EartHand Gleaners is very pleased to partner with the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Park Board in providing an option for donations towards our environmental art programs that allows donors to receive a tax deduction. Tax receipts are sent out for any donations above $25.
100% of funds received goes towards the free community programs that we offer in a variety of local urban parks, and we are most happy to discuss with donors what kind of workshops we offer that they would like to see supported with their donation.
The link to a secured online donation form on the Vancouver website is here
By supporting our community eco-art programs, you are supporting free, skill-sharing programs that foster empathy for the natural environment here in the urban spaces of the city.
Through a tactile exploration of the plants in our neighbourhoods, seasonal cycles become known to us as we forge deeper connections to the plants. The care and stewardship of our local parks and green spaces provides green materials for creative use. Strathcona’s North Trillium Park and Mount Pleasant’s Means of Production Garden are designated sites that grow crops for creative use where community members participate in harvesting, processing and making by using what is grown locally available year-round.
Our Events:
Sponsored events are always free but occasional programs limit participation through preregistration when complex instruction is involved. Generally drop-in and informal work circles transpire that build links between neighbours and teach hand-based technologies using what is seasonally available. We link stewardship principles back into the hands of creative makers.
We strive to build links with our neighbouring organizations and bring workshop and participation opportunities to local schools, youth groups, seniors and other local community-service providers. Our weavers circle workshop style encourages people of all abilities to share what they know while learning from others in a supportive and collaborative environment.
Multiple workshops often culminate in a site specific art installation or unique woven garden fencing that beautifies the public places we inhabit.
EartHand workshops aim to empower participants with new skills, and invigorate a sense of land stewardship, creating seasonal awareness that ultimately builds personal relationships with the environment. For participating individuals there will be a deeper respect for our urban parklands. Projects use a wide variety of weaving techniques with traditionally foraged plants, invasives species and agricultural crops.
What does eco art programming look like?
These short videos show an overview of the types of events and learning opportunities that the people from eartHand may host.
The people behind EartHand work with Vancouver Park Board on many community eco art projects, and you can see more on the City of Vancouver’s website.
As funding models change, and available grants are tougher to rely on, we are embracing this opportunity to allow those who are touched the most by what we do to assist us in continuing if they are financially able. We thank you for considering us in choosing what you support.
Testimonials from past participants
…it’s hard to describe the pleasure that comes from making something material, something physical; out of nothing… you’ve created something that would never have existed otherwise. … The circle format seems to gently encourage camaraderie and facilitate learning: during an evening you sit beside one or two others — initially strangers to you — and each of you works intently on your weaving project. You chat; you admire their work; they offer suggestions when needed. And when you hit an obstacle one of the instructors is always there with encouragement and guidance. …it feels more like a neighbourhood gathering than a formal class. In fact it doesn’t feel like a class at all; and yet you learn. Michael Hayward
I feel like I’ve really found my ‘creative niche’ with weaving; something I might not have ventured into on my own. The project has also changed how I look at the green spaces around my community. In my garden, I no longer look at Morning Glory, English Ivy and Lamium as (exhausting to deal with) nasty, troublesome pests but as uninvited “guests” that I can repurpose into a fun project. When visiting other public green spaces and pseudo-wild places in my community my eyes are more keenly aware of what is growing there, what shouldn’t be growing there and what plants have been crowded out by the ever present invasives.
Thank you for bringing weaving into my life! Joy Witzsche
I am so grateful to have found Urban Weavers. My life is so much richer because of it. We have had our house down here for a number of years but I have to tell you that as I drive and walk around here now, I look at the environment completely differently … is that weaveable??? Helen Shim