When Jackie Augustine opens a chicken coop door one brisk spring morning in upstate New York, the hens bolt out like windup toys. Still, as their faint barnyard scent testifies, they aren’t battery-powered but very much alive. These are “solar chickens.” At this local community egg cooperative, Geneva Peeps, the birds live with solar […]
Farming
Posted inFood + Drink
The winds of change
After surviving last year’s late spring frost and record-breaking warm summer, Nova Scotian growers recently faced off with Hurricane Dorian’s 120-kilometre-an-hour winds. “It’s been a double whammy,” says Victor Oulton of the extreme weather events in the past two years. Oulton is the president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, which recently sent out […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Nova Scotia’s grape growth mindset
Wineries all over Atlantic Canada are celebrating last season’s harvest. Grapes hung on the vine longer than usual during our warm fall, boosting sugar and mellowing acidity. With little rain, their flavours and aromas concentrated, with less spoilage from moulds and mildews. After such a season, we should expect people to be excited about growing […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
10 urban gardens you need to know
Urban gardens have been sprouting up all around the city in the last several years, as Haligonians become more concerned about where their food comes from and the ethics behind it. Each garden faces its own challenges: Some have long waitlists, some are lacking volunteers and some are struggling with theft. Despite setbacks they’re all […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Climate change a large, systemic problem for Maritime farmers
A year-long research project from Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute says small-scale farms in the Maritimes are vulnerable to rapid and long-term disruptions caused by climate change. Just how vulnerable is “vulnerable?” “Pretty vulnerable, is the answer,” says Bernard Soubry. The Master’s candidate in environmental change and management compiled the newly released study, which says […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The Dartmouth North Community Food Centre needs a few good gardeners
[Image-1] “The meals make you feel rich!” is a comment you’ll hear often at the Dartmouth North Community Food Centre, located on Primrose Street in Dartmouth. The centre, which opened last year as a project of the Dartmouth Family Centre in partnership with Community Food Centres Canada, takes an innovative, well-rounded approach to addressing food […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
HRM accidentally outlawed bees (but is going to fix it)
[Image-1] A staff report going before Regional Council next week recommends amending the municipality’s animal control bylaws so that bees are exempt from the list of prohibited insects and allowed to roam freely as nature intended. Council approved HRM’s bylaw A-700 (“Respecting Animals and Responsible Pet Ownership”) last fall, leading to howls of criticism from […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
This man is building a farm in his backyard for new Canadians
[Image-1] From the front it looks like any ordinary house on Flamingo Drive, but in behind there’s an acre of land Mel Slade has turned into a community farm. This is Beatonridge Gardens. In its short life, this community garden has become a touch point for Canadians new and old. Currently there are 12 international […]