Survival Blanket (Decolonize the Garden from Seeds to Bees)
EDUCATOR WORKSHOP
Decolonize the Garden: From Seeds to Bees
Saturday, August 24 2024
Northside Workshop
Rico Rose
Horticulturist and Indigenous St. Louis Working Group Member
Juan William Chávez
Artist and Director, Northside Workshop
Kiersten Torrez
Master Gardener & Director of Programming and Sustainability Northside Workshop
Special Guess
Saundi McClain-Kloeckener
Native Women's Care Circle Member, Educational Consultant, Storyteller, and Jingle Dancer.
The educators' workshop was led by artist Juan William Chávez and horticulturist and Indigenous community member Rico Rose in conjunction with the Kemper Art Museum's exhibition Seeds: Containers of a World to Come (opening February 21, 2025).
"Decolonize the Garden: From Seeds to Bees" is a workshop designed for middle and high school educators. It explores how the social practice art and gardening can support Indigenous issues through self-expression, environmental stewardship, and community building.
The workshop included two presentations. The first presentation, led by Rico Rose (Diné), covered the history of horticulture in the American colonies and the history of the American lawn, focusing on the potential for fostering ecological resilience through an Indigenous lens. Juan William Chavez led the second presentation and discussed how to support native bees and native plants through self-expression, environmental stewardship, and community building.
Both presentations included hands-on activities. Rico led a plant identification walk, and Kiersten Torrez conducted an upcycled garden apron project and led a native planting session with the educators using a take-home grow bag. Special guest Saundi McClain-Kloeckener led a welcome song and a planting in the medicine garden. She shared her knowledge of plants and seeds with educators during a tour of Northside Workshop's chemical-free teaching garden and native bee sanctuary. Participants also received a zine copy of Decolonize the Garden: The Impacts of Colonialism, Class Hierarchy, and The Industrial Revolution on American Land Management By Rico Rose and was co-created with Northside Workshop