905-257-4730

info@joshuacreekarts.com

The Gallery will be closed June 3rd, June 4th & June 5th due to an exhibition change over. Thank you for your understanding.

905-257-4730

info@joshuacreekarts.com

CONSERVATION

About our Prairie Labyrinth

Our Labyrinth is a Native Prairie. Native prairies are unique landscapes and a grasslands ecosystem supporting species like monarch butterflies and the milkweed that they rely on during their long migrations to and from Mexico. In Southern Ontario, tallgrass once covered approximately 1000 km2 – less than 3% remains.

Most tallgrass communities have been lost over the past 200 years due to human use of the land for agriculture and urbanization. One of the negative effects this has had on native prairies is the reduction of milkweed within them. These plants are the only food source for monarch caterpillars. The Monarch population down 90% from where they were at in 1992.

When you give an offering of $5.00, you assist with the upkeep of the Labyrinth and help us continue to conserve this valuable ecosystem and the fauna that relies on it.

Our prairie Labyrinth is the perfect union of our three pillars: ART, WELLNESS and CONSERVATION.

Using art and nature, the labyrinth is prefect for quieting the mind, feeling into your body and granting yourself a much needed respite from the daily goings on of a busy life.

Hours: The hours of walking are by appointment (1 hours per booking).

Parking: Please park in the area of the Gallery. To access the Labyrinth follow the lane and cross the bridge. A path, marked on your left, will lead you to the Labyrinth in the field.

Length of Walk: To walk the curving path of the Labyrinth will take 45 – 60 minutes depending on your pace.

As there is tall grass in the Labyrinth, guests should be advised that there is the possibility of ticks being present. Please dress accordingly and take the appropriate measures before entering.

Community Gardens

Community gardens are common in cities throughout Canada,
from our gardens here in Oakville, east to St. John’s and west to Victoria.

They are committed to fostering healthy neighbourhoods,
empowering the community, and educating individuals on gardening and nutrition.

Community gardens are also a way of working toward food justice – the right to grow, sell and eat healthy food – especially in low-income neighbourhoods with poor access to healthy and nutritious foods.

Aside from these external benefits, community gardens are also soothing for our mental and emotional well-being. Being in touch with nature and being in tune with its rhythms through the act of gardening can be immensley grounding.

At JCHAC, our goal is to create a nourishing and healing space, whether that be through art or through nature. Our community gardens are just another extension of this vision.

For any inquiries about obtaining your own plot, please contact info@joshuacreekarts.com

Bee Keeping

Why are bees important?

In keeping with the commitment to Conservation, JCHAC is proud to be partnering up with local beekeepers in providing them space to harvest honey and tend to these immensley important creatures.

The bee population has been in decline for decades and with it the urgency for them to continue to be apart of our ecosystem intesifies. Bees are essential for pollinating plants and crops which in turn provides us with food. A large number of flowering plants rely on insect pollination where pollen grains are distributed by insects moving from flower to flower.

Some crops are highly dependent on bees and others only slightly. For example, some plants that get a boost from bee pollination include the following:

Nuts such as almonds, cashews, and brazil nuts
Seeds like sunflower, sesame, and flax
Fruits such as apples, pears, and apricots
Berries like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
Vegetables such as broccoli, broad beans, and brussels sprouts

The presence of bees provides an ecological balance by contributing to the well-being of other animal and plant species. This diversity is important for the protection of our environment.

About Bogdan Hemon, our Bee Keeper

For Bogdan Hemon, beekeeping is part of his family tradition. When Bob’s predecessors migrated from Ukraine to Bosnia in the beginning of twentieth century, the story says, they brought with them a beehive.

When Bob came to Canada as a refugee from Bosnia, his first priority was to get a job and his second was to start beekeeping again.
Before he purchased his first beehive he would observe beautiful Canadian nature and would enjoy watching bees pollinate flowers.

The world of bees is for him the one realm where everything is always good, the way it has always been and is always supposed to be, where it all makes sense.

Before extracting honey there is a lot of work that needs to be done.
Bob needs to fight varroa, the pernicious parasite that decimates bees, smoking the hives with appropriate natural medicine. Then there are weak bee communities, those sad queenless hives, which need to be merged with strong ones.

In the spring Bob orders new, mated queens from Ukraine or from California. When it gets warmer he produces his own queens in order to create new communities or to replace the older queens.

Bob and his wife Nadia work hard these days as they extract honey, pack it in pail containers and jars.The everlasting project of beekeeping requires constantly finding solutions and making decisions. Bob enjoys beekeeping and says that it keeps him connected to nature and the Creator. He appreciates bees because he knows that without bees people would not be able to survive.

How Oakville Charitable Organizations Work Hand-in-hand to Increase Biodiversity and Promote Environmental Stewardship

Oakvillegreen Conservation Association and Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre (JCHAC) have joined efforts as a call to action for driving sustainable conservation solutions for greener and healthier communities. The two organizations have collaborated since 2017 and have had a common mission to restore and preserve nature locally, and to inspire others to be part of a committed and caring community!

Oakvillegreen and JCHAC partnered on a number of initiatives as part of Green Connections for Adults 55+ in the past 2 years. They organized tree planting events and nature art workshops together, providing interesting and engaging opportunities for senior members of the community.

In 2023, Oakvillegreen delivered its Ready for Rain DIY rain garden program, with workshops being held at the gallery and a demonstration garden built on the beautiful grounds of JCHAC. The garden reduces runoff, filters out pollutants in runoff and provides food and shelter for butterflies, bees, birds and other wildlife.

Conservation Day was held in June 2023, with other environmental groups and vendors and offered attendees a number of interactive sessions, outdoor nature walks and kids hands-on activities. It engaged the community in eco-learning and action. This multi-organization initiative was designed to promote conservation and preservation of our greenspaces in the Halton Region.

Oakvillegreen and JCHAC were also thrilled to work on another very exciting project last year – the creation of the first mini forest in Oakville. A mini forest — also known as a micro forest or tiny forest — is a community of native trees and shrubs planted tightly together in an urban or suburban site based on the Miyawaki method. The method emphasizes the use of dense plantings, diverse locally-native species collections, soil preparation, and multilayered design to mimic the complexity of a native forest.

These events and initiatives welcomed community volunteers of all ages and backgrounds. The projects brought the community together with many eager to learn and contribute towards restoring local forests and reviving biodiversity.

“When it comes to preserving nature around us, every single little bit counts,” says Oakvillegreen’s Programs Manager Anelia Tichkova. “When the community works together, we have the power and knowledge to make a positive difference, and to cultivate compassion for the environment that ultimately leads to conservation. This partnership is proof of that!”

“The joint efforts of Oakvillegreen and Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre, have provided us an opportunity to spread the message about the conservation of nature” adds Matthew Lawson, JCHAC’s Executive Director. “This collaboration to protect and sustainably manage our resources in the Halton Region is at the core of our partnership. With the support, dedication, and generosity of Oakvillgreen, Joshua Creek has, and continues to protect the greenspaces needed for this and future generations.”

Contact Oakvillegreen at programs@oakvillegreen.org to find out how to get involved this coming spring!