2025 Summer Solstice at the Sky Pillar

Today, on the longest day of the year, we honour both the Sun and the Indigenous Peoples who have cared for Turtle Island since time immemorial.

At the Deanery, our Sky Pillar installation stands in tribute to the Sun, the Stars, and the Mi’kmaw Moons. Its shadow is the shortest at the solar noon of summer solstice, and longest at winter. By following a sight line between the Pillars and through the upper branches of Elder Apple, you’ll find the North Star.

A collaboration between Dalhousie Architecture students, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the Deanery Project, the Sky Pillar is an art and research installation guided by Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing). The Pillars are clad in two inches of biochar-crete as part of an ongoing biochar study with Dalhousie University.

Solstice is a time for reflection and gratitude. Under this Strawberry Moon in Mi’kma’ki, we give thanks to the many ways the land continues to teach us. May we keep listening, learning, and walking gently upon this Earth together.