If You Want to Visit a Sea Garden by Kay Weisman

This exquisitely illustrated picture book explains a sea garden. Do you know what a sea garden is?

To visit a sear garden you need to get up early. They can only be seen when the tide is at its lowest in the early morning. After tying up the boat in a safe spot, walk along the beach.

You will be welcomed by the "symphony of clams" as they squirt out water. There are rocks covered in barnacles, "tiny creatures that live inside sharp shells."

At the edge of the water, reefs of stone built by the First Peoples over many years, create new places for sea life to make homes.

There is a wealth and great diversity of sea life here: whelks, kelp, hermit crabs, and sea cucumbers. The warm waters inside the stone reef are perfect for clams. Some of the stone walls have existed for generations, helping First Peoples feed their families and providing opportunities to connect with their community.

Discussion

If You Want To Visit A Sea Garden is a nonfiction juvenile book about the sea gardens created by First Nations people on the west coast of Canada. They are an ancient aquaculture technique created by Indigenous peoples. 

Sea gardens on the northwest coast have been dated by Canadian archeologists as having existed for at least 3500 years. Some gardens have been used for thousands of years. Sea gardens, also known as clam gardens create a greater area for clams to grow by expanding their shallow water beach habitat.  These gardens have been found throughout the entire stretch of the northwest coast, from the state of Washington, along the coast of British Columbia to Alaska.

Aerial view of a historic clam garden.

A clam garden is created by building a stone wall of boulders parallel to the low tide line, then backfilling to create an area where clams can safely grow. The garden is then regularly tended, raking to remove detritus from the sediment as well as clam predators such as star fish. Clam gardens allowed a variety of clams to thrive, and as larger clams were removed, younger clams were free to grow. Clams were an excellent source of nutrition for Indigenous peoples living along the northwest coast.

The artwork of renowned Indigenous artist, Roy Henry Vickers is truly the highlight of this informative children's book about a little known aspect of First People's culture.His colourful panels capture the beauty and serenity of the coast and the sea gardens. The illustrations, created digitally, incorporate some of the Vickers' well known features such a his signature suns and his use of bright clean colours.

Kay Weisman has also included a detailed More About Sea Gardens at the back which includes pictures for young readers.

If you'd like to know more about clam gardens, check out the clam garden network website. 

Image credit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/august-3-2019-science-of-awe-blue-whales-and-sonar-chromosomes-and-sleep-and-more-1.5047142/clam-gardens-have-been-cultivated-by-indigenous-people-for-millennia-1.5047148

Book Details:

If You Want To Visit A Sea Garden by Kay Weisman
Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press      2020