Resilient Homes
With Neil Surkan, Rick Hatch, Anona Kampe, Joanne Scofield, Sam Welsh, Dana Ewart, Jennifer Kanazawa, Gord Oaks, James Sylvester and Daphne Cant
August 14 - 20, 2022
Attune to the seasonal offerings of the earth. Come learn about harvesting the riches of the season, and the art of cultivating our home spaces through poetry, and homemaking arts.
Program Offerings for This Week:
Homemaking: Poetry and Process
Program Leader: Neil Surkan
Ages: 18+
Time: Monday-Friday, 9:30 am – 11:45 am
Program fee: $55 + $10 material fee
This course is equal parts reading group, collaborative community, and poetry workshop. Together, we’ll read, reflect, and write on what finding (and making) home means to us. Each session will include time to read – and gently analyze – diverse contemporary poems, to experience a reflective activity or exercise, and to write poetic responses.
We will explore the relationships between our home-spaces and our wider communities as we savour various poems, celebrate the unique contexts and concerns of our own lives, and courageously share our drafts. Participants may also invite feedback from the group on their poems-in-progress if they wish.
Where in the world do (or did) you feel most at home? When do (or will) you know you’ve arrived?
No experience writing or reading poems is necessary. Bring your notebook and favourite writing utensil!.
Practical Permaculture
Program Leader: Rick Hatch
Ages: 12+
Time: Monday-Friday, 9:30 am – 11:45 am
Program fee: $55
Revitalize your relationship to the Earth! This fun and energizing program will introduce permaculture, a design system that combines science and ethics. Like a user’s manual for living on Earth, permaculture helps us learn how to align our human lives with the natural rhythms and flows of nature.
This program will focus on solutions; empowering us to make a real positive difference in our own lives and those around us.
We will cover growing our own food, nutrient cycling, sustainable buildings and energy systems, and more!
Please note that one session will take place at Rick’s farm located in the West Bench.
Artisan Baking Workshop
Program Leader: Dana Ewart
Ages: 16+
Time: Monday 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Program fee: $45 + $10 material fee
Join Chef Dana Ewart for an artisan baking workshop featuring local Okanagan produce from surrounding Naramata orchards.
Perhaps adding a quick tour through the neighbouring permaculture garden along with a little pie snacking picnic interlude.
Together we will create the perfect Okanagan orchard fruit galette along with some artisan breads & pastries
Bring your questions, clothing appropriate to dust with flour, along with comfortable footwear.
Children at Play
Children’s Program Leader: TBA + Summer Staff
Ages: 5-11
Time: 9:15 am – 12:00 pm
Program fee: $55 (Full bursary funding is available to ensure all children & youth can participate in programming. Apply the Heartwood Bursary option upon checkout)
Our children’s program welcomes and celebrates children for exactly who they are. Program leaders nurture children’s spirits through creative and imaginative play, storytelling, songs, games, and more. Enroll your children to be together in community learning how to sow the seeds of lasting friendships.
Youth Connection
Youth Program Leader: TBA + Summer Staff
Ages: 12-17
Time: 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Program fee: $55 (Full bursary funding is available to ensure all children & youth can participate in programming. Apply the Heartwood Bursary option upon checkout)
Build new friendships through Youth Connection during a week of outdoor activities, creative games, new discoveries and just hanging together. This is your week, so leave any negative pressures behind, bring your ideas and come have fun in an inclusive community that values all that you are.
Learning on the Land
Program Leader: Anona Kampe
Ages: 8+
Time: Tuesday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Program fee: $45
Studies have shown that when you engage your senses, you retain more knowledge. Join Okanagan Nation member, Anona sknir’mn (Buttercup), on a walk outside where you will learn indigenous perspectives about local plants, animals, and landforms. Anona will also share what is harvested where and when and what it is used for and may bring samples of the local harvest.
This program is held off-site in an area referred to as Naramata Falls. A vehicle is required and carpooling is recommended.
For those wanting to carpool, meeting in front of Alberta Hall at 9:00 am to coordinate transportation.
Forest Bathing
Program Leader: Joanne Scofield
Ages: 18+
Time: Thursday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Program fee: $45
A Forest Bathing walk is a guided, slow walk in nature. It is a gentle practice of connecting to your senses and opening to nature’s healing properties. There are no goals to be attained and it is not a hike or an exercise activity, rather it is a time for deep nature connection. Through the deepening of one’s sensory intake of nature’s healing properties, a participant may come away with feeling relaxed and renewed. As we go on this journey together, Joanne will be your guide, but the forest will be the therapy. The location will be held off-site. Place TBD
Community Life Includes:
Interactive Connections
Spiritual Leader: Gord Oaks
Musician in Residence: James Sylvester
Campground Host: Daphne Cant
The week begins with interactive fun activities for all to connect with others in our Sunday evening Welcome Circle. Wake up Monday morning and take a Meditative Walk in the Labyrinth, or set yourself up in a quiet space in the Sacred Garden, or join a morning yoga class. Get singing and dancing to daily morning music then set off on your day either in a program or exploring the area. If you feel a need to get some creative energy out, drop in for some afternoon art. In the evening, connect with the earth by digging, planting, and harvesting with volunteers of the Permaculture Farm Garden. Gather with the community by keeping a lookout for spontaneous activities throughout the week.
Traditional Storytelling with Anona Kampe – Tuesday from 1:00-2:00 pm
Join Anona as she takes you on an entertaining and interactive journey by sharing traditional Okanagan stories called captikwł (chap-teek). The Okanagan people spread knowledge through an oral history spanning thousands of years. She will introduce you to the characters, explaining why they are significant and share traditional teachings within the story. Participants can expect an engaging session.
