the abundance of plants covering these outdoor spaces. I can’t believe I spent so much time being in nature, without fully understanding what I was surrounded by. So, the goal of my inquiry project is to change that. I want to know more than just the basics, and truly know what amazing species are surrounding me. 

My goal of this project is to be intentional. Every week, I will head out on an outdoor walk and take pictures of plant species that I do not know yet. One of the goals on this journey is to also get better at using INaturalist. How I plan to organize my learning is that I will focus on a new plant type each week. For example, next week I am going to focus on the forest giants. Trees! 

Each week I want to learn a minimum of three new species. For each species, I want to learn:

  • Common and Latin Names
  • Plant Type and Characteristics
  • Traditional Indigenous Uses 
  • Ecological Significance

Starting with Intention

I kicked off the project this week with a walk at PKOLS (Mount Doug). It’s a place I visit often because it is so close to my house and it has many beautiful trails to walk along. Not to mention, I went at sunset and got to see a spectacular view at the top of the mountain. 

Usually, I’m walking with my headphones in or scrolling through my phone while I walk or run. This time, I went in with more intention. I left the distractions behind and walked in silence, trying to be more present in the space. By simply listening and looking, I’ve already started collecting photos of mysterious leaves and mosses that I am excited to identify.

What’s Next?

Through this project, I hope to gain more than just a list of names. I want to be able to walk through a local park or forest and know what is around me and their importance. I believe that learning about our local flora will help me develop a more profound sense of place and a more meaningful connection to the land I live on.

Stay tuned for next week, where I’ll be diving into my first official plant profile! All about trees!