With Canada’s 150th year since confederation, it has had us reflecting on what it means to be Canadian. For us there are many important factors from the belief in and access to decent health care and education for all, to valuing the arts, to our love of a multicultural society, to a connection and love of the natural spaces around us. It is the latter of these that inspired Naturally Ours, the first of our web / documentary series.
Returning to her storytelling roots as the quirky science loving gal exploring parks, Erica Hargreave helps reconnect us with nature, as we explore the natural and cultural history of this awe-inspiring planet of ours. As it is never long before Erica makes friends, she is joined by the scientists, naturalists, historians and artists whose work is inspired by magnificent natural spaces.
While Canada’s parks and natural spaces inspired Naturally Ours for us, nature has inspired people around the world and throughout history. As Hwiemtun says in Season 1, Naturally Salt Spring, “Everybody is indigenous from somewhere; so everybody has a connection to the earth, but they forgot about it.” So expect to see future seasons of Naturally Ours from around the world, as well as from around Canada.
To begin, you can start by watching Season 1 of Naturally Ours, Naturally Salt Spring, on Stareable and YouTube and see the full documentary on Fearless. You can also follow the broader story online with the #NaturallyOurs hashtag and around Season 1 with #NaturallySaltSpring.
Stay tuned in the New Year for a Naturally Ours portal on the Roamancing site, where you can watch present and future episodes of the series, educators can access teaching materials to accompany the various episodes of the series for use in the classroom, and where eventually you will be able to access guides to the different parks that we visit.
