Growing Together - Toqikutimk

Toqikutimk is a Mi’kmaq word meaning “growing together”, chosen as the label for a group of creative learning opportunities. By doing these activities together, we want to “grow together”, to plant positive, creative, and nourishing understandings and experiences with our participants. It is hoped that we can help everyone of all ages grow strong, with deep pride in themselves, their abilities, and their culture.

​​Tips: The little peat pod in your kit will absorb water and grow. Be gentle and patient while the pod grows. Once the pod has finished growing you can insert one seed. Make sure the pod is room temperature and placed inside the included cup. The remaining seeds can be planted in similar pod/cup combinations or outdoors in your yard or garden. Remember that these are Niskum’s grandchildren, some may not wish to spout and some will grow. This is normal with Kitpu's seeds. Once the seed sprouts, pay close attention to how large it becomes. When your new seedling friend is ready for transplant to the outdoors or a bigger pot, please be very careful! Sunflowers do not like being relocated or disturbed while growing. Place the pod with your sunflower carefully in their new home and visit often to make sure they are ok with their new place. ​

Here are some pages you can print for colouring.

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You can also click here for a PDF version. 

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Example of the Sunflower Project working with youth

Click here to download a PDF version of the Sunflower Booklet

The images of the Sunflowerr Booklet were created by Kristy Read for the

Integative Sciences Program at Cape Breton University.

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For more information about  Kristy Read click here.

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The Sunflower Project can be tailored to any audience regardless of age or demographic. However, it is best recieved by children as they learn about growth, respect for ones self and caring for others. 

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Furthermore, through fostering this strength and pride, it’s hoped to help them develop the confidence and will power to avoid developing unhealthy personal and social behaviours when they encounter challenging or bad influences in their environments. Sunflowers are robust and resilient and typically can grow almost anywhere, just like children. They are a beautiful visualization of an abstract concept, a concept that we as adults and educators may clearly understand but children may not grasp the metaphorical relationship between sunflowers and themselves. But, we can help them understand the similarities by showing them hands on care for their plant, by working with them to ensure that their plants are important like people.

 

A sunflower completes their life journey within three seasons. This full cycle is important for youth to experience and see. By seeing a living organism come full circle they can properly appreciate that life and collect the wisdom or seeds of that life for the next generation of growers. Sunflowers are a quick visual example of growth. Youth can clearly experience the rewards of fostering a living thing by the visual rewards offered to them by their sunflower. This new rewarding relationship with nature and the sharing of this positive grow forward experience are what makes this initiative such a powerful and positive lesson. One may appreciate a direct connection with the caring of children and caring for sunflowers. Children, like sunflowers, need positive attention, clean water and healthy food.

 

The sunflower program may be represented by the medicine wheel. The medicine wheel is a model used in many aboriginal applications to demonstrate process, interconnectedness, spirituality and life stages. This  Sunflower growing together program is dedicated to improving the health and well being of all participants. During the progression of the program, children can participate in puppet shows, storytelling, presentations, hands on interactive demonstrations and field trips. All of these efforts are working to provide preventative maintenance to the sense of identity and pride of our youth by addressing the mind-body and soul philosophy of Aboriginal teachings.

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From seed to harvest, follow up and interaction are imperative to the success and healthy growth of the program and the sunflowers. The Sunflower booklet is one of the tools that are used in helping to keep youth on track and energized about the sunflower program. Participants take ownership of this journal style booklet by recording their name on the cover and reading text in both Mi’kmaw and English. In tandem with the book, students may plant seeds in jiffy peat starters so they may develop the growing relationship in the classroom. The visuals from the booklet help guide the youth participant in the planting of their seeds. All actions within the booklet are accompanied by a visual; this actually makes the delivery potential almost non language bias so any child of any culture can participate in the program.

 

Toqikutimk involves diverse projects, such as sunflower planting and caretaking, the Basket of Hope Activity, storytelling, informative presentations, hands on interactive demonstrations, and field trips. All projects seek to help our youth develop the deep sense of Mi’kmaq identity and pride necessary for health, wholeness, and resilience today. Once the seeds are planted the new sprout must be fostered, as is true in any relationship. It takes more than just planting seeds, it takes commitment and care. As we conduct follow ups with our young gardeners we also reinforce the holistic connections between themselves and nature, themselves and their own caretakers, themselves as sunflower caretakers.

 

While fostering the growth of the new sunflowers there are many opportunities to connect with the youth as they reconnect with nature. This multi level fostering is beneficial to the youth participants and allows us to relay messages of healthy living, growth and practices.