Community Yoga
Yoga Leader: Jennifer Kanazawa
Gentle Morning yoga Daily from 7:30-8:15 am – Morning Yoga is perfect for anyone looking to begin their day connecting breath and movement in a mindful way to help soften tight muscles, ease joint pain, connect the body and mind at a peaceful, slower pace. This class is appropriate for beginners or anyone working with injury, limited mobility, or simply prefer a gentler approach to yoga. Practice every day or drop-in. Registration required.
Evening Unwind yoga Tuesday 7:00-8:30 pm – Prepare to let go, reflect, and settle your body and mind for a restful evening and a new day ahead in this 90-minute evening unwind yoga session. Stretch out your body and release tension from the day, calm your mind, relax your breathing, boost your mood, and melt into the beauty of a Naramata summer’s eve. Registration required.
Community Art
Beaded Spiders with Anona Kampe – Wednesday from 2:00-4:00 pm
Cultural presenter, Anona sknir’mn – Buttercup from the Penticton Indian Band, will share the story of “Why Spider has Long Legs”. After this traditional story, participants will make a beaded spider with the materials provided. It is important to fix our minds and think good thoughts whenever we are making things with our hands. That good energy will go into our work. These beaded spiders make beautiful gifts and/or can be used as a hanging ornament in your home, office, or car. Each spider will look unique. Registration required.
Drop-in Afternoon Art with Sam Welsh – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 3:00-5:00 pm
Join Sam for a variety of easy art activities throughout the week. These are created for everyone to participate, all levels of experience welcome (especially for you if you just said “oh, I’m not an artist”). Each activity welcomes you to come by and make something unique, creative, and fun. These have been planned specifically as drop-in activities, come by anytime during the times noted (stay for ten minutes or the whole time) and you can complete an activity. No registration is required.
Community Permaculture Farm Garden
Farm Leaders: Tomas Oyarzun Montes and Catalina Polloni
Farm Tour – Monday from 7:00-8:00 pm
Permaculture (the word, coined by Bill Mollison, is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture and permanent culture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people — providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Join the farm tour on Monday evening and/or drop in to find fellow community gardeners to learn and grow with. Registration is required for the farm tour, no registration is required to drop-in. You can learn more about the garden by visiting the Naramata Permaculture Farm Garden Facebook page here.
About the Program Leaders
Neil Surkan
Neil Surkan used to be on summer staff at the Centre and once shared the role of summer director of children and youth programs with a dear friend. He is the author of the poetry collections Unbecoming (2021) and On High (2018), both from McGill-Queen’s University Press, and the chapbooks Their Queer Tenderness (Knife-Fork-Book, 2020) […]
Learn more about Neil SurkanRick Hatch
Rick Hatch has been practicing permaculture since 2014. He operates Cherry Tree Permaculture Ltd, an edible landscaping company and small farm, in West Bench BC.
Learn more about Rick HatchAnona Kampe
Anona Fawn Kampe - sknir'mn - Buttercup. A member of the Penticton Indian Band in the Okanagan Nation, Anona has worked within the Nation sharing Okanagan culture & history. Born in Penticton to parents, Ramona Paul who resides in Penticton & the late Garth Brayshaw. Granddaughter to the late Rachel & Basil Paul & the […]
Learn more about Anona KampeJoanne Scofield
Joanne is an experienced workshop facilitator. She enjoys creating space for practices that bring us into deeper connection to ourselves, the other and the natural world. Joanne is a certified forest therapy guide, a minister with the United Church of Canada and a member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. She enjoys being in […]
Learn more about Joanne ScofieldSam Welsh
Sam, she/her, is a Counsellor and artistic human working at the intersection of creativity and mental health. She encourages divergent thinking, using the arts, and finding flow to bring about positive change and personal growth. Sam has led, co-led, designed, and faciliated a wide range of programming for communities and groups at Naramata Centre and […]
Learn more about Sam WelshDana Ewart
While she is an undeniably a fabulous baker, Dana also knows her way around many other areas of the kitchen. Dana attended the prestigious Stratford Chef’s School in Ontario, where she completed her chef’s training with honors as well as an extensive pastry training program in 1998. After completing her formal education, Dana worked as […]
Learn more about Dana EwartJennifer Kanazawa
Jennifer Kanazawa is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT 500) with a background in Craft & Design from Kootenay School of the Arts. She specializes in teaching Gentle Hatha, Yin yoga, Paddle-board yoga, and yoga for children. Her journey as an instructor began with the South Okanagan Yoga Academy in 2016. The knowledge […]
Learn more about Jennifer KanazawaGord Oaks
Gord Oaks is a Musician and Certified Shiatsu Acupressure Therapist (a relative of Acupuncture), in practice since 1999. He has been exploring, studying, and applying Qigong, Yoga and Meditation in his life and work since 1991, and is a firm advocate for the empowering and Universal nature of the internal healing arts. Gord offers a gentle, but […]
Learn more about Gord OaksJames Sylvester
You see a young bearded man with a goofy grin and infectious dance moves. What do you do? Join the dance! My name is James and I am an elementary school teacher in Calgary, Alberta. I studied jazz in university, and enjoy leading music at churches and summer camps. I have appreciated the welcome I […]
Learn more about James SylvesterDaphne Cant
Daphne has been a previous camp host at Naramata and enjoyed the wonderful summer community. Her Naramata history extends back to the 90's when she had many happy summer experiences with her family at the Centre. Daphne has embraced retirement after 30 years with the federal government and loves being outdoors, biking, swimming, kayaking and […]
Learn more about Daphne CantCategories : Family/Group Registration, Summer Weeks