Celebrate Earth Day with Sarana Institute and join us for the 25th Anniversary of Sarana's Founding.

Join us for the entire day or for what you can.

Register Here

Schedule:

10 am - 1 pm: Trail Blazing/Clean Up and Trail Sign Maintenance

1 pm - 2:30 pm: Lunch (Provided for Trail Blazers and PWYC Donation for others)

2:30 pm - 5 pm: Tree Planting Workshop

Evening: Anniversary evening fire and the origin story of Sarana Institute. We will not be providing dinner, but you can either bring your own or we will share some local restaurants at a later time.

Plan to come up for just the day or make a weekend out of it! There are many great local B&Bs, or camp overnight at Sarana Springs.


Other Important Details:

  • This is an outdoor event that will run rain or shine.

  • You are welcome to bring along your family. Please indicate on your registration form how many of you are coming in total, as well as their ages (for younger children).

  • If you'd like to bring along a friend (or 3!), please ask them to fill out a registration of their own.

  • Lunch will be provided by Sarana Institute for those who are taking part in the trailblazing portion of our day, and for our Yana Community. If you intend to come for Lunch + the Tree Planting Workshop, 1 pm - 5 pm, we are asking for a suggested donation of $25 to help us offset the costs of catering. Please arrive by 1 pm to have lunch before the workshop begins.

  • Camping overnight is possible on either April 21 or 22nd. See more details here.


This opportunity is made possible by the Lang Family Foundation's support of the Yana Fund: supporting ages 18-35 with training, resources and events that cultivate mindfulness, compassion, nature and food awareness skills.

Register Here

Meet Julie Anne Lamberts, our guide for the Tree Planting Workshop.

Julie Anne Lamberts is the founder and operator of By The Bluffs, a permaculture orchard and plant nursery. She grew up in Hanover and then completed her Bachelor of Science Honours degree at the University of Guelph in 2004. She spent 14 years of her career in environmental monitoring and water conservation. She then completed the Permaculture Design course in 2017 at the Living Centre and proceeded to design and install a fruit and nut orchard on her property.  She has 10 years of experience implementing permaculture principles through cold frames, raised beds, hügelkulturs, lasagna gardening, fruit tree guilds, self-watering and rainwater irrigation systems. Her work is her passion. You can find more information on her website, www.rootedbythebluffs.ca.

What special anniversary are we celebrating?

On April 22nd, 25 years ago, Alido Di Iorio was laid to rest after a long journey with brain cancer. Alido was given the name Gitche M’Qua (meaning Great Bear) by an Indigenous Elder during his healing and dying process.  In the traditional Medicine Wheel, bear represents the west and the human processes of healing, transformation and dying.

Alido’s vision was to create an environment on the land where people could come for healing and inner transformation. His final year revealed how meeting our illness could be a personal healing process and how a community could become a powerful circle of compassionate caregiving. In 2002, Alido's wife, Angie, together with her new partner, Andrew, continued his legacy by establishing a not-for-profit charity, Gitche M’Qua Centre for Healing & Dying . They began developing programs with the intention to expand our understanding of death and to explore the means for compassionate care of the dying.  

(photo of Alido Di Iorio) How did Gitche M'Qua Centre for Healing and Dying become Sarana Institute as we know it today? You'll have to come on April 22nd and stay into the evening to sit and circle and truly hear the story. It's best heard in person, around a fire, with good company.

About Sarana Springs

Sarana Springs is 171 acres of wildlife refuge located on the traditional lands of the Anishinabek Nation.

Sarana Springs is home to Sarana Institute's land based retreats like our Yana Retreat for young adults (August 10-13th 2023) and our Autumn Equinox Meditation Retreat. We are approximately 2.5 hours North of Toronto, near Owen Sound, Ontario.

The Land is home to many different beings and ecologies including wetland, meadow, old growth forest and young hardwoods.

Getting to Sarana Springs

We are approx 2.5 North of Toronto, in Holland Chatsworth, Ontario. If you are arriving from the GTA we encourage carpooling when safe to do so. If you are open to sharing a ride with someone else, there is an option in our registration form to select if you need a ride or can provide one. We will do our best to help coordinate ridesharing. If you have any questions about this, just reach out.

Camping at Sarana Springs

Whether you are traveling from out of town or you're local to us, we welcome you to camp here Friday May 23rd or Saturday May 27th (or both!) Camping is optional at an additional fee of $25 per night. This fee can be paid by cash or cheque separately to Angie Di Iorio Blake. Compostable toilets are near 'The Nest' which is a pine forest that makes for excellent sleeping. There is wifi and electricity access on the Land, but not at the camping area. There is access to our community kitchen. If you choose to camp you will be responsible for your own meals (aside from our lunch the day of) and clean up.

Make it a whole weekend experience

There are many local Air B&B options as well if you'd like to find a cozy place to stay as a homebase for the weekend. Grey-Bruce is home to many breathtaking hiking trails, artisan shops, and vistas, and we welcome you to come explore and include our day-long event as part of your weekend!

Food and nature awareness are central pillars of Yana. Here are some participants from our summer retreat at Sarana Springs in Chatsworth, Ontario.

Will you be joining us?

Register Here

Need a little more of an introduction to us?

Check out our YouTube meditations with (Rev) Andrew Blake, one of our faculty members and co-founder of Sarana Institute. The ones listed below were specifically designed with young adults in mind.

FAQ

What is Yana?

Yana is Sarana Institute's young adult-focused program serving those aged ~18-35. For us, it stands for 'Young Adult Nature Awareness', and yāna is also a Buddhist term meaning 'vehicle'. Our intention is to provide a “vehicle” to support you in realizing and manifesting your potential

Is this just for young adults?

Our April 22nd event is open to all ages. Some spaces are being specifically reserved for young adults (18-35)

What should I bring to prepare?

Bring walking shoes or boots that can definitely get muddy. We will be outside rain or shine. Layer up because May temperatures can fluctuate. We will send you an official 'what to bring' list closer to the date. Just make sure you register to receive this.

What is Sarana Institute?

Yana events are hosted by Sarana Institute which is a secular mindfulness-based registered Canadian charity focusing on offering mindfulness training that awakens compassion in caring for ourselves, others and the earth. Yana events are part of our Yana program, and we also host a yearly mindfulness retreat for young adults called Yana Retreat.

I'm coming from out of town - are there places to stay?

Whether you are traveling from out of town or you're local to us, we welcome you to camp here Friday April 21 or Saturday April 22 (or both!) Camping is optional at an additional fee of $25 per night. This fee can be paid by cash or cheque separately to Angie Di Iorio Blake. Compostable toilets are near 'The Nest'. The Nest is a pine forest that makes for excellent sleeping and sheltered camping. There is wifi and electricity access on the Land, but not at the camping area. There is access to our community kitchen. If you choose to camp you will be responsible for your own meals (aside from our lunch the day of) and clean up.

There are also lots of local Air B+B options to explore if you'd prefer a more solid home-base for the weekend. We encourage you to take as much time as you can to explore this beautiful area!

Carpooling from the GTA

Sarana Springs is 2.5 Hours North of Toronto. We do our best to coordinate ridesharing when it is safe to do so. If you are open to sharing a ride with someone else, there is an option in our registration form to select if you need a ride or can provide one. If you have any questions about this, just reach out.