A path with a name, and a name with meaning.
Today, members of your Toronto Zoo’s Indigenous Advisory Circle joined us for the dedication of the name “Path of Our Relatives” to the elevated boardwalk through the Zoo's "Core Woods” Carolinian Forest that connects the Indo-Malaya and Africa Pavilions.
The boardwalk physically connects different areas of the Zoo, but the name speaks to a much deeper connection: the relationship we share with the natural world and with all living things.
As you walk through the Core Woods, you are surrounded by relatives. The trees and plants growing alongside the path. The insects beneath your feet. The birds and mammals that make their homes among the trees. The waters that sustain life. Each has a place, a purpose and a connection to one another.
It is this understanding that inspired our Indigenous Advisory Circle to gift the boardwalk the name Path of Our Relatives, with interpretations in Anishnaabemowin and Seneca:
Miikaasing Gdinwendaaganinaanig
Anishnaabemowin
Detadiahdoh Ogwahso:dse
Seneca
Along the path, new signage featuring artwork by August Swinson, an artist and member of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, invites guests to learn more about these relationships and the natural world around them.
We are deeply grateful to our Indigenous Advisory Circle for their guidance, knowledge and care in giving this path a name that reminds us that when we walk through nature, we do not walk through it alone.
Media Contact Information:
Amy Baptista
416-848-5920
Media Relations Coordinator
[email protected]
