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Stepping along the bark mulch path of °­'²Ô³¾²¹Äº°ì²¹? ³§É™²Ô±çâĺ³ÙÉ™²Ô, navigating through the dense brush of salmon berry and olive trees, visitors get a rare opportunity to step into a space filled with traditional plants significant to Syilx Okanagan people.

°­'²Ô³¾²¹Äº°ì²¹? ³§É™²Ô±çâĺ³ÙÉ™²Ô (Kalamalka Garden) is an Indigenous garden created in 2017 through a unique collaboration among the Okanagan Indian Band (Elders and community members), òòò½ÎÑ and the Food Action Society of the North Okanagan. The garden has resulted in a tranquil and serene space where tradition, knowledge and learning meet so Syilx Okanagan culture can flourish for generations to come.

Garden springs to life with help from many

While the garden is part of òòò½ÎÑ's Indigenous initiatives and championed by the campus' Indigenous Coordinator, this garden is a community project that has been supported by Food Action staff, Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) members, volunteers and community organizations.

Kalamalka Garden is located at the Vernon campus of òòò½ÎÑ, adjacent to Patchwork Farms. It contains indigenous food plants from the Okanagan territory, as well as other native species indigenous to this area, and it was developed to be a community teaching resource of region's indigenous plants used by OKIB.

The work in the garden during 2017 focused on the initial construction of the garden beds from recycled materials and pathways and on the installation of the first plantings. E