8 minute read
Editor’s message
Building change, building on tradition
When I was in junior high, I wish that I had made more noise about transferring out of the home economics class that was pre-determined for the girls. I would have enjoyed the boys’ option, what they then called industrial arts.
I remember sitting at my desk wearing my yellow and white checked apron that I had borrowed from my grandmother, writing notes on the 10 things to remember to be a good hostess, and testing my knowledge of leavening agents, while listening to the sounds of hammers coming from the wood shop across the hall.
The boys seemed to be having a lot more fun and learning something more useful. That was the early ‘80s and I don’t think any amount of pressure would have seen the school board bend its rules and let a girl get her grip on a hand saw.
I doubt my industrial arts projects would have revealed any more genius than the failing grade that I got making biscuits, but I am certain the most basic training in that wood shop during junior high would’ve set me up with a few skills more practical than “how to organize a grocery list.”
Thankfully times have changed. Well, a bit. No longer are kids streamed by gender to courses deemed appropriate by the curriculum advisors. But many young women still don’t feel comfortable exploring their options in what are still, in 2021, considered nontraditional roles.
With the gaping holes in our workforce, which experts have seen coming for many years, it’s time we do more to encourage underrepresented sectors of our population to pursue careers in building and the trades.
Contributing editor Janet Whitman writes “Breaking down barriers” on page 22, and introduces us to five women of varied backgrounds who are making a name for themselves in the construction business. While researching the story, she learned that only 4% of people on job sites are women. With hundreds of thousands of people working in the construction industry in Canada expected to retire in the next few years, we need a lot of women to add hard hats to their wardrobe.
To complement our coverage of the women building the East Coast, Shannon Campbell Webb introduces us to Nova Scotian cabinet maker Carole Burnette, who tells us she “just loves to make things.” See page 30.
And that’s what we do on the East Coast. We have a knack for seeing what nature provides and turning it into something special. A mushroom is just a mushroom until it’s made into something delicious. Ask Chef Stéphane Levac. That connection to the land and knowing what to take and how to give back that is in his nature. He shares a few of his favourite fall recipes, on page 34.
We take a trip to the island of Newfoundland, too, where none of these ideas are breaking news. Writer Connie Boland met textile artist Megan Samms in the Codroy Valley, a part of the province known for its harsh weather. Megan shares her understanding that we are all part of something bigger. Discover her textile work on page 18: woven in beauty, tradition, and a sense of shelter.
I want one of her blankets to wrap up in on a chilly day this fall, maybe even sipping one of the incredible harvest cocktails that St. John’s bartender Danny Le got his shaker out for, on page 38.
We are makers on the East Coast. It’s in our nature. We just need to make sure that no one is sitting on the other side of the hall like I was, wondering what they’re building over there.
If you are a woman or part of a community that is underrepresented in the trades and looking for a job that fuels your passion, reach out to the apprentice programs in your province, talk to others doing a job that you would like to do, tell people that you have skills and want to work. Make some noise and start building your own future.
Crystal Murray, Editor ecl@metroguide.ca EastCoastLiving East Coast Living Magazine
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On our cover:
Newfoundland textile artist Megan Samms finds inspiration in the natural world. Photo: Kirsten Pope
Publisher Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor Contributing Editors Fred Fiander Crystal Murray Trevor J. Adams Jodi DeLong Janet Whitman
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Volume 24, Number 3, Fall 2021 ISSN 1714-1834
CONNIE BOLAND “The rhythm of a heartbeat”
Connie Boland is an award-winning journalist, creative writer, and communications professional living in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. Her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, and online publications across Canada. Connie was twice a finalist for Atlantic Journalism Awards and received Canadian News Awards for Outstanding Editorial Achievement.
ALEC BRUCE “Seaweed in the walls”
Alec Bruce is a writer and editor whose bylines have appeared in national publications in Canada and the United States, including the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Canadian Living, and Reader’s Digest. He’s a regular contributor to Atlantic Business Magazine, Saltscapes, and East Coast Living, among others.
JODI DELONG “Containing the season’s enthusiasm”
Jodi DeLong is a gardening fanatic and writer, editor and photographer with Advocate Media. When not writing, taking photos or editing for Saltscapes, she is usually elbows-deep in potting soil, tending to her gardens in Wolfville Ridge, N.S. She shows how to extend your container gardening season right into the cold months in this issue.
PHOTO: STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE
STÉPHANE LEVAC “Family, foraging, and food”
Stéphane Levac is a foraging chef living in the Annapolis Valley. He is currently chef at Oak Island Inn Resort. He is of Indigenous descent and has a passion for photograghy and exploring for fresh local ingredients with his family. You can find Stéphane on season nine of Top Chef Canada. This is Stéphane’s first endeavor as a writer.
TALIA MEADE “Layer up”
Talia Meade is a University of King’s College journalism grad originally from Ottawa. She now works in marketing for Cove Kombucha in Halifax, N.S. and loves to write and share stories in her free time. You can find her reading the latest issue of ECL on her back deck with a coffee.
PHOTO: MEGHAN TANSEY WHITTON
BRUCE MURRAY, VISIONFIRE
Photography for “It’s in her nature” Bruce Murray has been creating food and lifestyle photography for more than 20 years in the Maritimes and in his original studio in Vancouver. visionfire.ca @VisionFire
STEVE SMITH
Photography for “Family, foraging, and food” and “Breaking down barriers” Steve Smith is a commercial photographer at VisionFire Studios located in Pictou, N.S., shooting for a wide range of clientele throughout Atlantic Canada.
DARRELL ROBERTS “Cheers! Fall’s here!”
Darrell Roberts is a recent graduate of the Kings School of Journalism and has returned to his home turf in St. John’s N.L. to write about the things that matter most to him–culture and community.
AMEETA VOHRA “The sands of time (and stories)”
Ameeta Vohra is a news and sports writer. Her work has been published throughout North America including Halifax Magazine, CBCSports.ca, Star Halifax, CFL, TSN, Featurd, Football Canada, Haligonia.ca, Sportstream. ca and USports. She is a 2020 Atlantic Journalism Awards finalist for Atlantic Magazine: Best Profile Article.
SHANNON WEBB-CAMPBELL “It’s in her nature”
Shannon Webb-Campbell is a member of Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation. Her books include: Still No Word (Breakwater 2015), I Am A Body of Land (Book*hug 2019), and Lunar Tides (Book*hug 2022). Shannon is a doctoral student at the University of New Brunswick in the Department of English and the editor of Visual Arts News Magazine. She lives and works in Kjipuktuk/ Halifax.
MELANIE MOSHER “Worth their weight”
Melanie Mosher is the author of three books for young readers. When she’s not writing, she likes to walk along the trails near her home. She often carries a container, seizing every opportunity to pick wild berries as she goes. melaniemosher.com
JANET WHITMAN “Breaking down barriers”
Contributing editor Janet Whitman is a city- and nature-loving journalist who divides her time between Halifax and her cottage on the Northumberland Shore. She’s happiest digging in the dirt, picking up a hammer or messing around in the kitchen.