In Dialogue with “The Gathering Tree” was the third instalment of the ECPN Conversation Series V, a series that focused on curriculum making with children and educators in the Interior of British Columbia.

On November 9th, ECPN pedagogist Teresa Smith and ECPN Director Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw shared the pedagogical processes involved in inquiry with a 50-year-old maple tree over four seasons. This conversation highlighted an ongoing inquiry with children, educators, and a pedagogist who are working to live well together in unceded Secwepemcúl’ecw. Through sustained engagement and careful attention, educators and pedagogist notice children’s relations with more-than-human others that are deeply meaningful, never innocent, and requiring of thoughtful pedagogical responses.

The video recording of Conversations V Pt. 3 can be viewed below.

The pedagogical narration Dialogues with the Gathering Tree can be viewed here.

More information about and access to the recording of Conversations V: Part 1, is available here.

More information about and access to the recording of Conversations V: Part 2, is available here.

Presenter Bios:

Teresa Smith: ECPN pedagogist in the Kamloops region, aims to cultivate collaborative relationships with educators, families, children and my pedagogist colleagues, to think otherwise about children and childcare, and co-build a community where all children can flourish.

Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw: ECPN Co-Director, is a Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Faculty of Education and Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Research in Curriculum at Western University in Ontario, Canada.