We are thrilled to be sharing our first report in from Keiko Lee-Hem, our new community facilitator for the Nelson area:

“It has been my pleasure and honour to have joined the EartHand community as a facilitator!

This winter I led Plant & Light Play where a group of us meet every few weeks to make lanterns for the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Lantern Festival.

In true Earthand fashion we played with materials that came directly from the land around us — plant materials that we had grown or respectfully gathered, plus paper and fasteners that will return to the earth and leave no trace. We also modelled another of EartHand’s core principles “how to be a producer without first being a consumer”. That is, making with what is already at hand.

Having beautiful lanterns and taking part in the festival was the happy by-product of our time together — our main focus was to share knowledge and skills, strengthen our community bonds and have fun.

Thanks to @sharonkallis and @earthandgleaners for the opportunity.

@jaymie.johnson for bringing EartHand to Nelson and for teaching me so much.

@weaving_out_on_a_limb for your passion and generosity with your knowledge and plant materials.


@glendanewstead @taraharat @withallofmysenses and Susan for coming on the journey with me, Anne for the photos and Myra at @polkadotdragonarts for your vision for our community.

thank you to BC Arts Council: Community Arts for supporting our programming.

Do you live in the Nelson area and want to get involved? email earthandgleaners(at)gmail.com and we will connect you with Keiko for future gatherings!

Plant & Light Play
These lanterns were created by a group of local makers through a series of gatherings, presented by EartHand Gleaners Society. Beyond building lanterns, our focus was to share knowledge and skills, strengthen community bonds and have fun!

Lantern Makers

Glenda Newsted
Keiko Lee-Hem
Harvest Strathopolous
Samantha Jade Miranda
Susan Risk
Tarah Reesor

Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that the land where we gather and grow is the unceded and ancestral təmxʷulaʔxʷ of the Sinixt Peoples, and land connected to the Ktunaxa and Syilx Peoples.

Plant list

All plant materials were either grown by the makers, or respectfully gathered. Plants include:
plants include
alley grass
blackberry vine
black walnut leaves
bindweed
cattail
cedar boughs
chokecherry
corn husks
crocosmia leaves
daylily
dried flowers (allium, coreopsis, oregano, poppy seed pods, statice, strawflower, yarrow)

dried seed pods
driftwood
English ivy
flax

fern
grapevine
iris
lavender
lichen
maple
ornamental grass
peony leaves
pine roots
ratan
sea grasses
Virginia creeper
weeping willow
willow