The Hows & Whys
Queer Spaces
in Wild Places
Some of our philosophy + praxis...
CREATE has been created with the core belief that spending time outside, in wild spaces, working together can create profound change in individuals and communities. CREATE aims to bridge individuals and communities through cooperative, inclusive exchange of knowledge and skills. CREATE is honoured to exist within the territory of the Sinixt Nation.
CREATE is, at it's roots, a queer space; this means that the default systems of power and privilege are challenged and restructured to include the voices and experiences of folks who have been left out, marginalized and ignored. The participation of women, gender non-conformists, queers, parents, kids, people with disabilities, people of colour and other folks who may have faced discrimination and barriers is of utmost importance at CREATE. We welcome folks of all genders, ages and experiences to apply and attend camp. We recognize the importance, value and beauty in creating a diverse community space.
While working in nature we see that the constructs of gender, power hierarchies and dominance are not as "natural" as we may have once believed. Animals and plants demonstrate gender diversity, interconnectedness and resilience. The chance to re-set our own relationships to power, access and connection is what awaits us at CREATE.
Including families of all sorts is also really important to how we share this space. While families with single parents, same-sex parents, polyamourous co-parenting teams, trans-parents, adopted children, intergenerational teams and various other configurations continue to become more common, the systems that exist for family engagement have often not caught up with this. We encourage families to let us know how we can best meet the unique needs of your team to help you participate at CREATE.
Skills Shared,
Skills Learned
A part of CREATE's radical approach to education is recognizing that we all have a lot to share. Everyone at camp has a valuable purpose. What happens at camp is decided through democratic meeting, time is arranged using Open Space principles and the Law of Mobility, integrated all ages programming exists alongside a supported parallel play option for kids and youth at camp. You can learn more about each of those ideas on our ABOUT page or below.
CREATE is about the idea that everyone has something to share. We see everyone as a teacher, a student and all of the places in between, including guide, mentor, seeker, apprentice, witness, scientist, explorer and change-agent. We create a space where knowledge and skills can be exchanged, recognizing that that happens in an infinitude of ways. When every participant is empowered in their learning journey it means their passion and interest will set the course and the pace of that exchange.
Some skills + ideas that will be up for exploration this summer include:
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greenhouses for year round food
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building with salvage
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keeping + processing small livestock
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water systems
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composting toilet systems
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wild plant medicines
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forest maintenance
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mushrooms
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using bioremediation
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harvesting and processing fruits and vegetables
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overcoming/harnessing fear of power tools
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working in community
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and the special offerings you may bring or request...
Nuts & Bolts
The exchange of technical knowledge - learning about making, fixing and building - has long been mired with intense sexism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination. The ways that these discriminations play out in technical training programs, colleges, apprenticeships and in the work force serve as major impediments to participation from folks who are marginalized. CREATE aims to hold space for knowledge and skills to be exchanged and developed in ways that recognize this while actively dismantling and replacing oppressive power structures.
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We believe strongly in learning through hands-on experience. The things that are required to support a community including growing and processing of foods, building structures, and building and maintaining machines can be learned through active exploration.
Feeling supported in exploring new things can look really different for different folks. Some people who like to work largely independently, will have the availability to access resources when needed, and have the presence of other people working on complementary projects nearby. Others prefer to work in small groups, opportunities to build affinity groups and project teams may serve them best. Some folks are happy in very large groups and find being a part of a big team to be their jam. CREATE's Open Space structure allows for participants to find a flow that works with their individual personality and learning style needs.
At camp you will have an opportunity to follow your passions, learn things that will serve as purposeful in your life, and contribute to the development of CREATE facilities and maintenance.
Creating opportunities for intergenerational engagement includes our small leaders and teachers in ways that work for them. Kids at camp will have the opportunity to engage in a variety of ways including integrated skills development, having democratic voice, and kid-centered play based exploration.
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Inspired by John Dewey's farm school, unschooling, and free school concepts and practices, kids at CREATE have a wide range of ways they can participate.
Integrated in Knowledge Exchange
Kids and youth who want to join in partnership or team with folks of all ages exchanging skills and knowledge will be supported in doing so by creating team environments where the input and participation of kids is treated with a value equal to their adult counterparts. Finding tasks that are important parts of projects at hand and are able to be done by young folks will be a part of team process. For example, if a team was constructing a greenhouse, a 4 year old can have the responsibility of sorting hardware pieces, while a 7 year old could help them get the pieces to the right places. Kids at CREATE also play by the rule of mobility, with a slight hitch. If the activity isn't working a kid can work with a grown-up or big kid to help them find somewhere to move to. We want to keep an eye out especially for little ones on the land because we do have wildlife and other hazards that might cause problems for our special little participants.
Supported Child Centered Parallel Play
Some times kids want to do "kid things" and would rather leave the greenhouse building and chicken plucking to the grown ups. CREATE aims to have opportunities for kids to direct their own parallel programming with the help of Early Childhood Educators, Parents and other volunteers. Of course what happens within this stream will be up to the kids participating in it, but it could involve field games, playing in mud, crafts, making a show, dancing, or exploring the forest.
We are actively looking for individuals who want to commit some or all of their camp time to serving in play with our littlest participants.
We strongly encourage people who are not parents (or whose kids will not be at camp) to be engaged in this type of service as a means of opening participation opportunities for parents at camp.
Kids in Democratic Process
Any kids who want to participate in the governance of how we share space at CREATE are welcome to do so. Everyone gets a say in what we do. CREATE aims to pay special attention to including the voices, needs and experiences of folks who are often silenced or left out of decisions - this includes kids. If you are curious about what it looks like to have kids participate in democratic decision making, check out these videos.
