Category: Events

Upcoming and past events are listed here.

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Poetic Whispers: A Site-specific Art & Photography Workshop

August 23-25, 2024
Poetic Whispers: Installations in Nature
$350. plus accommodation if required ($175)

The remote farm setting at Shibagau Creek Forest offers a unique backdrop for exploring nature through art and photography. The structure of this workshop will encourage participants to engage deeply with nature and their own artistic processes, reflecting on the transient beauty of natural art and how it can be captured and conveyed through photography.

Work with Walter Bergmoser and Peter Sramek, photographic artists and educators to expand your creative approaches and share insights together.

An introduction to the concept of art and interventions in nature will lead to discussion of how interventions can be made in nature responsibly and meaningfully, emphasizing the  impermanence of some artists’ works and how to document these changes through photography.

Field Exploration around the farm will identify sites and gather natural materials that can be used in an art installation. Discussions will develop how these materials can be used to interact with the landscape, while simple experiments will be made with photographic materials utilizing alternative printing such as luminogram and cyanotype processes.

Participants will sketch their ideas and plan their installations, receiving feedback from peers and instructors. They will then select sites and construct their installations and/or natural art objects to then be documented in place with photography. Works made with natural materials will mostly be ephemeral and go back-to-nature, but then live on in the photographs which participants make.

Complex photographic experience, technique and equipment are not required for this workshop. Those interested in developing their relationship with the natural environment are invited to arrive with a cellphone (and appropriate outdoor wear).

Walter Bergmoser is an art photographer, designer and professor at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences in Berlin. As a partner in the International Art Collaborations Network, he has also been an exchange professor at OCAD University in Toronto. This will be his second year at SCFF collaborating in a photography workshop with Peter Sramek.

Peter Sramek is a photographic artist and professor emeritus at OCAD University in Toronto now living in South Frontenac. His recent exhbition at the Tett Centre in Kingston was titled The Abstraction is Not the Reality.

Express interest in SCFF workshops & receive further information
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Winter 2024 Newsletter

Happy New Year’s greetings from us at Shibagau Creek.
We hope 2024 is a great year for you all.

It’s a sunny day here today, and as the days get longer and the sun reflects off the ice and snow, we are happy to bring you an update on our plans for the upcoming 2024 season. So please read on…

First, we have to thank those of you who participated and helped us last year. Our photography weekends and the mid-summer Bioblitz brought life and energy to our first year of offerings. Thanks to Scott Russell the barn has undergone another transformation with a newly accessible loft level and tool workshop. With volunteer help, we built another outhouse – at the barn (thanks Rob and Steve) and cleared the field around the house (thanks Walter).

As we write this, we are preparing for our travels to Japan to visit ancient forests, where Victoria will also complete her training in Nara as a Shinrin Yoku guide. This is knowledge that she will bring back to share as “forest bathing” aka “forest therapy” walks in our forest at Shibagau Creek. We return early in April to open the season at SCFF.

Think about what you would be interested in joining us for.
Let us know your interests to help us plan and subscribe to our mailing list if you are not already receiving emails.

Spring Preparations and Land Care
In April and May, we will be continuing our renovations of the farmhouse to create additional sleeping quarters. Trails need to be groomed, the barn work spaces set up, and the caravan exterior painted with sunflowers.

Four weekends are open for volunteers to stay, or day trip, to lend a hand in a communal atmosphere. If a weekend doesn’t suit you, please propose a time during the week. We will be there, and we’d really appreciate extra help. As a bonus you can enjoy the countryside, breathe the fresh air and experience the amazing lilac season in May. As a thank you for your physical efforts, share in a ShinRin Yoku (forest bathing) guided walk with Victoria.

An Initial Workshop and Event Schedule

April
20 & 21 Volunteer Weekend (Sunday 21st – Shinrin Yoku 1-3pm)

27 & 28 Volunteer Weekend (Sunday 28th – Shinrin Yoku 1-3pm)

10-28th Spring bird count (let us know if you would come out and we will confirm the date)

May
11 & 12 Volunteer weekend (Sunday 12th – Shinrin Yoku 1-3pm)

18,19 & 20 May long weekend)

Volunteer weekend (Sunday 19th – Shinrin Yoku 1-3pm)

June
Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography Members’ weekend

July
Special Events at the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning, Kingston
4 – 9        The Abstraction is not the Reality, Exhibition of photographs by Peter Sramek
July 4 Opening event 5-8pm
July 6 Introduction to Basic Hand Bookbinding workshop with Peter Sramek
July 7 Linkstitch and Album Binding Structures workshop with Peter Sramek

19 – 21 Presence and Light: Black and White Photography Workshop with Peter Sramek

August
3 – 4 Annual Nature Conservancy Canada Backyard Bioblitz
                     (we assume this will be the long weekend again)

10 – 11 Handbound Artists’ Books introductory workshop with Peter Sramek

23 – 25 Creative Engagements in Nature: Photography & Site Interventions with Walter Bergmoser and Peter Sramek

September
27 – 29 Stillness Centre Men’s Retreat led by Greg De Koker

October
4, 5, 6 Visioning Weekend Retreat led by Zan Chandler

We’re so proud of all that we accomplished last year, and we can’t wait to see you this year.  We have many other ideas/workshops in the planning, and we’d love you to come and visit. If you know anyone who is looking for somewhere in the country to rent for time away, a venue to host their workshops, retreats or events, or someone who might want to participate in our workshops, please forward our information.

