Anishinaabe knowledge keeper and Our Wisdom Tree Project leader Andrew Judge and Wild Craft Permaculture founder Jessica Robertson were at the first ever Go Wild, Grow Wild Expo at the Western Fairgrounds in London, Ontario on April 18th. The pair were part of the two dozen presenters and 80 exhibitors at what Carolinian Canada Coalition hopes to be an annual event.
Close to 1,800 people took in the one day event, hearing from 8th Fire leaders like Judge. He started the Our Wisdom Tree Project with the aim of recovering, preserving and sharing Indigenous knowledge “one seed at a time”. The 29 year-old architect of the Fanshawe College Indigenous Studies program blends traditional wisdom with contemporary science in his work.
“For every word that I say, there are elders, helpers and, of course, my mom behind me,” says the University of Western Ontario PhD student in Education. “Our indigenous knowledge is whole, but it’s been fractured by colonialism.”
The solution, Judge believes, is a strategy of raising awareness, inspiring advocacy and taking action by implementing practical ecological wisdom from elders and community leaders worldwide. Recently home from southern Turtle Island (Mexico), he hopes to spend time with traditional grower and restoration agriculturalist, Janice Brant, in Tyendinaga this summer.
Follow his journey on-line at http://ourwisdomtreeproject.org, Facebook and Instagram.
