https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1069752370037965&id=392657511080791&sfnsn=mo
"Meet Rebecca Ellis from London, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
“I am a PhD candidate in Geography at Western University who studies sustainable food systems. My M.A. in Anthropology focused on community gardening and my PhD dissertation is about the relationship between people and urban bees (both honey and wild) in cities. I am a permaculture teacher, a beekeeper, an avid gardener, and a community activist. I'll be giving a workshop 'Permaculture in the 'Burbs' at the upcoming Guelph Organic Conference in Guelph, ON which will detail my journey to grow food and practice permaculture in the suburbs. I'll also present a vision for how we might turn suburban neighbourhoods into thriving, healthy ecosystems.
I grew up on a small family farm, where I lived until I was 15 years old. There were things I didn’t like about living in a rural area, but I loved snacking on peas and carrots directly from my mom’s large vegetable garden and spending time playing in the pasture among the cows. As an adult, I have always lived in cities, but I feel a strong need to grow some of my own food. I need to touch soil, interact with bees, and eat food I’ve nurtured with my own hands.
Gardening is a way to co-create with nonhuman nature. It brings me into relationship with the soil, pollinators, wild critters, and, most intimately, plants. Community gardening, which I have also participated in along with backyard gardening, brings me into relationship with other people and makes me feel more connected to my neighbourhood. And then of course, gardening brings me into relationship with food. I source seeds from ethical growers, I nurture the soil without pesticides or artificial fertilizers, and I have a peaceful approach to ‘pests’.
I live in the suburbs of London, Ontario, Canada. It is the traditional land of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Lenaapeewak, and Attawandaron peoples who foraged and farmed in the area for thousands of years. The climate traditionally has hot summers and cold winters, although our winters have been unpredictable due to climate change. My growing space is about 8000 square feet, and I also participate in community gardening in public spaces in my city.
I am an avid composter, having three distinct composting systems: a three-bin system, a vermicompost, and a biodigester. I also mulch the vegetable garden beds with leaves in the fall. I try to return as much fertility to the soil as possible. In terms of pest management, I aim to create an extremely biodiverse garden, utilizing strategies to attract a diversity of animals. Birds, toads, snakes, and predatory wasps play an important role in creating a balanced, thriving ecosystem in my space. I intercrop my vegetables with flowers in order to attract bees as well as predatory wasps. In order to keep squirrels from digging up newly planted seeds and bulbs I use chicken wire. I also have dogs that never harm anything but do bark at squirrels which serves as a slight deterrent. In terms of weeds, I have some great weeding hoes. Some weedy plants I eat or use medicinally such as motherwort, broad-leafed plantain, and garlic mustard.
In the space I am in, we have a lot of mature trees and so the garden tends to be shady. There are some quite aggressive plants that previous owners of my space planted such as English Ivy, periwinkle, and running bamboo that have been challenging to get under control. I also had an issue with lack of space, as we had an in-ground pool. However, in the spring of 2019 my partner and I removed the pool, which we found very difficult to maintin, and installed new vegetable gardens. The kids (all teenagers) were kind of disappointed but I think they appreciate the homegrown food as well as the beauty of our backyard. In the city, there is lack of access to land for growing food, especially for people who want to grow food on a larger scale. There are also some restrictive bylaws, for example we are not allowed to keep hens in the city of London, something I would like to do as they are useful garden workers.
I feel a deep sense of interconnection with nonhuman nature when I am working in my garden. I love to spend time watching the magical dance of pollinators as they visit flowers. There is a feeling of delight, joy, and calm that I get from gardening. Through community gardening, I have met some truly wonderful people. Sometimes city living can feel very alienating and gardening, for me, cuts against alienation. I love eating food from my garden and knowing exactly where the seeds came from and how it was grown.
I am involved with many community initiatives! I have a blog and podcast about permaculture and also give many workshops and presentations. I am the chair of the London Urban Beekeepers Collective, in which a group of bee-enthusiasts cooperatively mange shared hives. I am the chair of the City of London’s Urban Agriculture Strategy Committee. I am a founding member of the Pollinator Pathway Project, an initiative that seeks to create pathways for pollinators throughout my city. I coordinate a group called Urban Permaculture London as well as a hyper-local neighbourhood-based garden group. I participate in my city’s Community Garden Advisory Group and am in process of helping to form a new community garden in my neighbourhood. I am also part of the teaching team of the Permaculture Women’s Guild Permaculture Design Course.
I know a lot of people feel very distressed about the state of the world right now. Through gardening, we can create spaces in which people, animals, and plants flourish. In doing so, we can get glimpses of other ways in which humans can live with nonhuman nature; ways that are regenerative, healing, and mutually beneficial. This is true even in cities and suburbs. Other worlds are possible!”
Facebook Permaculture for the people
Blog https://permacultureforthepeople.org - This site also includes information about workshops and public presentations.
Podcast, The Re-enchantment, focuses on imagining other worlds in which all beings flourish, amplifying movements in which people are transforming the world for the better. It can be found on iTunes and Spotify.
