Despite the rainy weather, everyone gathered in good spirits on October 26th, 2025, for the Community Ceremony and Celebration at the Trout Lake Medicine Wheel Garden.

The event celebrated the expansion of the Indigenous plant garden, which now features a new shed and six raised beds. Earlier in the fall, we broke ground on the project, and more than 20 volunteers joined our Planting Day work party to move soil, plant seedlings, and harvest medicines.

During the celebration, Daughters of the Drum led a welcoming ceremony around the sacred fire, honouring the land and sharing hopes for the future of the space. Wrapped in warm layers and gathered with soup and tea, participants shared songs and stories in the garden.

“We hope this garden continues to build community around Indigenous foods and medicines at Trout Lake.”
– Event Participant

The event was part of the Vancouver Park Board’s Sustenance Festival, a celebration of food, land, and culture. We are deeply grateful to everyone who joined us for this special occasion. Special thanks to Daughters of the Drum and Elder Seis’lom for leading the ceremony, and to Lucia Li for capturing these beautiful photos.

Community Garden Roots and the Public Health Association of BC are proud to have partnered with Cedar Cottage Food Network and Lu’ma Medical to steward and co-create a vision for the expansion of this garden.

We want to thank the folks from the Land and Food Systems/ Decolonization Arts and Culture team at Vancouver Parks Board, Métis Landscape Designer Robyn Adams, Lu’Ma Medical Centre Society, the Centre for Indigenous Land-Based Education, Research and Wellness at xwc̓ic̓əsəm, and Trout Lake Community Centre and Association for all of your support and efforts to make this expansion possible.

We also gratefully acknowledge our funding support from the Whole Foods Market Foundation, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, and the Neighbourhood Matching Fund program of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.