From Farmer to Family Renée Hartleib There can be major advantages to getting lost. Just ask Lovena and Ryan Harvey, owners of Gathering Place Trading Company, a family run company in BC. Fifteen years ago, they were travelling in South Africa, Ryan’s birthplace, in their vintage VW camper van. On an afternoon jaunt through the… Keep Reading
Seeking Balance, Seizing Passion Michael Marrapese We’re in the East Cascades at the Northern tip of the Sonoran Desert,” Jon Alcock explains. “We’re on the former shores of Lake Penticton, which was a glacial lake 12,000 years ago. It deposited these great mineral soils that are perfect for wine grapes and orchards. We’re in a… Keep Reading
Regenerative Ranchers Michelle Tsutsumi and Tristan Banwell Tristan and Aubyn Banwell, managers of Spray Creek Ranch, have shared quite the journey. They met in high school band class in Northern California, spent their university years as urban vegans and then homesteaded off-grid for five years before moving to the juxtaposed landscape of Northern St’at’imc Territory… Keep Reading
From Seedling to Success Story Moss Dance If you’ve ever bought a box of sprouts in BC, it’s highly likely that they were grown at Eatmore Sprouts in K’ómox Territory, on Vancouver Island (Courtenay, BC.) Behind that delicious package of sprouts, there is a story of earth-conscious principles, community, and dedication to the organic movement.… Keep Reading
Hamsa Eliza Gooderham A love affair with plants began 30 odd years ago out of Brenda Elder’s basement and grew, literally, into the fine enterprise that it is now; a certified organic wholesaler of bedding plants to the Nelson and Slocan Valley area. We took over the business after a decade of working for Brenda… Keep Reading
Rob Borsato with thanks to Marjorie Harris Growing a Local Food Movement in the Cariboo It was the “back to the land” movement of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s that nudged, on separate paths, Cathie Allen and Rob Borsato to the Cariboo. Together, in 1985 they purchased 105 acres of mostly timbered bench land above… Keep Reading
Jonathan Knight The Story of WoodGrain Farm’s Hand Made Grain Mill I like good technology. I don’t mean my smart phone (I don’t have one) or the latest gene spliced varieties, but rather the tools and innovations that have evolved over decades or centuries of use to make life easier. Appropriate technologies reduce daily drudgery,… Keep Reading
Bob McCoubrey Gary Judd is passionate about his work. As a researcher in tree fruit entomology at Agriculture Canada’s Summerland Research Station, he works hard at balancing his passion for doing the research with his enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge with growers—particularly organic growers, many of whom he has come to regard as good friends.… Keep Reading
Jonathan Knight If you walk out the back door of the little blue farmhouse at WoodGrain Farm, past the acre of market gardens and the old log outbuildings and barns, and back through the forest high along the banks of the Skeena River, there is wilderness. This is real wilderness, where one could follow ancient… Keep Reading
Sage Birley Three years ago I returned to my family’s organic farm to help my father. I had just completed three years of schooling in Vancouver and as a young activist I was dealing with my first severe cycle of burnout. Oddly enough, it was that burnout that led me back to the farm. After… Keep Reading
