Host Isa is planting some cornflower (centaurea cyanus) and mint, both plants loved by bees. Bees crosspollinate 90% of the world’s wild plants. Actress Grace Dove explains that Indigenous people have a specialized knowledge of what plants to use for medicines, food and clothing. 

The Questers visit ethnobotanist and herbalist Cease Wyss in the Indigenous plants garden at UBC where she is growing plants for medicines using knowledge she gained from her grandmothers. Rocks are our grandfathers and plants are our grandmothers and are vital to our lives.

Dr. Eduardo Jovel, indigenous scientist from El Salvador, specializes in plants and agriculture and works at UBC in Musqueam territory. He picks some yarrow fronds, a good antiseptic for cuts. There are 4000 varieties of potatoes which originated in Peru, the centre of biodiversity.

An animated story-song shows how plants grow and give us energy from captured sunlight. Kai uses water, food colouring and napa cabbage leaves to show how water travels through the xylem vessels in plants.We learn about the three sisters - corn, beans and squash - that were grown together in ancient times by eastern indigenous people. Chickasaw Nation astronaut, John Herrington, describes minimal tillage and permaculture farming, the sustainable methods practice by indigenous ancestor experts. Indigenous science is cool!

COYOTE’S CRAZY SMART SCIENCE SHOW (Coyote Science) is a fun, educational science series designed for elementary students. Drawing on wisdom from pioneers in Indigenous education, including Dr. Leroy Little Bear, Amethyst First Rider, and Dr. Lorna Williams, Coyote Science bridges the worlds of Indigenous and Western science, teaching kids scientific concepts through discussions with Indigenous scientists, storytelling, animation, music, and experiments.

BIO: Created by Loretta Todd, a Métis–Cree filmmaker who was one of the first Indigenous women to pursue film studies at Simon Fraser University in BC. Loretta is an amateur science geek who always wanted to inspire Indigenous children and youth to learn more about science, especially Indigenous science. Using her creative skills as a creative, L. S. Todd is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning filmmaker known for powerful, visual storytelling and cultural leadership.