OHSWEKEN – A selection of artfully-prepared local appetizers, a silent auction, and a featured workshop on Seed Renewables will wrap up the second instalment of Healthy Roots this Wednesday at Our Sustenance Greenhouse.
Beginning at 6 pm and running until 8pm, this week’s finale event will serve as a retrospective on the program’s accomplishments which have ranged from free community events, workshops, giveaways and prize draws.
Healthy Roots was originally conceptualized at the start of the year by The Two Row Times and our partners at Six Nations Health Services and the Tyendinaga Community Wellbeing Centre. We challenged 4 participants and the public to commit to a healthy diet of Indigenous foods for three months. As time passed by, participants saw success in many different ways including weight loss, positive mood changes and for one participant, a reduction of diabetes medication needed.
This month, we chose to focus on the process of growing and cultivating your own Healthy Roots food in a sustainable, culturally relevant manner. The Our Sustenance program came on board and provided us with their gardening knowledge and expertise and together we explored topics from composting, beekeeping and cooking seasonally through weekly workshops.
In the Two Row Times we have featured weekly gardening columns by Kitty Lynn from Our Sustenance Greenhouse, articles on sustainability topics such as beekeeping, and a historical look at Haudenosaunee agriculture by historian Rick Hill.
With the growing season underway we are now setting our sights on both maintaining and harvesting our garden bounty.
Healthy eating, food security, and a sense of togetherness seem to amalgamate once the leaves begin to change — so in the fall our team will be coming back with another instalment of Healthy Roots, this time focused on the harvest.
In the meantime, you can still visit our Healthy Roots partners to connect and seek out advice whether you are looking for gardening advice or help with your diet. The Our Sustenance Program runs a weekly farmer’s market at 2676 4th Line Rd, Saturdays at 9am. This is a great spot to connect with local, like-minded people who have the same passion for gardening and local food as you!
If it’s diet and nutrition support you are seeking, Six Nations Health Services offers one-on-one support through dietitians, and also group classes and workshops on a variety of wellness topics. Check out Six Nations Health Services on Facebook under Healthy 6Nay to stay up-to-date about the resources they offer, or call (519) 445-2809 for more information.
Programs such as Healthy Roots would never be successful if it weren’t for community members getting involved and being part of the healthy community we envision. The most valued partner in Healthy Roots is YOU — so a nya:weh gowah to those who attend our events, workshops and follow along in the paper! The Two Row Times would also like to sincerely thank the Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation for their continued support of Healthy Roots initiatives.
