Seasons of Connection: Community Stewardship Session 1 – Observe – Taking The Time

in Edmonton, AB

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What can we learn when we slow down and pay attention to the world around us?

Join The Connected Kitchen Project Foundation for Taking the Time, a guided neighbourhood walk and gathering led by Nathan Binnema. Together we’ll practise phenology — paying attention to seasonal change in plants, animals, and the places we live — and consider what it offers us as a way of relating to the natural world.

We’ll begin with a conversation at the gazebo at Queen Mary Park Community League, then head out into the neighbourhood. Along the way we’ll notice what’s shifting around us and gather natural treasures. Back at the gazebo, we’ll share what we saw and what it brought up.

Returning to the same place again and again, with the aim of forging better relationships between species, is how new ways of seeing and knowing arrive.

Whether phenology is familiar to you or entirely new, you’re welcome to join the walk and the conversation.

Meet Nathan Binnema
Nathan Binnema is a Treaty 6 settler on amiskwaciy-waskahikan, colonially known as Edmonton. A lifelong resident of the city, he has been exploring his connection with nature here since childhood, mostly through informal observation and engagement.

In 2016–2017, Nathan was introduced to phenological engagement through Ryan First Diver’s Blackfoot Phenology course, completing a full solar cycle of immersion at a phenology site near Forest Heights. He has continued the practice since, and has been visiting a site in Mill Creek Ravine since September 2019.

He’ll share what that practice has taught him and invite participants to slow down, pay attention to seasonal change, and see their own neighbourhood differently.

Event details
Date: Sunday, October 18, 2026
Time: 12:00–3:00 PM
Meeting point: Gazebo at Queen Mary Park Community League, Edmonton
Cost: Free
All ages and fitness levels welcome. Dress for the weather and bring your curiosity.

Taking the Time is part of Seasons of Connection: Community Stewardship, a series exploring how we observe change, take practical action, connect with our environment, and prepare to help shape the future we want to be part of.

Supported by the City of Edmonton Community Climate Adaptation Micro Grant.