HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE

Know Your Seed

by ASHLEY LORTSCHER

Why hello Fernie! Aren’t you looking gorgeous? Everything is budding and ready to sprout for this year’s garden season. I am often asked to share my knowledge on growing food in the Elk Valley, so I thought I would create a crash course on cold-climate gardening. Each month I’ll be providing tips on how to improve your cold climate food production.

Growing food in cold climates can be frustrating! You can put so much time and resources into growing your seedlings, just to watch them stagnate or wither. Becoming familiar with different seed varieties and where they come from can greatly reduce the work required, improve yield, and contribute to your local food security.

Seeds for Success, Local is Best

Local seed sources are already adapted for our short growing season and variable weather. Wildsight offers a number of different seed varieties grown locally.

Heirloom and Landrace Varieties

I could nerd out for several pages but let me keep it brief: Heirloom varieties are well-loved cultivars with a long heritage of hand-selection by gardeners. Landrace seeds are varieties that have developed by natural selection and have been collected for use by gardeners and homesteaders. If you are able to source local heirloom or landrace seeds, you are likely to save yourself a lot of work as their genetics are aligned to thrive without a lot of added care and resources. Saving these seeds helps to increase biodiversity and preserve genetics. Open-pollinated seed varieties are much easier to save for next season (but more on seed saving later!).

Learn from Your Neighbour

If you can’t find seeds grown locally, ask around for what varieties and companies to purchase from! Does your neighbour have lovely early tomatoes every year? Is your local farmer’s spinach slow to bolt? Find out which varieties (or cultivars) grow best in the Valley. Our local greenhouses, gardeners, and homesteaders are happy to share their knowledge (the Elk Valley Homesteading group on Facebook is a great resource!).

Quick Calories

I grow food to feed my family nutrient dense calories. I try to grow 70% of all my family’s calories for the year. Given the number of frost-free days in the Valley, I focus on crops that require low effort, have high calories, and have a wide variety of nutrients. Parsley is easy to grow and super nutrient dense. Potatoes can improve soil quality and are easy to store calories. Kale and chard are cold hardy and can be harvested all season long. That being said, I always find some corner of my garden to try and grow a watermelon because I think it’s fun! If your space and time are limited, look for hardy and quick to grow crops that are nutrient dense!

Every Seed Has a Story

There are so many wonderful small seed companies in BC! Supporting local and small seed companies helps preserve genetic diversity and improve seed lines for local food production. Shop around and ask around!

Submitted Photo

“Growing food in cold climates can be frustrating!”

Y A M A G O Y A

Finding Community Through Group-Based Care

by DR TAINA TURCASSO, ND RM

When I was a new midwife, and prior to starting my own practice, I worked at quite a large midwifery practice and was introduced to a bit of an alternative approach to prenatal care that involved group prenatal appointments. The specific program that we used was called “The Centering Pregnancy Program” and though it encouraged partner participation at the end and beginning of pregnancy and allowed for individualized assessment during each session, it focused on groupbased sessions for the pregnant person for the bulk of the pregnancy. Our team of four midwives piloted the project for our practice and each group contained clients who were all due the same month, which would be anywhere from 10-14 clients. Initially it was a bit of a struggle because on a midwifery team, call/clinic schedules are very complicated at the best of times and shifting it to allow for two midwives to be present at every session and to have the sessions in the middle of a clinic day was quite challenging. Cue my fear of public speaking (and speaking to a group of 1014 people who I may not know that well feels like public speaking) and it was not something I looked forward to.

To my surprise, our sessions quickly became some of my favourite times in clinic. Not only did they give me the opportunity to get to know our clients better (when you have 14 clients a month and there are four of you, it is very difficult to get to know everyone), but also it was amazing to see the way everyone opened up and talked more freely about whatever concerns they had. In addition to the time spent with us acting as facilitators, they had the opportunity to get to know one another without our involvement while we did our short individual assessments. Interestingly, there is a lot of research that supports programs like Centering Pregnancy. These programs have positive impacts on pregnancy outcomes, and surprisingly, the level of satisfaction reported by both clients and providers. Evaluative data demonstrates that 96% of the clients preferred receiving their prenatal care in groups and beyond that, in our specific groups, many of them kept in touch and continued to see each other on a regular basis even once their time in midwifery care was over. I have a good friend who participated in group prenatal care 10 years ago and she has told me that her group still keeps in touch, even now.

The benefits of this program, of course, extend into the postpartum period when you could have a group “drop-in” for anyone from two weeks through to six weeks or even longer. This would allow for efficient assessments, feeding assistance, and socialization, which can be so lacking during the initial postpartum period.

