Blossom Walk


photo by walker: Brina Li

It was a grey cloudy day. The Sunset Community Centre was booming with activity: Women dancing on two different floors - one with ribbons and fans and one with sweet moves, a large number of children in a karate class, parents waiting in the lobby, and people preparing for an after-hours birthday party for a little girl.  With so much activity, will anyone be available for this walk?

We were joined by a wonderful group of teenagers, the ones who were dancing with the sweet moves, and by a local historian.

Julie and the Gang exploring an Arbutus tree

Today, we did a sort of multi-sensory walk. Focusing on listening, smelling, touching, looking and not talking, while exploring and still sharing discoveries around us with each other. We were able to feel and touch plants and trees, smell some flowers, hear some sounds, and even see some chickens!


Walkers in Blossom Snow
The blossoms were out! They were showering down upon the streets making them pink with their pedals.

Sidewalk dated 1930

Here is something Rob, a local historian pointed out, a sidewalk labeled with the date 1930. Some history to discover here for a future walk! 

We encountered some chickens upon the walk. One of the girl's reactions to discovering that there were chickens behind this fence was priceless - jaw open and eyes wide with surprise! 

Chicken friends

a little mossy friend

The most wonderful thing about this walk was the feedback we received at the end:

"I felt calm...and that means a lot from me because I am always stressed out."

"We were able to do a fun walk and work on our biology project at the same time!" 

"I never knew there were chickens in my neighbourhood." 
"Oh! my neighbour has chickens too! They hang out on the sidewalk sometimes."
"What?!" 

"I never realized how many plants and smells were in the neighbourhood."



a bus stop bench see-saw kinda ending


Come join us on our next walk, May 19th at 4:30pm! We will be exploring Fraser Street. 

xo,
Matt & Julie