Well, now that I have my topic and inquiry question squared away, it’s time to start planning the steps I’ll need to take in order to see it to the end. I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but I think that really is the point of an inquiry project. This is really about my own curiosity and whatever the outcome, all I can hope is that I’ve learned something of value along the way.

Here are the steps I plan to follow in my inquiry:

  1. Research the History of Camas on Vancouver Island:  before diving into the project, I think it’s important to have a clear rationale on why this project is meaningful to me and why it’s important to explore it from the perspective of a Vancouver Island resident.
  2. Find Out How to Grow the Plant in an Urban Setting: living in a condo with a balcony, will I be able to successfully plant, grow and harvest the plant? Is the plant only suited for natural cultivation? If so, I’ll need to find an alternate space to proceed.
  3. Where Can I Find Seeds? What Kind of Soil Do I Need? Do I Need any Special Tools or Equipment?: I need to visit my local gardening businesses, hopefully knowledgeable about Indigenous plants, and inquire about how I might go about growing camas indoors.
  4. Document the Growth: from what I’ve read so far, camas is typically harvested in the spring or early summer (I may be wrong on this). But in any case, I’m hoping that I can document through video the progress (or failure) that I encounter during the process.
  5. Harvest: if the crop is sufficient, I want to harvest it and find a traditional First Nations cooking method to prepare it.

Next post will be on my research on the history of camas and where to find the necessary resources to get things going. Honestly getting kind of excited about this now.