What’s recently occurred to me is that treatment and therapy tailored to groups would benefit many different patient/client populations beyond pre- and postnatal care. The value of being in a safe group setting with others who are going through the same or even similar life events or stressors as you are cannot be overstated. Sharing experiences while going through treatment for infertility, pregnancy loss, or addiction, for example, creates a sense of community, making you feel less alone. Especially when used in conjunction with individualized treatment or therapy, group sessions enable participants to engage in conversations and ask questions that allow for a broader coverage of topics and ideas than what occurs in a one-on-one session. This work can and should be built upon in one-on-one sessions, but what occurs in a group setting can help individuals make meaningful connections that may carry over into other aspects of their life.

While interacting in person is optimal when it comes to group sessions, groups can be attended virtually, which increases accessibility for those who may not be able to attend in person for a variety of reasons. There may be some initial hesitation when it comes to sharing in a group setting, but it is often helpful to start by listening.

Stock Illustration

“We need the community aspect of group care now more than ever, after we have been so isolated for over two years.”

Eventually you will be comfortable being more vulnerable and participating more. One important key is being aware of the background of whoever is facilitating the group. Ideally it would be someone that you already have a relationship with or who has been providing some type of care for you.

Life holds many challenges for all of us, challenges that often require us to seek out treatment. Or, perhaps we are engaged in routine treatment for a specific time of life, like prenatal or postnatal care. In many of these scenarios, we would benefit from group-based care being a part of our treatment plan. We need the community aspect of group care now more than ever, after we have been so isolated for over two years. If you live somewhere small like we do, you might have to create an opportunity yourself or find a virtual group that would suit your needs. Speak with your provider to see if a group approach would work for what is happening in your life.

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Connection Seeking

by TYLA CHARBONNEAU

We can all bring to mind a person in our current or past lives that we might label as needy. The person who can drain our energy, demand a lot from us, and seems to draw attention to themselves in often unhealthy ways. This is the person we think of when we hear the words attention seeking. One of the greatest lessons I learned, from one of my favourite people, was to reframe this concept of attention seeking to connection seeking. What is the difference? Empathy, compassion, and an understanding of what that person might be going through. Some humans grow up in circumstances that do not teach them how to ask for what they need in healthy ways. This shows up in behaviour that can be challenging to manage but if we choose to see the person as needing to find connection versus attention, we can provide them a safe space. It can often feel counterproductive as many of us were taught not cater to negative behaviour. In reality that person needs love and support and not neglect. When we ignore the behaviour instead of taking a curious stance and providing connection, the person in need may become isolated without meaningful relationships. In the most difficult situations, they may choose to end their lives.

Everyone in this community is worthy of love, everyone. Some of us just know how to ask for it in better ways than others. Sadly, if we are not taught healthy interpersonal relationship skills, we can act out in ways that actually take us farther away from the connection we so crave and desire. The following are some tools you can use with the people who you notice are seeking connection in your life. Connect before you correct. This means that before you offer support or a correction you must connect. You can do this via listening, giving a hug, or simply just sitting with someone while they are in pain. You do not have to fix it, agree with it, or even fully understand it. You can simply sit with someone while they are in pain. The Gottman Institute suggested that the three most important words in any relationship should be, “that makes sense.” These three simple words allow someone to be seen and understood. Once someone feels safe, they will be more open to hearing suggestions for growth, change, and even constructive feedback.

When someone wants to connect with you and share a story you can ask, “Would you like me to offer solutions or just listen and support?” This one actually works both ways, one of the best ways we can get what we need when engaging in conversation with others is to state it ahead of time. For example, “I am having a really tough day and it would be helpful if you could just listen for a bit and I will let you know if I need help in problem solving.” This way both parties are primed and ready to know exactly what to do in the scenario, thus lessoning the potential for conversations where needs are misunderstood or not met. Sometimes, the people in our lives may not have the capacity to do this so we can help by asking ahead of time, or gently interrupting the narrative to ask.

It is important to note that healthy boundaries are important. All individuals are worthy of connection, and we must protect ourselves as well. As much as it is important to foster connection, we also need to let people know what behaviours are okay and not okay for us and when we have the capacity to help.

V. Croome Photo

“As much as it is important to foster connection, we also need to let people know what behaviours are okay and not okay for us and when we have the capacity to help.”

The content provided in this article is for information purposes only. It is not meant as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you find yourself in distress, please reach out to your local physician who can provide mental health resources in your community.