forestandthefemme

[forestandthefemme]

With deep sadness and heavy hearts, we are announcing that Forest and the Femme is dissolving and will no longer be offering our programming or participant supports.

Since we began in 2012, we’ve taken 127 women on over 460 outings, which is more than 3,000 hours in nature. It is with incredible gratitude that we thank the participants, funders, donors, partners, volunteers and supporters of Forest and the Femme who have made the past many years of programming possible.

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We went rafting. In December! It takes some brave brave souls to agree to spend a day on the river with us during one of the coldest, wettest times of the year. Our friends from Tu’Wusht and the Native Health Elders group are just that brave. It was a wonderful float down a stunningly beautiful section of the Cheakamus River in the Squamish Valley. All of the stars and lucks and wishes aligned for us to have the most amazing day possible. We were planning to spend the day freezing our bums off in the pouring rain but instead the sun came out and it was warm on our skin and absolutely glorious. We saw dozens and dozens of eagles perched in the trees, flying right above us or watching us drift by from the shore. So exciting. The day before had been monsoon raining so the eagles were all trying to dry their feathers and almost all of them had their wings spread out in the sunshine. We also saw herons, American dippers with their fancy little dance, a red-tailed hawk (bravely sitting right with a half dozen eagles nearby) goldeneyes and plenty of mergansers. The eagles were so chatty and in every direction the air was filled with their stories. 

Days like these ones are truly unforgettable and it was described as a healing journey by the women who joined us. We’re so thankful for the people who have supported us and made dreams like these ones come true.

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We’ve been to so many incredible places this year. From the mountains to the valleys, through forests and along rivers and lakes. Thanks to all of you who have made these trips possible for us. We’ve been taking our participants to the very best places to explore, to learn and to soak in all the good that the land brings. These are all healing places and together we’ve been nourishing our spirits with all this good medicine.

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Here’s a little peekaboo at some of the spectacular fall fun that we’ve been having. We guarantee you that we love this season more than everyone else. And we have a zillion pictures of tiny mushrooms and frogs and changing leaves to prove it. This cool air is the very best and this year we’ve been so fortunate to be making the most of it, just squeezing every little drop of joy from the dripping mosses and trickle streams. 

[forestandthefemme]

Fall is our favourite time of the year, especially here in our temperate rainforest where the cycles of life and death are so abundant. Mushrooms popping up everywhere we look, and dying down to smush just as quickly. The maples, cottonwood and alders dropping their leaves and leaving the forest smelling just as good as it possibly can be. And the salmon. This year we had a pink run and the rivers of the valleys were teeming with them. We had so much fun getting out to explore the sides of streams and stinky channels to watch the salmon in the end of their life’s cycle. There’s no denying that they don’t smell good. We definitely separated our salmon stream days and our go-to-the-forest-just-for-the-smell days. 

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Look at all that fun! You have to be brave to be able to have days like these ones. Water scares people. A lot of them. It’s a strong would-I-maybe-not-survive kind of feeling. We haven’t done a lot of water activities in past years because it’s just too big a step for most of our participants. This year though, things were different. We partnered up with some of our fave mamma bears from Crabtree Corner and the most amazing gals of The Budzey Building and those women are up for some serious adventure. We’re feeling so thankful for all the good times we had on the water and all those incredible smiles. 

Big hugs to the amazing crew at Arc’teryx for funding most of these adventures this year. We’re so lucky to have your team’s warm support. 

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Look at all those happy hands. We’ve learned so much from each other over the years about ways to care for ourselves through the gifts of nature. From skin care to wild teas, eco-dyeing and natural pigment making, rockhounding and perfume-making, salmon leather tanning and harvesting and medicine making - we’ve been doing all of it! Nature makes learning easy and fun. We are so grateful for the many women who have brought us all of these joys. 

[forestandthefemme]

Here is an interview that our founder, Jaime Adams, did with BC Parks Foundations’ Healthy By Nature blog. Click the photo to read on. 

[forestandthefemme]

Thanks to Arc’teryx for featuring us on their outdoor blog with this fantastic article. Click the photo and learn more about our values and the important work that we do here at Forest and the Femme.

[forestandthefemme]

Did you know that we have daily posts about all of our adventures on our Instagram page? Don’t miss out! Have a look through and find out about what we get up to. You don’t need an Instagram account to be able to look at our posts. Click here to find it. 

If you are new to looking at Instagram you just need to click on the pictures to see what we’ve written about that day.

[forestandthefemme]

This language does not provide adequate ways of describing the smell of the sea. Being able to stand at the edge of the land and breathe in that salty air is very special – it’s a tonic that soothes.

We ventured to the ocean on what many would think to be an underwhelming day. It was grey and drizzly, a typical west coast gloom that keeps most of us indoors. But wonderful things happen when you spend time at the seaside on days like this. The waves are bigger, the air is energized and saturated with sound and smell. Everything feels so alive.

We had a gorgeous cold breeze that was forcing the surf into a roaring crush against the jagged coastline and blowing through the forest. We pushed our way through towering salal with the smell of wild roses, an absolute delight, hinting to us whenever we were close to open bluffs.

