Beaver carving

We're off to the mainland tomorrow to watch Kalyn and her team participate in the provincial volleyball tournament.  There might be a volleyball blip or two and maybe even a hairless cat blip!  Looking forward to time with family.  :)
I had a couple of ideas for Amphibians, but it's unlikely I'll see any living amphibians in a school gym!  Unfortunately the beaver that sits on our bookcase isn't an amphibian either.  :(  It was gifted to me by my friend Nora and carved by her father.  I first met Nora in the early 1990s when she was hired as my secretary at the Duncan NITEP Field Centre.  She was very intelligent and capable and attended all of our student teacher class functions.  Inspired, she enrolled in the program, graduated from NITEP at UBC with a Bachelor of Education degree in 1997, went on to complete a Masters of Education degree and now has a successful career as an educator.  She is a member of Cowichan Tribes, the largest First Nation band in the province.  The campus where we worked and where Nora took the first two years of her program was located on Cowichan Tribes land in Duncan.  We were fortunate to have many elders and community members share their knowledge and experiences in all the UBC courses offered at the centre, such a wealth of richness of culture and traditions to enhance course content.

Well done to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for apologizing today to the LGBTQ2 communities for past treatment by the federal government.  If you're interested, here is the text of his apology.  I was pleased to hear Trudeau include the two-spirit community. We have heard horror stories from our friends in all walks of life about how they've been treated.  I'm well aware that homophobia is alive and well and won't end because of a formal apology, but perhaps it will encourage some people to open their hearts and minds and believe in the power of love of all kinds.