May 10th, 2016
I'm back! I can't believe how long it has been since my last post. My intention was to resume my writing yesterday, a Monday. My husband offered to take our daughters to gymnastics and I felt it was the best opportunity to sit and write. Then, one hour later, he and the girls were on their way home. Our eldest was throwing up. There would be no gymnastics and, no writing.
I took a break from writing when I left for a two week trip with my family to Florida. We always book a home through Vacation Rentals By Owners (VRBO). We had a great time together. For my husband, the best thing is grilling and going out on the motorbike. For our daughters it's not being in school and spending most of the day in the pool. For me, it's the warmth, wearing a thin layer of clothing, walking barefoot and just hanging out with my family.
I fully expected to start writing the Monday after we returned however...
The first thing that happened was putting out the garbage that first night back at the house and freezing. I could feel all my muscles trembling. I got sick. I felt worn out, my nose was constantly dripping and my entire head was congested. I accomplished nothing that first week back.
I was scheduled to participate in the North Grenville Sustainability Fair the next weekend. My body was on the mend and I prepared boxes of art materials to inspire children to create a village with butcher paper, cardboard boxes, paints, markers, duct tape, popsicle sticks and cotton balls. A young boy and his little sister discovered my three tables set up in the far corner and they jumped in. They invited others to join the fun and, next thing I knew, my corner was super busy and the village was taking shape. It was an exciting afternoon and I was very proud of the outcome.
The fair was on the Sunday. I was relaxing, eating my breakfast on Monday morning when I realized the Catholic District School Board was having its Community Partner Day in one hour. I had totally forgotten about it. The date had been set such a long time ago. I jumped in the shower and drove to Smiths Falls as fast as I could. It was so worth it! I made great contacts, handed out many cards and learned about opportunities to get involved with the school board.
For the following three weeks, I had one workshop with parents and their children, each week, at Kemptville Public School. The Parent Council applied for a Parents Reaching Out grant on my behalf. Therefore, I was able to offer three 90 minute sessions to families for free on the topic of communication. We created family sculptures on the first week to define each family's identity. Then, for the second session, we explored our aliens and learned how to communicate emotions in a constructive way. The final and third week had families create wish boxes to plan quality activities together. I was thrilled with the turn out. I received excellent feedback from the families and the parent council. It was such a great opportunity for me to showcase what I do. To top it all off, another school has contacted me. They heard about my workshops and will be applying for funding to have me offer those same workshops at their school in the Fall. Life is good!
I was also in contact with Tim Gordon at Burnstown Publishing. They will be printing 50 copies of my Have You Hugged Your Alien? book as well as 50 copies of my new book, The Story of Poobum and Pompom. I am so happy to have my second book on its way. I believe the book is going to the printers tomorrow. We have been e-mailing back and forth to sort through details and ensure the book is a success. I am now organizing my book launch for early June. All very exciting stuff!
Throughout this busy time, each of my family members has been sick. I was sick the first week back, then my youngest, then my husband and now, as I sit here and write, my eldest daughter is ill as well.
I love writing and I will now pick up where I left off. However, I have decided to not write on weekends. I was struggling to get my writing done on weekends before because, from Friday evening to Sunday night, I am surrounded by family. I get stressed because I am torn between two intentions, writing every day and spending quality time with my loved ones. I believe that keeping my writing to weekdays, will help me balance out my life.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
Showing posts with label schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schools. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Ferguson Forest Education and Training Centre
January 27th 2016
Last Friday, I was reading the NG Times. There was an article about an Open House happening at the Ferguson Forest office this afternoon. I rarely go to community meetings because they are held in the evening and I am busy with my children at night. I was pleased to be able to attend this session. From what I could read, Ferguson Forest was preparing to apply for funding through the Ontario Trillium Foundation in order to expand the scope of its services to include more wheelchair access, a meditation area, a wildflower meadow and a bird sanctuary. I wanted to attend this event because the title: Ferguson Forest Education and Training Centre, stirred my imagination. It summoned images of children, hopefully my own, participating in activities that helped them appreciate, understand, respect and enjoy nature.
At the meeting, we were greeted by Carl Doucette, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. On the wall, were plans for the arboretum. There were maybe 40-50 people in attendance, an impressive turnout. The goal of the meeting was to get ideas from members of the community regarding what they would like to see in the arboretum area of Ferguson Forest. The first step of any community development initiative is to find out what people want, otherwise a great deal of time and money are wasted as the public does not use the new space.
Carl explained that they are requesting funds under the "Activity" category therefore it will be a space devoted to various activities. They will choose the ideas that benefit the most people and encourage community members to explore their space. Throughout the meeting, there were ideas such as maintaining the toboggan hill, building a fenced-in dog park, creating a wheelchair-accessible labyrinth and an accessible path from Anniversary Park to Maple Grove, grooming multiple-use trails for snowshoers, pedestrians and skiers, selling Legacy Trees to line Veteran's Way and commemorative benches throughout the paths of the arboretum and, having a layout for Art in the Park where artists can teach and showcase their art.
The need for partnerships with community organizations and the necessity for the community to get involved were expressed. The group brought up the issue of communication. Ferguson Forest has many trails and beautiful spaces as well as programs that the public is not aware of. Carl says he would like to rectify this issue by using the local newspapers and radio station to promote their services and inform the community of changes to the arboretum as plans progress.
