Nature Poetry Walk: A Palimpsest of Place

Inspired by the Doris McCarthy Gallery exhibition New Light, poet, educator, and nature artist Sheniz Janmohamed will lead an observational poetry walk through the Highland Creek Valley, along the Ma Moosh Ka Win Trail at the U of T Scarborough campus. Participants will be encouraged to reflect upon their relationship to place. What are the landscapes and elements that have offered us inspiration, expansion, and grounding? How can we stand in an overly familiar place and see it through a new light? What does the terrain of our hearts look like? These questions will be explored through gentle sensory prompts throughout the trail, where participants will have the opportunity to document their experiences and observations through journaling. The walk will culminate in the creation of nature-art representing participants’ own "compasses" of place. No writing experience required. Participants are welcome to sketch and draw in addition to writing.

Spaces limited; registration required. Please note any accommodation needs when registering, and gallery staff will follow up with you as necessary.

The walk will begin from the Doris McCarthy Gallery at U of T Scarborough at 2 pm, where participants can first view New Light, before heading to the Ma Moosh Ka Win Trail.

Participants are asked to please bring a notebook and something to write with. Please dress for the weather, wearing good walking shoes as needed, and pants that can be tucked into socks (for avoiding scratches/insect bites if going off path). Sunscreen and bug repellent recommended, as well as a reuseable water bottle.

Most of this program will be held outdoors, and it will go forward rain or shine. Participants can choose how much of the valley they would like to explore during the program. The Ma Moosh Ka Win Trail is wheelchair accessible; the trail that continues beyond is an uneven, dirt path. This program will include opportunities to sit down/rest.; the trail that continues beyond is an uneven, dirt path. This program will include opportunities to sit down/rest.

Sheniz Janmohamed was born and raised in Tkaronto with ancestral ties to Kenya and India. A poet, nature artist and arts educator, she regularly visits schools and community organizations to teach and perform. Her nature art has been featured across Turtle Island, including the National Arts Centre and the Art Gallery of Mississauga. She has three collections of poetry, published by Mawenzi House: 'Bleeding Light' (2010), 'Firesmoke' (2014) and 'Reminders on the Path' (2021). Sheniz served as the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus in 2022.