God's Creatures, Sea to Sea

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom you have made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
    creeping things innumerable are there,
    living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
    and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

Psalm 104: 24-26

After yesterday's Groundling blog about declining biodiversity in Canada and the need to dramatically increase protected spaces it seems fitting to follow up with the story of a new coin in Canada which depicts Canadian wildlife. It's obvious that you won't be carrying around this one in your pocket, or using it to buy your summertime strawberry sunday. The Royal Canadian Mint has released its first-ever coin shaped like the country itself at a eye-opening price of $340. — and an Ottawa illustrator came up with the design.

This is the creation of Alisha Giroux is an Ottawa artist and her original design was for the 150th anniversary of Confederation. She playfully created a Canada as it's creatures including a snowy owl in flight for Quebec and a spirit bear for British Columbia. 

I'm a big fan of Psalm 104 because it celebrates many creatures brought into being by the Creator with hardly a mention of humans. It is a lyrical corrective to the hubris of the species which is the biggest threat to all others, especially as world population climbs well above 7 billion humans. 

The Canadian motto "from sea to sea" is taken from another psalm, 72. It's lovely to have a coin which depicts our diversity from sea to sea to sea. Let me know if you get one in your change. 

Alison Giroux