xʷc̓ic̓əsəm: Centre for Indigenous Land-Based Education, Research, and Wellness is located on the unceded territory of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Musqueam People at UBC Farm. The Indigenous Education and Research Garden has been based at the UBC farm since 2007, first under the guidance of the UBC Institute for Aboriginal Health and now located within the Indigenous Research Partnerships group at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. With an emphasis on teaching, learning, and research, it aims to serve educational and research needs related to Indigenous food security while increasing participants’ knowledge and access to both traditional and non-traditional plants. The garden is guided by the principle that ‘food is medicine,’ and thus that a holistic understanding of health and healing includes the food that people eat. In addition to its international, community-based research, the garden engages with numerous regional Aboriginal Youth school and community organizations. Sign up for our newsletter here to get regular updates: http://eepurl.com/lty-5
It hosts the Culturally Relevant Urban Wellness program, which brings urban Aboriginal and recent immigrant youth to the garden from March to October. Food harvested from the garden is used as part of a monthly community Feast Bowl meal which brings together students, staff, faculty, and members of the public to cook and eat. These native medicinal plants are used in medicine-making workshops and to share traditional knowledge.
