In the summer of 2021, a group of newcomer youth, Indigenous community members and university researchers came together at the Land of Dreams, a community farm on Calgary’s east side, for a program called Soil Camp. 

In partnership with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS), the Land of Dreams has been providing newcomer families a space to grow food and build community since 2019.

Designed during the COVID pandemic, Soil Camp offered isolated refugee children a chance to learn outside, connect with others and explore the land through hands-on activities. 

Miwa Takeuchi joins Soil Camp participants in preparing garden beds at the Land of Dreams, a program connecting refugee families, researchers and Indigenous knowledge keepers. PHOTO: SUPPLIED BY ANIKA HAROON AND MIWA TAKEUCHI
Soil Camp participants listen while Tatenda Mambo explains the role of fungi in soil health. PHOTO: SUPPLIED BY ANIKA HAROON AND MIWA TAKEUCHI

Throughout the season, participants worked in the garden, examined soil life and learned from both scientific and global Indigenous perspectives.

The community-based camp became a bridge between past experiences and a new sense of belonging in Calgary.

Following its success, organizers say they started offering Soil Camp as a weekly program every season.

In this episode, the Calgary Journal’s Julianna Adair speaks with three researchers involved in the program, Miwa Takeuchi and Tatenda Mambo from the University of Calgary, along with Mathew Swallow from Mount Royal University.

They explore how Soil Camp came together and what the program reveals about stewardship, climate change and our relationship with soil.

Podcast: The Calgary Journal’s Julianna Adair speaks with three researchers about soil

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