Welcome to

Earth Spirit

Healing Garden

♪ Music will begin

Total Education School · Vancouver, BC

Earth Spirit
Healing Garden

A living classroom rooted in Indigenous knowledge, land stewardship, and the healing power of growing things together.

— Growing on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwxwú7mesh & səlilwətaɬ Nations

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Our Vision

A Garden Rooted in
Culture & Healing

The Earth Spirit Healing Garden is an outdoor learning environment at Total Education School in Vancouver, BC — a place where Indigenous teachings, land-based education, and community healing come together.

Developed in partnership with Indigenous Elders, educators, and youth, the garden integrates traditional ecological knowledge with school curriculum, offering students a living connection to the land and to their own wellbeing.

It is a space of reciprocity — where students learn not only from plants and seasons, but from each other and the generations who have tended this land long before us.

Students working in the healing garden
Purpose & Goals

What We're Growing Toward

🌱

Cultural Continuity

Preserve and transmit Indigenous plant knowledge, traditional medicines, and land-based practices to the next generation through hands-on learning.

🤝

Student Wellbeing

Provide a therapeutic outdoor space that supports mental health, reduces stress, and gives students a sense of belonging and purpose.

📚

Curriculum Integration

Weave Indigenous ways of knowing into core subjects — science, social studies, art — creating a whole-school approach to land-based education.

🌍

Community Connection

Build bridges between students, families, Elders, and the broader community through shared stewardship, harvest, and ceremony.

🌿

Food Sovereignty

Grow food that students take home to their families, fostering an understanding of food systems, nutrition, and the deep relationship between people and plants.

♻️

Environmental Stewardship

Teach sustainable growing practices, composting, and ecological responsibility — nurturing the next generation of environmental caretakers.

Inside the Garden

What You'll Find Here

Cedar Entrance

Two yellow cedars mark the gateway — cedar is the tree of life and one of four sacred Indigenous medicines. Their presence at the entrance is intentional: a cleansing threshold between the urban world and this sheltered space.

Medicine Wheel Garden

Eight raised planter beds arranged in a medicine wheel form the living heart of the garden, growing traditional Indigenous medicines. The inner circle serves as an outdoor gathering place for talking circles, ceremonies, and school meetings.

Sensory Greenhouse

A dedicated sensory space for students — a quiet retreat within the garden designed for reflection, grounding, and wellbeing.

Nursery & Hothouse

A second greenhouse serves as a nursery in the cooler months and a hothouse in summer, extending the growing season and expanding what the garden can cultivate year-round.

Vegetable & Berry Sections

Dedicated growing areas for vegetables and berries — students grow food to take home to their families and share with community, connecting harvest directly to nourishment and reciprocity.

Future Longhouse

A covered outdoor longhouse with a large harvest table is planned — a gathering place rooted in tradition, built for feasting, teaching, and community.

Every single one of us has worked really hard to turn this garden into what it is. Being out here gives me a sense of hope — it reminds me that if we can all work together, we can achieve incredible things.
Lucas, Grade 12 — Total Education School
Program Features

Educational Integration

Greenhouse interior with meditation cushions and raised beds
Partnership Coalition

Built Together

The Earth Spirit Healing Garden is supported by a Partnership Coalition ensuring long-term sustainability, stewardship, and program delivery — collaborating with the Vancouver School District Indigenous Education Department to uphold cultural protocols and educational goals.

Voor Labs Growing Chefs Vancouver School District

Voor Labs brings connections to ethnobotanists and Coast Salish Elders, transferring knowledge of Indigenous medicines and companion planting directly to youth. Future partners may include local First Nations councils and Elders, Indigenous youth leadership groups, post-secondary researchers in Indigenous studies and permaculture, and wellness-focused organizations.

Development Pathway

How We Grow

1

Consultation & Protocols

Engage with Indigenous Elders and community advisors. Secure support from local Nations and obtain cultural guidance.

2

Design & Planning

Finalize garden layout and infrastructure. Integrate longhouse-style gathering space, greenhouse, and raised beds.

3

Community Engagement

Host a garden blessing ceremony. Invite student, staff, and parent volunteers into the process.

4

Implementation

Begin planting with Indigenous seeds and starter crops. Launch pilot workshops and teaching activities.

5

Evaluation & Expansion

Gather feedback, assess impact, and plan for future programming and potential satellite gardens.

An Invitation

"Nature is the antidote
for so many things."

The Earth Spirit Healing Garden is a living classroom, a cultural learning site, and a healing space where relationships with the land are strengthened through respect, reciprocity, and responsibility.