Woodstock First Nation Elder Carole Polchies led students through the forest to teach them how ash trees can be used for things such as basket making.
Woodstock students get out in nature with Elder Carole Polchies
CBC News ·
Elder Carole Polchies from Woodstock First Nation has been teaching high school students how to recognize ash trees and what they’re used for. (Ann Paul/CBC)
This is part of a series called Ann’s Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann’s Eye pieces by clicking here.
Ann Paul says she sees things through a camera and hears them through music.
So when she was out in the woods with students from Woodstock High School, the wind in the trees became a song.
“It’s like when you hear the water rippling down the hill,” she said. “If you just stop and listen to it you can hear music.”
Woodstock First Nation Elder Carole Polchies was leading students through the forest to teach them about how ash trees can be used for things such as basket making.
WATCH | What can an ash tree be used for?
Ann’s Eye: Thanks to a forest lesson, these teens can spot ash trees
Featured VideoWoodstock First Nation Elder Carole Polchies led high school students on a field trip to learn about ash trees.
Learning from the land is just as important as learning from books, photographer Ann Paul says. These high school students are doing a Wolastoqey ‘weaving in history’ project, which took them out of the classroom and into nature to learn how ash trees can be used for creating. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Ann Paul celebrates taking kids outside to learn. ‘Some of these things don’t get passed down the same way you would get from a book. Sometimes people don’t absorb it the same way. When you’re passing this kind of knowledge down, you’re sending it down with feeling, you’re sending it down with love.’ (Ann Paul/CBC)
Elder Carole Polchies also taught the students about how to find your way if you get lost in the woods. You can use the sun and shadows and follow the inner compass. Paul chimed in, teaching the students about how moss on trees can point you north. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Darlene Polchies, left, and Terri Paul, right, helped out with the field trip. Sharing knowledge with younger people, Paul says, is called oral tradition. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Ash trees, which have pliable bark for making baskets, grow by the water. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Shawn Saulis is the teacher of the Wolastoqey class at Woodstock High School. ‘They are enriching the youth in the high school with knowledge of their ancestors,’ Paul says. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Paul says the students enjoyed running around in the forest. ‘It’s about going out and learning off the land, it’s not just about the trees. It’s about Mother Nature, the creator and what’s in front of us.’ (Ann Paul/CBC)
Ann’s Eye
Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work.
