With the May long weekend ahead of us, and the weather warming up, many of us are starting to think about our gardens! I’m definitely spending more time outside enjoying the sunshine, pulling weeds and making impulse purchases anytime I pass an outdoor display of seedlings.

But you may not know that how we garden is deeply tied to colonialism — from collection and commodification of plants, the use of forced labour to expand empire, and the spread of seeds, species and knowledge.

In this week’s episode of Don’t Call Me Resilient, we dig into the complicated roots of the garden with researcher Jacqueline L. Scott, who studies Blackness outdoors, and Indigenous community activist Carolynne Crawley. We discuss the influences that have shaped our vision of an “ideal garden,” who gets to garden, as well as practical tips about how to plant with an eye to Indigenous knowledge.

With concerns about our climate crisis growing, one of the possible avenues for creating more sustainable cities may very well lie in our gardens; could we have an impact simply by thinking a little differently about the seeds we sow and the “weeds” we pull?

Also today:

• Canadian financial institutions are fuelling the climate change crisis
• Canada’s first WNBA game was a milestone moment for women’s sports
• Online Streaming Act: As we revisit Netflix support for Canadian content, it’s about more than money

All the best.