The group considered whether there should be washroom facilities on site then determined that it would not get approved due to washrooms being available in the office building, even though it's quite a distance away. Also, they have had issues in the past with washrooms being tipped over or vandalized. It doesn't help that the property runs along the Kemptville Creek, which is protected by the Rideau Valley Conservation Agency (RVCA) and, the Ministry of Natural Resources land. Therefore, there would be a great deal of red tape involved. Some people suggested the space should not only be educational and functional but also aesthetically pleasing. Others felt it was important to hear birds and Maureen addressed the need to choose and plant trees that would attract birds.
The new space would have lots of signage, an important part of the educational component, in order to guide people from one area to the next. They also discussed opening the roads during all four seasons. At this time, the roads are closed during the winter. I explained that I attended this meeting as a parent, wanting to see more opportunities to include nature in the school's curriculum for my children's benefit. I asked if they had a partnership with any of the schools. Apparently, they have approached the schools, looking for ways they could fulfill their curriculum requirements within their arboretum. There has been no response from schools but Scouts do come and use the space and enjoy their educational events. Also, the Municipal Centre's summer camp participants use their services and visit their space throughout the summer. Ferguson Forest has a standing offer to schools who wish to participate in a guided tour of their trails. One member of the group suggested the lack of response from schools may be due to transportation costs and liability issues. They plan to offer training to teachers. This would provide them with the knowledge to take students through the trails for a guided tour.
Today, I learned about an area that has already been developed at the Ferguson Forest Centre, called Kinderwood. Children run through the path and learn about what they can find in the forest so they know what to look for. I must visit Kinderwood with my children on the weekend. John stressed the importance of making this wonderful land that we take for granted valuable, just like Central Park in New York City, because if we are not using the land and demonstrating our need for it, we may lose it in the long run.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
Last Friday, I was reading the NG Times. There was an article about an Open House happening at the Ferguson Forest office this afternoon. I rarely go to community meetings because they are held in the evening and I am busy with my children at night. I was pleased to be able to attend this session. From what I could read, Ferguson Forest was preparing to apply for funding through the Ontario Trillium Foundation in order to expand the scope of its services to include more wheelchair access, a meditation area, a wildflower meadow and a bird sanctuary. I wanted to attend this event because the title: Ferguson Forest Education and Training Centre, stirred my imagination. It summoned images of children, hopefully my own, participating in activities that helped them appreciate, understand, respect and enjoy nature.
At the meeting, we were greeted by Carl Doucette, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. On the wall, were plans for the arboretum. There were maybe 40-50 people in attendance, an impressive turnout. The goal of the meeting was to get ideas from members of the community regarding what they would like to see in the arboretum area of Ferguson Forest. The first step of any community development initiative is to find out what people want, otherwise a great deal of time and money are wasted as the public does not use the new space.
Carl explained that they are requesting funds under the "Activity" category therefore it will be a space devoted to various activities. They will choose the ideas that benefit the most people and encourage community members to explore their space. Throughout the meeting, there were ideas such as maintaining the toboggan hill, building a fenced-in dog park, creating a wheelchair-accessible labyrinth and an accessible path from Anniversary Park to Maple Grove, grooming multiple-use trails for snowshoers, pedestrians and skiers, selling Legacy Trees to line Veteran's Way and commemorative benches throughout the paths of the arboretum and, having a layout for Art in the Park where artists can teach and showcase their art.
The need for partnerships with community organizations and the necessity for the community to get involved were expressed. The group brought up the issue of communication. Ferguson Forest has many trails and beautiful spaces as well as programs that the public is not aware of. Carl says he would like to rectify this issue by using the local newspapers and radio station to promote their services and inform the community of changes to the arboretum as plans progress.
The group considered whether there should be washroom facilities on site then determined that it would not get approved due to washrooms being available in the office building, even though it's quite a distance away. Also, they have had issues in the past with washrooms being tipped over or vandalized. It doesn't help that the property runs along the Kemptville Creek, which is protected by the Rideau Valley Conservation Agency (RVCA) and, the Ministry of Natural Resources land. Therefore, there would be a great deal of red tape involved. Some people suggested the space should not only be educational and functional but also aesthetically pleasing. Others felt it was important to hear birds and Maureen addressed the need to choose and plant trees that would attract birds.
The new space would have lots of signage, an important part of the educational component, in order to guide people from one area to the next. They also discussed opening the roads during all four seasons. At this time, the roads are closed during the winter. I explained that I attended this meeting as a parent, wanting to see more opportunities to include nature in the school's curriculum for my children's benefit. I asked if they had a partnership with any of the schools. Apparently, they have approached the schools, looking for ways they could fulfill their curriculum requirements within their arboretum. There has been no response from schools but Scouts do come and use the space and enjoy their educational events. Also, the Municipal Centre's summer camp participants use their services and visit their space throughout the summer. Ferguson Forest has a standing offer to schools who wish to participate in a guided tour of their trails. One member of the group suggested the lack of response from schools may be due to transportation costs and liability issues. They plan to offer training to teachers. This would provide them with the knowledge to take students through the trails for a guided tour.
Today, I learned about an area that has already been developed at the Ferguson Forest Centre, called Kinderwood. Children run through the path and learn about what they can find in the forest so they know what to look for. I must visit Kinderwood with my children on the weekend. John stressed the importance of making this wonderful land that we take for granted valuable, just like Central Park in New York City, because if we are not using the land and demonstrating our need for it, we may lose it in the long run.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
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