Ecoculture Conservancy of Canada germinates locally

There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to a growing project near Glen Huron.
A market stand at Glen Huron Inn and the planting of a community garden in Collingwood is just skimming the surface of the mission for the newly created Ecoculture Conservancy of Canada.
Tanya Major is harnessing her background in business development and her husband Andrew’s knowledge as a wildlife technician to spread a wide net of knowledge and learning about sustainable and collaborative ways to grow food.
Major says her goal is to be a venue for sharing experience and knowledge between those who wish to learn and those who have something to teach through workshops, retreats, and student group visits.
When the provincial government deemed community gardens an essential service a year ago, the Majors connected with a few other local entrepreneurs to do some good for the community. With the bounty of medicinal and nutrient dense food grown in the community garden, a team of growers were able to offer fresh produce to local shelters. The surplus was sold at the County Road 124 market stand. Any profits are being reinvested in the construction of greenhouses and gardens and donations of seeds and plants, at elementary schools for example, so youth have a chance to learn about seed germination and food production.
“If people are eating and they have never grown a thing in their life, that’s a problem,” said Major.
The next steps are to find ways to offer programming on a larger scale, with a collaborative covid resilient creative mind.
“It’s an olive branch for others who want to work in regenerative resources,” said Major. “There’s a gap, and we will fill it.”
She is already connecting people who have no experience gardening with those who are looking for a place to put in their volunteer and teaching hours for their respective professions. She has plans to facilitate all kinds of teaching and learning opportunities, whether it be foraging for medicinal herbs or learning to make maple syrup.
The goal is to utilize the property as a resource for learning and exploration through organized programming, camps, retreats, etc.
“Everything starts with curiosity,” said Major. “People can’t protect what they don’t know exists. If we want to try to protect our ecosystems, the best way is to learn.”
That’s why there will be a strong focus on youth, because they will be the protectors of the planet, said Major.
She said she is open to many collaborations and already has partnerships in the works with beekeepers, a food broker, holistic nutritionist, educators, yogis, and a kombucha brewer/kinesiologist.
An ever growing initiative, Major says in 2022 the community will see the launch of further programming under the umbrella of an Eco Village.
For more information and to get involved, visit ecocultureconservancyofcanada.ca. Major welcomes proposals for ways to use the property as a resource for advancing the mission.