Twitter.com/PermaculturePpl
Instagram.com/Earthygrrrl
Instagram.com/lunchthief_ (Sean, who gardens with Rebecca and made the “Bee Happy” sign)
The link to the conference: https://guelphorganicconf.ca
Guelph Organic Conference"
"Meet Rebecca Ellis from London, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
“I am a PhD candidate in Geography at Western University who studies sustainable food systems. My M.A. in Anthropology focused on community gardening and my PhD dissertation is about the relationship between people and urban bees (both honey and wild) in cities. I am a permaculture teacher, a beekeeper, an avid gardener, and a community activist. I'll be giving a workshop 'Permaculture in the 'Burbs' at the upcoming Guelph Organic Conference in Guelph, ON which will detail my journey to grow food and practice permaculture in the suburbs. I'll also present a vision for how we might turn suburban neighbourhoods into thriving, healthy ecosystems.
I grew up on a small family farm, where I lived until I was 15 years old. There were things I didn’t like about living in a rural area, but I loved snacking on peas and carrots directly from my mom’s large vegetable garden and spending time playing in the pasture among the cows. As an adult, I have always lived in cities, but I feel a strong need to grow some of my own food. I need to touch soil, interact with bees, and eat food I’ve nurtured with my own hands.
Gardening is a way to co-create with nonhuman nature. It brings me into relationship with the soil, pollinators, wild critters, and, most intimately, plants. Community gardening, which I have also participated in along with backyard gardening, brings me into relationship with other people and makes me feel more connected to my neighbourhood. And then of course, gardening brings me into relationship with food. I source seeds from ethical growers, I nurture the soil without pesticides or artificial fertilizers, and I have a peaceful approach to ‘pests’.
I live in the suburbs of London, Ontario, Canada. It is the traditional land of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Lenaapeewak, and Attawandaron peoples who foraged and farmed in the area for thousands of years. The climate traditionally has hot summers and cold winters, although our winters have been unpredictable due to climate change. My growing space is about 8000 square feet, and I also participate in community gardening in public spaces in my city.
I am an avid composter, having three distinct composting systems: a three-bin system, a vermicompost, and a biodigester. I also mulch the vegetable garden beds with leaves in the fall. I try to return as much fertility to the soil as possible. In terms of pest management, I aim to create an extremely biodiverse garden, utilizing strategies to attract a diversity of animals. Birds, toads, snakes, and predatory wasps play an important role in creating a balanced, thriving ecosystem in my space. I intercrop my vegetables with flowers in order to attract bees as well as predatory wasps. In order to keep squirrels from digging up newly planted seeds and bulbs I use chicken wire. I also have dogs that never harm anything but do bark at squirrels which serves as a slight deterrent. In terms of weeds, I have some great weeding hoes. Some weedy plants I eat or use medicinally such as motherwort, broad-leafed plantain, and garlic mustard.
In the space I am in, we have a lot of mature trees and so the garden tends to be shady. There are some quite aggressive plants that previous owners of my space planted such as English Ivy, periwinkle, and running bamboo that have been challenging to get under control. I also had an issue with lack of space, as we had an in-ground pool. However, in the spring of 2019 my partner and I removed the pool, which we found very difficult to maintin, and installed new vegetable gardens. The kids (all teenagers) were kind of disappointed but I think they appreciate the homegrown food as well as the beauty of our backyard. In the city, there is lack of access to land for growing food, especially for people who want to grow food on a larger scale. There are also some restrictive bylaws, for example we are not allowed to keep hens in the city of London, something I would like to do as they are useful garden workers.
I feel a deep sense of interconnection with nonhuman nature when I am working in my garden. I love to spend time watching the magical dance of pollinators as they visit flowers. There is a feeling of delight, joy, and calm that I get from gardening. Through community gardening, I have met some truly wonderful people. Sometimes city living can feel very alienating and gardening, for me, cuts against alienation. I love eating food from my garden and knowing exactly where the seeds came from and how it was grown.
I am involved with many community initiatives! I have a blog and podcast about permaculture and also give many workshops and presentations. I am the chair of the London Urban Beekeepers Collective, in which a group of bee-enthusiasts cooperatively mange shared hives. I am the chair of the City of London’s Urban Agriculture Strategy Committee. I am a founding member of the Pollinator Pathway Project, an initiative that seeks to create pathways for pollinators throughout my city. I coordinate a group called Urban Permaculture London as well as a hyper-local neighbourhood-based garden group. I participate in my city’s Community Garden Advisory Group and am in process of helping to form a new community garden in my neighbourhood. I am also part of the teaching team of the Permaculture Women’s Guild Permaculture Design Course.
I know a lot of people feel very distressed about the state of the world right now. Through gardening, we can create spaces in which people, animals, and plants flourish. In doing so, we can get glimpses of other ways in which humans can live with nonhuman nature; ways that are regenerative, healing, and mutually beneficial. This is true even in cities and suburbs. Other worlds are possible!”
Facebook Permaculture for the people
Blog https://permacultureforthepeople.org - This site also includes information about workshops and public presentations.
Podcast, The Re-enchantment, focuses on imagining other worlds in which all beings flourish, amplifying movements in which people are transforming the world for the better. It can be found on iTunes and Spotify.
Twitter.com/PermaculturePpl
Instagram.com/Earthygrrrl
Instagram.com/lunchthief_ (Sean, who gardens with Rebecca and made the “Bee Happy” sign)
The link to the conference: https://guelphorganicconf.ca
Guelph Organic Conference"
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