Squirmy soft and moist, a little earthworm covered in dirt wrapped itself around my index finger like a snake while I was pulling weeds from the garden. It hung there for just a moment before falling; traversing the few centimeters on its way to the ground. I watched it fall, wondering what a seemingly small distance must have felt like to a tiny worm.
As it turns out, I have never, not once in my life held a worm before. I would avoid squishing them when the rains would bring them out in droves on the concrete but the thought of picking one up made me feel like squirming. I’m still amazed at how gardening made me feel connected to the earth and instead of recoiling in fear, remained still and reveled in the experience of worm to human contact.
Lost again in the black mud of the garden, the worm had drifted off and I wished it nothing but prosperity in its life of mud, plants and bugs. I looked at my nails, caked in dirt and felt a sense of understanding; it must move on.
By immersing myself in the worm’s environment, a sense of connection and appreciation replaced fear and disgust. I was propelled to learn more and was surprised to find that earthworms are thought to have been made extinct by glaciers and all Canadian earthworms have at some point bee re-introduced into our ecosystem. Supported by the Government of Ontario as natural fertilizers and indicators of healthy soil, the Canadian Wildlife Federation touts them as being a habitat destroyer. Therefore, without a concrete answer I have decided to apply my earthworm experience to daily life in hopes of fostering positive connections and understanding by immersing myself in the environment and culture of those around me.
To learn more about earthworms in Ontario, check out the following links: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/livingsoil4.htm http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/earthworm/ http://cwf-fcf.org/en/discover-wildlife/gardening/gardening101/green-gardening/soil-care/earthworms-as-habitat.html
