Kim Hanson

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The Birth Place Forest of Silver Springs

August 30, 2021 | 5 Comments

Good day everyone. I wrote this piece for Woods Reader, a beautiful, inspiring publication based in Spring Lake, Minnesota. It can be found in their Winter 2020/2021 issue.

 

The grassy green field was alive with energy and vitality. School children, in groups of five or so, squealed with delight taking turns kicking the black and white soccer ball. Dogs barked; their owners allowing them freedom to run and play. The rush of four lanes of traffic roared by, leading in and out of the neighbourhood. Yet, the instant I stepped onto the spongy path of the Birth Place Forest, all outside sound was muffled. I was embraced, instead, by the sounds of nature.

 

Two prodigious things happened in the year 2002. First, our tiny, healthy, precious grandson, Jacob was born. Second, spawned from the creative minds of community-conscious individuals at BP Canada Energy Group, Calgary Parks/Regional Health and Golden Acres Garden Centre, the Birth Place Forest of Silver Springs was also born. The urban oasis took root on some land originally set aside as a roadway allowance or potential right-of-way. As each baby was born in Calgary, a tiny, healthy, significant tree was planted. Poplar, pine, ash, aspen, bur oak, spruce and Brandon elm began to stake-out their territory. . . roots traversing deep into the soil, establishing new life. The goals of the Birth Place Forest program were simple. To educate, to establish pride and ownership through connection and to form a deep abiding legacy to the trees planted in the urban forest.

Years passed by. Jacob grew. A visit to his tree became an adventure for us. He rode his bike to the Birth Place Forest while I walked alongside. He always rode ahead – so excited to reach our destination.

“Grandma!” he’d shout. “Hurry. Catch up. We’ve still got a long ways to go.”

We always easily found his green ash tree, right where the map led us. Jacob, upon arriving, would drop his bike on the ground and stand beside his tree or duck under his tree or lay on the ground beside his tree.

“Look how big it’s getting Grandma!” he’d say as I snapped a photo.

“Yes, and look how big you are getting my sweet boy!”

We would sit on the cedar bark cushion beside the ash tree and talk, all the while having a snack of juice and cheese and crackers. The perfect picnic.

The Birth Place Forest in Silver Springs grew in unison. The mass of trees began to stretch high into the sky, offering sanctuary and refuge to all the wildlife in the neighbourhood. On hot summer days, the forest was like slurping a popsicle; cool and delicious. In the chilly winter months, the trees seemed to huddle together, offering shelter from the cold, harsh, north winds. But it’s best foot forward came in the fall, when the leaves changed from sage green to amber and golden and glorious.

Calgary, with extraordinary prescience, created nine Birth Place Forests in different neighbourhoods around the city – the first of its kind in Canada. Planting trees began in 2001 and continued until 2009 when planting ceased due to a dearth of suitable land and a sudden lack of funding.

“We require about five hectares of land to plant the trees and we need a site that can accommodate at least 3,000 families. Those sites can be hard to find,” said the city’s urban forestry coordinator.

But in those nine years, the City of Calgary planted 62,000 life-affirming new trees.

Silver Springs volunteers have taken over maintenance and management of the Birth Place Forest, ensuring care continuity. Botanical gardens were created and abut the forest, together stretching over 20 acres of land. Strolling the paths is a spiritual antidote to the stress and chaos in our lives.

“I grew up in a forest. It’s like a room. It’s protected. Like a cathedral… it is a place between
heaven and earth.”
― Anselm Kiefer

Jacob is turning 19 years of age soon. So is his green ash tree. Both are tall, strong and purposeful. He doesn’t visit the Birth Place Forest often, but I do. I walk the paths, revel in the sounds of nature and sit on the bench to collect my thoughts or write in my journal.

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”
— John Muir


 

It’s a space and a place of peace. I reminisce about my sweet grandson, the wonder pooling in his eyes and the excitement spilling out of every pore. Here in the Birth Place Forest, my connection to Jacob is palpable. Here in the Birth Place Forest there is a deep, abiding legacy to the trees that surround me. Here is nature at its very best.

Filed Under: Beautiful Calgary urban parks, Gardening, Photography, Press, Stories & Essays, Writing | Tagged With: autumn, BirthPlaceForest, Calgary, SilverSprings, trees

Riley Park – My Very Favourite Place

July 4, 2020 | 12 Comments

There’s no place in Calgary like Riley Park. It’s where I used to play as a kid. It’s where I grew from a child, to a teenager. Although the park is a little different now than it used to be, it’s still filled with memories at every turn.

Spring and summer bring the park to life; green grass, a playground full of noisy children and 50+ year old trees show us the best part of nature.

My granddaughter and I went to the park last week. We ended up playing a camera game she came up with…take as many photos as you can in a specified time period. She literally had me running from place to place!

Backbend on a picnic bench

She’s an active girl – it’s sometimes a challenge to keep up.

Cartwheels on the cricket pitch

The cricket pitch was a great spot to throw down a few cartwheels. I first saw cricket being played as a kid. We’d stand in the park watching two teams play. The rules then and now are still a big, giant mystery to me. Players running the length of the pitch, hitting a small ball with a large wooden bat. So very strange.

We both sat in the parks’ massive trees. While dangling down our legs, it occurred to me that I had likely sat in that exact spot 54 years ago, when I was ten years old. It’s humbling.

No water is in the wading pool yet…I’m not sure if the pool will be open this summer or not. It’s configuration changed over the years. It’s gone from being a giant, cement rectangle with a rough, uneven bottom to a children’s wading pool with water fountains and a bright teal smooth bottom. Just like the colour teal in my quilt, Carina.

Carina
Riley Park wading pool with water

Although my granddaughter and I did not visit the Rock Garden this time, we’ve been there before.

Charm & Whimsy

When we were ready to head home, a woman arrived at the park, with her kite in hand.

Kite Flying High

Try as she may, and it was a very windy day, she couldn’t get the kite to stay up in the air. Some city workers in orange vests came by and tried to be of assistance. They couldn’t get it to fly either.

My view from the bench in Riley Park brings me full circle. I remember myself cutting through the park with Marilyn Black (Chalmers) on our way to Hillhurst School. I remember also that we were not supposed to cut through the park; we were supposed to go the “long way”, on Fifth Avenue to 12th Street N.W. I remember playing with my brothers in the pool in the summers. I remember my Dad bringing us there to play baseball. Then I see my beautiful, precious granddaughter cartwheeling down the cricket pitch and I can’t help but feel amazing joy and gratitude. Not everyone gets to literally “go back in time”. I see myself as a ten year old in that child, so open and loving and unaffected…just looking for the next adventure around the corner.

It’s like a small piece of “perfect” in a world filled with chaos.

Filed Under: Uncategorized | Tagged With: Calgary, joy, peace, quilt, quilt photography, RileyPark

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