About the farmer
I was born in Vancouver and spent much of my childhood around coastal BC and in the UK. Many of my formative years were spent with my family at the old Dididaht village site of Clo-oose (in what is now Pacific Rim National Park Reserve) and in the UK countryside where my grandfather had a large nursery business. We also lived in rainy Deep Cove North Vancouver, and and by the Salish Penelakut community on Penelakut Island (formerly Kuper Island) near Chemainus, BC.
It is this early experience with farms, in nature and with First Nations communities that I attribute to my life-long interest in ethnobotany and humanity's relationship with plants. I've loved growing things ever since I can remember - my bedroom was always cluttered with a jungle of house plants and I tried planting seeds of everything I could find: avocado, citrus, apple, start fruit, banana, kiwi, and even cactus fruit! The avocado tree that I grew when I was 10 is still living in a friend's house but although it blooms now it's unfortunately never set any fruit....
I enjoy outdoor pursuits like hiking, camping and playing with my children, and we are especially fond of foraging for wild plants to cook together back at home. I play music, just not as much as I would like to. In 2009 I co-authored a guide to Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada published by Lone Pine. Look on the shelves of your favourite bookstores starting in April 2011 for the field guide to 'Berries of BC' followed by 'Berries of the Prairie Provinces' and 'Berries of Ontario' later in the year. I've taught Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria since 1999 and ethnobotany at Pacific Rim College since 2009. I also occasionally work as a naturalist on a BC-based tall ship (see mapleleafadventures.com for some great travel ideas!) where I have a captive audience to talk to about BC native plants!
I hold an undergraduate degree from the University of Victoria in French and Environmental Studies (1994), a Masters of Science in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford University (1998), and a Masters in Environmental Design from the University of Calgary (1999). I am multilingual and have travelled and worked extensively throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Central America. One of my favourite parts of traveling is being able to learn about traditional plant uses and meet the people involved in this activity and I'm grateful to the many teachers that I have had on these adventures.
I have been farming at Metchosin Farm since 2004 and am looking forward to many more years of planting trees on my property and helping others to grow beautiful and delicious food gardens in their yards and communities. We live in an amazing temperate Mediterranean climate that allows us to grow foods as diverse as almonds, figs, salads and tomatoes. If you are new to gardening, I hope that this website will provide you with some easy growing tips and that my plants thrive for you. This is a wonderful place to live - please check out the 'community links' section on the farm home page for suggestions of great hikes, artist studios, and local eateries that you can visit when you come to purchase your garden plants from the farm stand. I welcome your feedback so please send an e-mail or drop a note in the farm stand honour box to let me know how the plants grew for you or if there are any varieties I don't carry that you would like to see in the future.
happy gardening!
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it"
Fiona