Once we moved out of the trees the world around us was a palette of endless greys. Granite and ocean and sky all mirroring each other and spread out forever in front of us. It felt wild and chaotic and calming all at the same time. We chose the scant protection of a wind bent shore pine for our picnic and sat with our eyes to the sea until it was time to head back towards the city. We returned with our hearts full and fresh and renewed.

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Water has always been a reason why we decide to spend time in certain places. It’s important to have the sea, or a tarn, a lake or a stream for us to be captivated by. Water brings tranquility. To gaze upon it, whether it’s the kind that’s crystal clear, emerald green, black with tannins, or churning, blue chaos – it soothes. It softens our bodies and slows our minds, giving us permission to be present and quiet.

The reflections of conifers and clouds that spread along a glassy surface are like a gift when they occur. When we see this it feels like the moment was made for us. When we are in these places we don’t need an agenda or a lesson plan. We learn from the waters how to be calm, to have gratitude and appreciation. Water helps us to feel connected to the natural world. A hand in the current is a way to know ourselves as a part of earth’s cycles, as the waters move from the snow-capped mountains that tower over us, across our skin and towards the ocean down below.

One of the women said to us, as we walked along the edge of a river, that she is grateful for the ability to be grateful. In a single sentence this woman made our hearts explode with her quiet wisdom. Women who have struggled and faced adversities that the rest of us will never know appreciate these great places with a depth and fullness that many don’t experience. Their gratitude is reciprocity. We are certain that these women are medicine for the lands that they visit.

[forestandthefemme]

in her words

“Nature is teaching me about all the things I can do. I never believed that I would ever do things like this and see these places and push myself like this - like up a mountain. These days make me into a whole new kind of person that I didn’t even know was in me. I can do anything!”

[forestandthefemme]

Art class with a view. 

On this trip we learned how to make pigment for painting by sanding down minerals. We had gathered these mineral stones through ought the summer from the places that we visit. We have such an amazing diversity of geology around us and there is always something new to learn from it all. The pebbles came from the edges of rivers and beaches and rugged mountain slopes. They are each tiny reminders of the glaciers and volcanoes all around us here. They teach us about the ever shifting earth that formed these areas that we cherish. The powders that we made are a connection to the lands that we visit and our journeys in those places. They are reminders of playing and storytelling. 

Bladderwrack gel was our medium, since we were at the beach, and this resulted in a very pretty sheen. We had to swim to a little rocky island to collect seaweed so we appreciated it’s contribution. The sea was so warm from the sun-baked rocks as it moved towards high tide. That swim was so dreamy. 

Activities like these are arcs that link our participants and the many trips that we all do. Each pebble tells a story of place and of the woman whose hands found the treasure. Each chosen for another woman to use on another day. A gift for learning. One day we’ll make a big map out of all these stories and the things we've done and learned.

[forestandthefemme]

This day was the first time that we had been able to hike for weeks. The heavy smoke from the summer’s forest fires kept us all from moving very much for most of August. We were happy to finally see the air clear enough to be able to get out for a hike. 

The forest was starting to show the effects of a long, hot and dry summer.  Leafy little reminders were everywhere to show that the changing of the season’s was nearing. It’s important for our bodies to feel connected to these cycles. These are patterns that we have always been a part of and so it is a connection to our ancestral past. A reminder of the bigger things that we are all a part of.

In this region, the land of the Coast Salish, autumn can come and go in what seems like a few days. Summer gets swallowed up by sudden and endless rain. There is an in-between time the happens in the forests though, regardless of if we can feel it in the city. These reminders help us to cherish these summer days so we don't take them for granted. 

[forestandthefemme]

Playtime is important. The world seems to weigh heavier on women every day. We get buried in news headlines of misogyny, racism, and the daily ways violence and oppression play out. The women involved with this program often live and breathe these narratives. There needs to be opportunities to release all this - ways to keep it from settling into our bodies.  This is why playfulness is so important. It gives us endorphins that help us feel joy. It helps us to find connection, inspire creativity, provide respite and healing. Playfulness allows us to begin breaking down the barriers between us. It is structureless and organic and it’s one of the things that makes our program so important.

This is a picture from a day that we spent playing in the sea. We sat in the shallows and rolled around in the waves like little ocean pups. We let the floating seaweed wrap itself around our bodies. We gave ourself face scrubs with errant bladderwrack. We shared stories and laughter under the bright blue sky. It was beautiful and necessary. 

It helped us.

When was the last time that you let yourself play? 

[forestandthefemme]

Some of us have very dear memories of berry-picking with our families when we were young. We wanted to honour these happy memories and bring the berry-picking journeys back and make mountain jam. We did multiple trips up to the high places where the berry bush limbs were heavy with their fruit. Different times in the season provided us with different berries to harvest and our jam had so many varieties: red and blue huckleberries, thimbleberries, trailing blackberries, blackcap raspberries, salal berries and some himalayan blackberries that we were gifted. 

We had harvested some plant medicines through the season and so added an infusion of these as well. Labrador tea added a wonderful flavour and our jam turned out better than we could have ever hoped for. So delicious! 

We are very thankful for these opportunities and for the food and medicine that we very gratefully and carefully harvested on Skwxwú7mesh land.