Bowen in Transition sponsored the first annual sustainability tour on Saturday, August 6. We had a full busload of islanders and one passenger from the mainland who were eager to learn about including more resiliency and sustainability into their lives. Participants were young and old, renters as well as home owners.
We started with the composting workshop in the cove and tours of the heritage garden and Davies Orchard, ably guided by Karen Wristen and Maria Fleetham. Morganne Keplar and Maureen Witney had organized a number of displays and experts to answer questions about composting.
After boarding the bus, our first stop was on Deer Walk where Rob Forbes shared his enthusiasm and expertise about keeping chickens and bees. Rob mentioned that keeping chickens "puts you in a good mood." The importance to have bees to pollinate our fruit trees was especially felt during this year's unseasonably cold spring.
After a quick stop for lunch in the cove, we headed across the island and community school coordinator Sarah Haxby shared her experience about the edible learning garden at BICS. She stressed the value of the composting and recycling programs at the school. With 317 students, the composters get a lot of use. The school is currently looking for additional community volunteers who are able to help the kids learn more about gardening, composting, recycling and stewardship. The students will be at BowFeast on August 20, bringing seeds, plants and enthusiasm.
On the west side, we first visited the Ruddy Potato garden where Kim Howden, manager of the Ruddy Potato organic garden, spoke about the importance of building soil, composting, and harvesting rainwater as key components. This year, the Ruddy Potato garden has made contributions to the BowFeast in a box program that provides 10 island families with fresh produce from May to October. In the future, Howden hopes to include more permaculture aspects into the design and maintenance of the garden. We left with a gift of kale seeds as a reminder of our visit.
Next stop was Island Springs, the home of John Hoover and Carol MacKinnon, where we learned about raising trout. By examining an anemometer mounted in a 60-foot-pole, we looked at the feasibility of both wind and solar power. Early data suggests that solar makes more sense than wind power at that particular site. Still on the west side, we visited the home of Kellie Rapley and Paul Stratford. The straw bale home was constructed ten years ago and has provided a family of five children and two adults with both functionality and beauty. Paul Stratford told us how the thick walls of his straw bale house keep the heat out in the summer and in during the winter months.
And finally, we visited the home and farm of Jayson Hendyrsen. Jayson explained how hemp can be used as a sustainable building material. Jayson has also been welcoming summer help with the Willing Workers on Organic Farms program.
Overall, it was a wonderful day of learning and laughter, and a growing sense of optimism and excitement seemed to emerge. We discovered what other islanders are doing and gained a sense of what we might do ourselves. We want to thank the many islanders who offered their expertise, time and homes for this tour. The 30 participants were very appreciative of the enthusiasm with which they were received at the various sites, as well as the thoughtful answers to their many questions.
There is more information available and we encourage you to visit the Bowen Agricultural Alliance website to learn more about bees and chickens and the Ruddy Potato website to learn about the store and garden. The Bowen Island Ourselves has information on Bowen in Transition. We would welcome suggestions of what you would like to learn in order to live a sustainable, resilient and joyful life.
Carol MacKinnon, Rob Cairns, Kim Kasasian
