Taylor Bourassa, RP, DTATI
Ottawa, ON

Nature’s Way is a regular column by Envisage writer Taylor Bourassa, exploring eco-art therapy techniques to incorporate into therapeutic practices, and invites us to practice ways of interacting with, befriending, and enhancing our relationship with the earth.

Taylor Bourassa is a Registered Psychotherapist and art therapist with a private practice, Wellness Grove Therapy. She incorporates the environment into her practice through the use of natural materials, meditative practices that centre the earth, inviting the natural environment into sessions as a co-facilitator, and sharing the primordial knowledge the earth provides.

Trees have always held a special place in my heart: they’ve been home base since I was a child. If I was ever lost, sad, lonely, or scared, I could find refuge in, by, or under a tree. I knew that these strong souls would always have my back, and could support me through almost anything.

As Nature’s Way returns, I want to honour these trees with some reflexive poetry honouring the Arboretum, a safe reprieve in the heart of Ottawa.

Arboretum

            Verdant green

arbour white

yellow gleaming throughout the night.

                                    Under bows of ash and birch

I feel my place upon this Earth.  

            The ground beneath me warm with dew

the sky above a radiant blue.

My lungs breath air fresh with willow’s breeze

                                                as I lay amongst the trees.

Arboretum II

Colours change from green

to                red

                                   yellow

                                                        orange
creating a cacophany of painter’s delight splashed across a backdrop of sky and cloud.  

Arboretum III

 When the sun sets and the night envelopes,
the trees whisper
“You are safe here.”

Arboretum IV  

Breathing feels easier here
like I haven’t forgotten how.
My chest expands,
my nostrils flare
and my lungs scream “thank you!”
as my whole system resets.

Arboretum V

I wonder who the mother tree is,
holding space for everyone else.
Sending resource through her fungal system beneath the mulch.
Nurturing, fostering, strengthening connection.
I want to thank her for all of her hard work.

Thank you, Arboretum, for all the care, comfort and joy you bring me and I’m sure, to the rest of Ottawa.