This year, when you join us at our annual Maple Syrup in the Park festival at Terra Cotta Conservation Area, be sure to stop by our fireside chats. During the fireside chats, you can explore a traditionally built sweat lodge (Madoodiswan) and learn how Indigenous peoples honour Mother Earth by incorporating that sacred connection into healing with sweat lodge conductor and community pillar, Melissa Stevenson.
The Sweat Lodge
Holding our fireside chats at the sweat lodge is meaningful because it is a place for Indigenous communities to come together and share their stories while honouring their ancestors.
The sweat lodge at Terra Cotta Conservation Area is a non-public Indigenous-used site, which means that it’s a private Indigenous Placekeeping space designated, established and managed by the sweat lodge conductor, Melissa Stevenson.
During Maple Syrup in the Park, our fireside chats provide an opportunity for the communities within our watershed to understand the sacredness of these spaces and cultivate a respectful environment to learn about the cultural practices of Indigenous peoples, allowing us to continue open conservations as we continue on our path of reconciliation.
Words from the Sweat Lodge Conductor, Melissa Stevenson
Melissa Stevenson is Anishnaabe-Cree kwe from Peguis First Nation in Manitoba. She is Bear Clan and has a strong connection to her traditional ways of knowing.
“The sweat lodge is more than a ceremony; it is a sacred act of reclamation, a lifeline to our ancestral ways and a sanctuary for the spirit. Within its space, we return to our first mother—Mother Earth—seeking healing, renewal and guidance. Here, engaged in ceremony, we humble ourselves before our Ancestors, asking for what we may need to walk our path of healing.
This work extends beyond the self. It is healing not only for those who enter the lodge but also for the land itself. It restores our sacred relationship of responsibility and reciprocity, reminding us that our role as Indigenous peoples is to care for the land, the waters and all our relations. The presence of the sweat lodge in this space is a powerful act of reconnection—one that allows ceremony to root itself in a place where it is deeply needed, yet often difficult to find in an urban world.
This lodge has become a place of profound healing, a place where the echoes of our Ancestors meet the prayers of the present, where the land remembers and where we remember who we are.
I am deeply grateful for the sacred gift of having a sweat lodge space at Terra Cotta Conservation. As a First Nations woman living in an urban landscape, I have often wondered how I could continue this vital healing work, how I could carry the ceremonies of my ancestors forward, then I met the amazing team at Terra Cotta.
This relationship and ongoing work transform reconciliation from mere understanding into meaningful action and deep healing for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Rooted in mutual respect and a profound love for the land, this work embodies the spirit of reciprocity and restoration. Chi Miigwetch to all who have walked alongside and supported this journey!”
Explore Traditional Anishinaabe Teachings
We are deeply honoured to welcome another special guest to our Maple Syrup in the Park event: Anishinaabe Traditional Grandmother Kim Wheatly. Grandmother Kim will join us on Sunday, March 16 to share ancestral storytelling and explore traditional Anishinaabe teachings through stories, that are shared during the seasonal cycle of maple syrup harvesting.
Grandmother Kim is a published author, hand drummer, singer, water walker, artist, columnist, ceremonial practitioner and ancestral knowledge keeper.
With over 30 years of experience, she has inspired audiences locally, nationally and internationally, using her voice to advance reconciliation, honour the past, connect the present and contribute to the future.
Join us for Maple Syrup Season
As winter begins its retreat, the Credit River Watershed’s forests usher in a sweet tradition: maple syrup season! Celebrate the iconic Canadian tradition of maple syrup making at our Maple Syrup in the Park festival, featuring the events above, as well as exciting new and timeless activities. Get your tickets to join all the fun at cvc.ca/MapleSyrup.
By Raiden Levesque, Senior Coordinator, Credit Valley Trail and Indigenous Engagement.