For those wishing to book an independent stay, SCFF is listed on AirBnb at:
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/43969886

Thank you for your support, sharing and being a part of our incredible community.

Victoria and Peter

Tell us your interests and sign-up to be kept informed of upcoming programs.

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Aug 2023 Human – Nature – Self with Walter Bergmoser and Peter Sramek

Finding oneself within nature and creating portraits and self-portraits the 100 acre landscape becomes a stage, either expansive or enclosed. A combination of visual play with solo and collaborative activities led to staged photographs that explore representing the self in relation to the natural environment.

We had a wonderful weekend exploring approaches to self-portraiture with wonderful guidance from Walter Bergmoser. It was just a start into this sometimes challenging but also fun experience of placing oneself in front of the camera.

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BioBlitz 2023

The First Ever SCFF Bio Blitz weekend organized in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Big Backyard Bio Blitz 2023 was an exciting event. We learned a great deal from the expertise of members of both the Kingston and the Quinte Field Naturalists who, among others, joined us over the two days. iNaturalist now boasts over 700 observations and 300 species on the SCFF property.

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BioBlitz At Shibagau – August 5th and 6th

Inspired by the Nature Conservancy of Canada we are inviting you to join us on the August long weekend for our very first BioBlitz at Shibagau Creek.

Come for a few hours on Saturday and/or Sunday!
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is calling for a countrywide BioBlitz on the August long weekend and we invite you to participate with us.

"It is the NCC's intention to unite thousands of people across Canada in a collective community effort to celebrate and document the diverse species across our beautiful country. Bioblitzes are a community-led gathering of information about species in a certain area held over a certain length of time. These community science events have led to the documentation of rare or endangered species in many countries, including Canada. Our collective observations can grow our knowledge of native species’ distributions and help conservationists target areas to eradicate invasive species. These efforts may help conservation efforts to restore the balance and health of our local ecosystems. By documenting the natural world and sharing these observations to a global database, anyone can give back to nature."
NCC BioBlitz Call

It is our intention at Shibagau Creek to learn more about who and what inhabits the land and celebrate all that we encounter. 

  • Pick your species be it flora, fauna or both and wander the 100 acre property noting what you see, take pictures to later upload for the Nature Conservancy using iNaturalist and enjoy the peace, quiet and beauty of all that’s around. 
  • Bring friends looking for a fun and easy way to support nature this August long weekend. 

Please come for a few hours on Saturday and/or Sunday.

We can’t wait to hear/see what we all discover. 
Please fill out the Registration Form
to let us know when you will join us.

Registration Form

Victoria and Peter

The Shibagau Forest Farmstead is situated within the unceded traditional territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Wendake peoples who are the original owners and custodians of these lands on which we are honored to gather.

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Presence and Light: Black and White Photography

June 16-18, 2023
Presence and Light with Peter Sramek
Within the natural spaces of the farm and forest, we will consider the roots of photographic visual practice in relation to observation, light and exposure. Photographs can be traces of the world in front of the camera but also of our inner experiences. Being present in nature may reveal that which is normally hidden in the daily rush.
Working in black and white, exercises will be completed in digital format, but film work is also encouraged. Technical discussion will address metering and exposure to support image pre-visualization. Work can be made in both digital and film mediums.

This workshop saw us work on observation of light and shadow and visualizing how these translate into black and white images. Working in both digital and film formats, the barn, the forest, the creek and the town became subject matter for compositions and images in shades of grey.

Victoria, Peter, Jenny, Gordon

Jenny Zhang

Gordon Kong

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June 2023 INTAC Alumni weekend

Our weekend with INTAC alumni was a fun opportunity to share stories, good food and exploration of the farm property. Young Wyatt enjoyed camping with his dad Pat and our hikes down to the creek. Everyone brought great food and we shared the preparation along with stories from the past dozen years of INTAC iterations.

Alumni included: Stephen della Casa, Arpit Nigam, Patrick Navarro with son Wyatt and Nicolas Vo with Peter Sramek on the left.
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Wild Foraging Workshop

Sunday June 25, 2023 10am-4pm

We are thrilled that our first nature workshop will be led by Sarah Tacoma, herbal crafter and founder of Bloem Botanicals.

It’s a walk in our wild forest at Shibagau Creek Forest Farmstead in Tamworth ON.

Join us for a day of foraging and fun as we dive deep into the wonderful and wild herbs growing all around us. We’ll play with plant intuition, discuss herbs as medicine, first aid and food, and dig deep into the philosophy of trusting nature and more. This will be an exploration of sacred and medical plants growing underfoot while forging new connections. 

What we’ll explore;

  • Wild Herb Walks
  • Ethical foraging
  • Herbs as food
  • Plant Intuition
  • Herbal preparations including salts, vinegars and more.  

This day retreat is being held at our farm Shibagau Creek Forest Farmstead, an off grid 100 acre nature preserve. Five minutes east of Tamworth Ontario and 30 min north of Napanee, 45 mins from Kingston.

Connecting with nature and remembering what medicines our bodies have attuned to over thousands of years is empowering, to say the least. We’ll be spending the day walking the forest and discussing what we’ll discover around us. As we collect wild herbs and plants, we’ll learn what they can be used for, be it medicine, first aid or food. 

TAKE AWAYS: As we walk, forage, and collect we’ll create an herbal gift for you to take home. The gift will be pending our collective discoveries, and this could include a cedar/or pine bath salt, a vinegar, pesto or even a first aid salve.  

Accommodation at the off-grid farm house is available if you are travelling from Toronto or Ottawa. 

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