Top of page: Michelle loves to share her passion for gardening and the environment with others, including her neighbour Tara.
Above: Michelle is active in taking care of her community garden plot, including digging up invasive plants and keeping the flowers well watered.
by Michelle McDonald (Burnaby, B.C.)
I am Michelle and there are many words to describe me. I am a gardener, nature lover, self advocate, friend, mischief-maker, environmentalist, volunteer and many more.
I like that I have a good sense of humour. I especially like playing pranks and making people laugh. If a person knows me well enough, I use my hands to pretend to be a spider on their back. I also like drawing funny pictures for people, and sending funny pictures I have created on my computer.
I love that I have a sense of adventure. I lived in Kenya when I was younger, and we travelled a lot and I saw many unusual animals and plants. My favourites were lions and flamingos. I still like to travel. I always enjoy going to the Inclusion BC conference to learn.
I have a love of the environment, and it feels good when I share knowledge about things I have learned.
I love trees and hate to see them being chopped down for any reason. I like to think they are sentient beings.
I also like educating people about how important spiders and insects are. I’m passionate about plants and love working on my community garden plot. I love to grow my vegetables, herbs and fruits. I have also volunteered recently by digging up an invasive species of a plant so that a native species can grow instead.
I like talking to people wherever I go, and I feel happy when people respond nicely to me. I like it when people are respectful and helpful to others. I like sharing the message about anti-bullying and people being kind to others.
I am Michelle and I am proud to be me.
Michelle (centre) enjoys the day in her local community garden in Burnaby with Suzy Phillips, PLAN mentor, (left) and neighbour Tara Leroux (right).
