The Butterfly Garden
Located on the Dalhousie Studely Campus, between the Macdonald and Henry Hicks buildings (Google Maps).
Produced by Dalhousie Art Gallery in collaboration with Dalhousie’s Indigenous Advisory Council and in association with the 2022 exhibition Plant Kingdom, guest curated by Frances Dorsey.
This green space was initiated in June 2021 as a welcoming place for butterflies, bees, birds, and other creatures that a garden attracts, including humans. Designed by Frances Dorsey, it honours the spirit of Mi’kmaw artist Mike MacDonald (1941-2006) whose practice included the planting of pollinator gardens across the country. At the centre is a glyph named jiksituinen, designed in consultation with Mi’kmaw artist and scholar Michelle Sylliboy. The glyph, translates into English as “listen to us”, and is surrounded by a mosaic of plants chosen to adapt to a disrupted landscape. This community of carefully selected plants includes both native plants and a few exotics. The Butterfly Garden also exists as a site for experiential learning through collaboration with campus and community partners.
The garden was dedicated in 2022 by Catherine Martin, Dalhousie’s Director of Indigenous Community Engagement, to the lives of the 215 children lost in Kamloops’ residential schools and all others not yet found.
