by Katharina Stocker | photos courtesy NIȽ TU,O Child & Family Services –
On May 30, members of the Beecher Bay, Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Songhees, Tsawout, Tseycum and T’Sou-ke communities joined NIȽ TU,O for a special event celebrating the addition of interactive signs in the NIȽ TU,O gardens.
NIȽ TU,O’s offices are visually stunning. Housed in a newly renovated Coast Salish Longhouse-style building, they are a marvel to all who visit or pass by. Lesser known than NIȽ TU,O’s building, yet equally stunning, are numerous lush garden beds surrounding the offices. These garden beds are not just for aesthetics. Designed by a local Indigenous-plant expert, they are a testament to NIȽ TU,O’s dedication to honouring Coast Salish culture and providing a welcoming environment for Indigenous youth and families.
An exciting new garden feature made its debut on May 30: NIȽ TU,O’s gardens now showcase a set of interactive signs specifically designed to provide information about the various Indigenous plants nestled within. Created in collaboration with Satinflower Nurseries, each plaque spotlights a different plant, complete with its SENĆOŦEN name, care tips and a beautiful illustration.
Each plaque sports a scannable QR code that takes visitors to a special section of NIȽ TU,O’s website. There, visitors can find recordings of the correct pronunciation of each plant’s name, spoken by Coast Salish Knowledge Holders.
NIȽ TU,O isn’t stopping there. Plant-themed word searches, fill-in-the-blank games and even colouring pages illustrated by talented Coast Salish artist Jeannie Chipps are now available to help learners remember this critical plant information.
The new signs and supporting print materials are part of NIȽ TU,O’s “Speak” Initiative, a multi-layered effort to make language-learning tools engaging and accessible. In addition to recordings of plant names, the “Speak” Initiative includes a treasure trove of digital resources, including an entire webpage full of SENĆOŦEN, Hul’q’umi’num’, and lək̓ʷəŋən vocabulary words and weekly language lessons on social media.
The interactive plaque installation on May 30 was a wonderful celebration of Coast Salish culture. Members from the Beecher Bay, Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Songhees, Tsawout, Tseycum and T’Sou-ke communities joined to learn more about the plants, enjoyed light refreshments and received a ceremonial blessing from a Knowledge Holder.
NIȽ TU,O is not only nurturing plants in the garden – NIȽ TU,O is nurturing a deeper connection to Coast Salish culture, tradition and language. To learn more about NIȽ TU,O’s gardens, the “Speak” Initiative, and other ways NIȽ TU,O is helping to uplift Coast Salish children and families, visit www.niltuo.ca to subscribe to NIȽ TU,O’s newsletter.
