Storytelling event
Join us for an evening of storytelling in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, in collaboration with Trenton Schulz-Franco and the Special Bird Service Society. Enjoy dynamic storytellers sharing their personal experiences in the natural world.
Through vibrant, heartfelt, and unexpected stories, we'll celebrate spring, revel in the wonders of nature, and nurture deeper connections - to the land and to one another. Prepare to be captivated, surprised, and inspired by the power of nature through the diverse lens of human experience.
Storytellers:
- Lajah Warren (she/her), is a Songhees artist and the founder of Nova Arts Hub. She is of mixed Indigenous and settler heritage and uses her platforms to inspire dialogue, healing, and resistance. Her work weaves traditional Coast Salish designs with expressive acrylic techniques which reflect community, natural elements, storytelling, self-healing, and activism. She from lək’wəniʔən territory through the Warren and Albany families of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. She is also Cree, Ojibwa, and Métis, Icelandic, French, Scottish, and English. While her formal education includes a degree in Indigenous Child and Youth Care, her passion has been utilizing expressive arts as a form of healing. Through the different roles she has held as a counsellor, community member, artist, Two-Spirit support worker, and more, she brings art and land based connections into her work as one of her biggest teachers. Find more about her work on instagram at @artwork_by_lajah and @novaartshub and online at Nova Arts Hub.
- Sarah Jim is a visual artist from the W̱S͸ḴEM Village in W̱SÁNEĆ with mixed ancestry that includes Coast Salish, Mexican, English, and Russian-Jewish. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Victoria and has worked in the environmental restoration field since 2018. Her art practice explores themes of Indigenous land sovereignty, cultural resurgence, interconnectivity, native plants, and coastal medicines. Advocation for the land through depictions of ethnobotanical representations is the focal point of Sarah's work. Along with contributing to her community through artwork and land-based healing with the W̱S͸ḴEM Ivy project, and formerly the PEPÁKEṈ HÁUTW̱ foundation, she is now pursuing Indigenous language revitalization through the W̱SENĆOŦENIST Program at the W̱SÁNEĆ College. All these pursuits are to reflect, honour, and care for the beautiful land, sea, and skies that the W̱SÁNEĆ have stewarded since time immemorial.
- Dr. Aerin Jacob (she/her) is an ecologist and an enthusiastic supporter of science, nature, and communities. She is the Director of Science & Research and the Weston Family Senior Scientist at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Northern British Columbia. Aerin has worked in conservation science, practice, and policy across three continents for nearly 20 years and can often be found skiing, paddling, and looking under rocks.
- Parker Johnson is the Community Engagement Coordinator for ICA, originally from Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Canada. He holds a degree in Psychology and has extensive experience working collaboratively within diverse communities as an outreach worker, community organizer, and facilitator. Throughout his career, he has supported vulnerable populations and partnered with teachers and students across Canada to integrate progressive curricula and deliver DEI-focused workshops. His experience includes working within the justice system, where he hosted dialogue spaces for incarcerated men, exploring themes of healthy masculinity through storytelling and strategies for safe reintegration into their cultural communities.
MC:
- Trenton Schulz-Franco is the founder of the Special Bird Service Society, the Black Swift Stewardship Society, and Nest Network. With a background in law, photography, environmental advocacy and public service, and an intersectional storyteller, they foster meaningful connections between people, land and community while advocating for accessible education, recreation and stewardship. As curator and MC of the Roots & Reverie event, they bring their passion for connection, reciprocity, and the rich interplay of personal and ecological histories to this unique gathering.
