Prince Rupert, BC – From July 7 to 18, 2025, students
at the Coast Mountain College Prince Rupert campus spent time on the land and
in the lab with Traditions in Bloom: Indigenous Ethnobotany of K’xeen and
Beyond, an immersive two-week field school. Led by instructor Joanne
Nelson, the course explores the relationships between plants, people, and place
through a blend of scientific and Indigenous knowledge. Students learnt to
identify local plants, examined their cultural and medicinal significance, and
took part in hands-on labs that included salve making, dyeing with natural
materials, and even pH testing of local berries. Of course, since this was a
field school, the class spent a significant amount of time outside the
classroom with daily field trips and time spent learning directly from
traditional knowledge holders. During these outings, students collected and
dried a selection of plant specimens to create their own herbaria.
A highlight of the course
was the weekend ethnobotany camping trip, held July 11 and 12. Students explored
the diversity of flora found on Ferry Island in Terrace with a guided plant
identification walk and then spent the night at Kasiks Wilderness Resort, where
they put their learning into practice preparing wild tea and traditional
medicine. Field notes, sketchbooks, and respectful observation were all part of
the experience. Around the campfire, students shared reflections and listened
to storytelling that deepened their understanding of the cultural connections
to the land and plants of the region.
The trip to Ferry Island
was made extra special thanks to an engaging plant presentation by Dustin
Gaucher. Students loved his knowledge and energy. You can find him on TikTok as
@Dustin.Gaucher where he shares stories and plant wisdom. The overnight stay at
Kasiks Wilderness Resort, which offers comfortable accommodations ranging from
cozy rooms to glamping tents and traditional campsites, also left a lasting
impression for the students. Although they’d originally planned to set up their
tents and camp, in the students end spent the night indoors due to the rainy
weather. Thanks Kasiks Wilderness Resort for welcoming our students and keeping
them cozy and dry!
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Media Contact:
Heather Bastin
Executive Director, External Relations
hbastin@coastmountaincollege.ca