Background

Our collaborative ‘Planetary Health Learning Garden’ model has piloted a seasonal round of learning, beginning with a land-based learning gathering on Witsuwit’en Yintah/territories, near Smithers, BC in September 2024. Since then our team has developed and trialed an approach to planetary health workforce development that

·     prioritizes Indigenous leadership and knowledge in the seasonal design, culture, content, and learning processes;

·     connects Indigenous-led, land-based approaches with a cohort of learning opportunities that combine in-person, virtual and learner-chosen responses to workforce needs;

·     draws on systems-based perspectives that reflectinterconnected health, equity and ecological concerns, especially in rural,remote, and Indigenous communities;

·     identifies and leverages strengths acrossdiverse institutions including Indigenous communities, academic institutions,and public sector organizations.

The Learning Garden model is based on a Seasonal Rounds with four stages across fall (harvest and grounding), winter (reflecting, regrounding), spring (designing, bounding), and summer (planting, mounding). Our collaboration Indigenous co-designed and anchored in land-based learning principles that are flexible and context-specific to match the learner needs and preferences. The Learning Garden serves communities as a whole—including health and environmental professionals, educators, and members from others sectors. Across the seasons we build a cohort of learners, combining in-person, online and self-directed content to accommodate a range of learning needs. By encouraging principles of systems thinking and transdisciplinarity,the Learning Garden not only supports immediate learning goals but also contributes to long-term capacity-building for sustainable, climate-ready, and planet-referent health workers and communities. The learning gadern model offers a living, evolving space where diverse cultures, knowledges, and priorities come together to support the well-being of both people and place.

As the 2024-2025 seasonal round of our learning garden draws to a close, our team has identified connecting and amplifying Indigenous leaders and learners as a key priority to cultivate, strengthen and nourish a strong future of land-based learning for planetary health in BC and beyond.

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