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MPL Awarded Major Grant to Support ‘Be Inspired’ Healthy Communities Initiative
Milton Public Library is the proud recipient of
$50K in funding from the Government of Canada’s Healthy Communities Initiative. Partnering
with local Indigenous organisation Grandmother’s
Voice, MPL plans to bring new life to Beaty Branch and inspire a
more inclusive, inviting, and vibrant community space, both indoors and out
that will include an Indigenous garden, supportive programs, and enhanced
collections.
Implemented
by Community Foundations of Canada, the Healthy Communities Initiative is a $31 million investment from the Government of Canada to
transform public spaces to create safe ways for communities to
access services, enjoy the outdoors and adapt to the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic.
An Indigenous garden was
planted in spring 2022 at Beaty Branch, with a view to centre Indigenous ways
of knowing about the land, plants, and medicines. These teachings will be supported
by a year of Indigenous-centered programming, featuring voices of Indigenous
authors, artists, Elders, and residential school survivors, presented through
consultation with Grandmother’s Voice and leaders
from the Indigenous community in and around Halton.
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Grandmother’s Voice is a body of unified
Indigenous people creating a safe, secure community that advances knowledge,
education, and understanding of Indigenous cultures and practices. This group
of Elders and Knowledge keepers were recently awarded with the Suzuki
Foundation Future Ground Grand Prize for their Indigenous Seeds of Hope:
Planting Our Future Healing Garden and Wellness Centre in Milton. We look
forward to building a healthier community.
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Beaty Mural
In celebration of National Indigenous History Month and as part of our Healthy Communities Initiative, we hosted a special unveiling of 'Medicines', a beautiful four-panel mural painted by local Indigenous artist Cassandra Bomberry at Beaty Branch on June 1, 2023.
Cassandra, a Kanien’kehá:ka artist from the Six Nations of the Grand River Reservation, spoke about her inspiration for the piece: “Medicines is inspired by the medicines planted in the library’s garden and the plants surrounding the area. Growing up, I was thankful to be surrounded by nature and grateful for its power to uplift my spirits. I wanted this mural to create that same sense of positivity and wellbeing for the visitors of this library. In the same way books can educate us, the natural world has an abundance of knowledge for us to learn from. I hope to honour nature with this painting and remind us of the important relationship we have with the natural world.”
The mural will be permanently
displayed at Beaty branch in the grand entrance.

Programming
In partnership with
Grandmother’s Voice, MPL will be hosting Community Circles. In these circles
participants will meet to talk about a provided theme for the circle and
provide a sense of community and interconnectedness. Everyone will have a turn to
speak and be heard and learn more about what can be done to connect our
community. All members, from the four directions are welcome.
Upcoming Dates:
TBD
Past Dates:
February 16, 2022
Theme: Meet the
Community
April 22, 2022 @ 10:30am at the Beaty Branch
Theme: Indigenous Gardening
Garden Ambassador Volunteer Opportunity
Theme: Gardening
Every Saturday, June 4 - July 30, 2022
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Garden Volunteer Opportunities
Theme: Gardening
Every Thursday, September 1 - September 29, 2022
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Garden Ambassador Volunteer Opportunities
Theme: Gardening
Every Saturday, September 3 - September 24, 2022
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Remember the Children
Theme: Truth and Reconciliation
September 30, 2022
12:00 PM-1:30 PM
4:00 PM-5:30 PM
Information: Campaigns & Caused | Grandmother's Voice (grandmothersvoice.com)
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Miinikaan (‘the SEED’ in Ojibwe) offers consulting
landscape design and garden installation. They grow Indigenous gardens that
feed people and pollinators, and beautify the urban landscape.
Miinikaan gardens invite curiosity and demonstrate
Indigenous Agroecology teachings. They cultivate relationships between people
and plants, by teaching and learning about the foods, medicines and habitats.
Their designs and gardening techniques improve the local ecology. The plant
combinations in their gardens are tolerant of extreme weather and thrive in
unlikely urban spaces.