Author: emily

Water House Rules

FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND’S southern Seymour mountain range to its dry eastern coast, the Cowichan River drains a 930-square-kilometre landscape – an area a little smaller than Ontario’s Prince Edward County. With its rural charm and boast as Canada’s warmest locale (its name means “warm land” in the local Hul’qumi’num language), […]

Age of Persuasion

I RECENTLY ATTENDED Bullfrog Power’s fifth anniversary bash. At it, Rick Smith, Environmental Defence’s impressive executive director, stated, “You can’t call yourself an environmentalist and object to wind turbines.” His position drew scattered applause from the packed meeting room; my jaw dropped.

Fire in Their Bellies

IT’S A FACE that I will remember for a long time. The farmer, utterly frustrated by Canada’s food system, could no longer muster the will to tell his story. He and his wife were taking part in a community “kitchen-table talk,” co-ordinated by the People’s Food Policy Project (PFPP). He […]

2020 Vision

ACROSS ONTARIO, farms, organizations and businesses are working to transform the food system from the ground up. Entrepreneurial, collaborative and co-operative, these enterprises are building on the public’s interest in healthy, local, sustainable food; sharing their models, experiences and technologies; and becoming a network that links issues, sectors and regions. […]

Evolution | Revolution

AT THE SPIRIT TREE ESTATE CIDERY, Tom Wilson and Nicole Judge are intent on answering customers’ questions. Their infant son sits on the sales counter resting against his mother as if he’s spent his life in this pose. The young couple looks tired, but totally engaged. They are living their […]