LETTErS

Seeds of Food Security

Dufferin’s new landlord

Congratulations to Tom Eisenhauer for acquiring this wonderfully water-rich farmland and preserving the proud history of Honeywood/ Mulmur and its surrounding water table. (“Dufferin’s New Landlord” spring ’14). Formerly Ontario’s only Arctic char farm founder (just south of Honeywood), my father and I experienced firsthand the 1,000-litresper-minute, nourishing cold springs. They were cleansed by nature and meandered across northwest Mulmur. Proximity to market and capital investment for safe and expensive farm equipment will bring employment and needed income for entrepreneurial Melancthon residents and Dufferin County. Dr. Peter Benedict PEng, PhD, from Muskoka, Toronto, and 50-year former farmer at Falling Brook Springs, Mulmur

Thank you for this informative article. I was not able to attend the NDACT meeting in Shelburne on April 5, and this gave me much of the news. I have long anticipated hearing about the future of the former Highlands’ lands within our community. While I still have some concerns, I will say that the greatest ones I held around the safety of our water and the division of our community have softened into relief. Shelley Hannah, Wasaga Beach (formerly Mulmur) Re: Sowing the Seeds of Food Security (spring ’14). I am an Anishinaabe/Ojibwe woman in Ontario. 1. Nowhere have you promoted information about protecting seeds of old plant life foods indigenous to Canada, the United States, Mexico, or Central America. Our old corn, bean and squash seeds need protection, but so do many others. 2. When is your target date to start doing so? 3. Our First Nations thrived on plant life which evolved within the North American climate zones. Why are you only promoting seeds of plants of heirloom varieties sold in grocery stores? 4. If you are ecologically minded, why are you doing this? Phylmarie Fess / Manidoonaateshing-ikwe, from growing zone 5b

Aabir Dey, Ontario regional co-ordinator of the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, responds: Thank you for your thoughtful comments and questions. Learning about seeds from the perspective of indigenous cultures is one of the priorities for our program this year. Today’s farmers and gardeners are indebted to the seed saving and adaptation conducted by indigenous cultures for millennia in Canada and all over the world. We want to honour and respect these efforts.

Our program is just beginning to work with different indigenous groups and organizations across the country. I am interested to hear your perspective on how we can best include and involve indigenous cultures in our work, and also to share with you the steps our program has taken so far. If you would like to speak further, I can be reached at aabir.dey@everdale.org or 519-855-4859 x 103.

Also, Seeds of Diversity Canada maintains a seed library at Everdale where we store samples of varieties of all kinds of seed from all over Canada, and then grow out and share those varieties with other growers so they are continuously in circulation in the country. Information on the crops and varieties being kept at this collection is available at seeds.ca.

Thanks again for your comments and I hope to hear from you.

For he’s a jolly good fellow

Our little gang of Orangeville High School grads of ’49 to ’ 52 are still meeting twice a year since your article “Friends of Their Youth” appeared in the magazine last autumn. At our last gathering we paid tribute to one of our regular attendees, the once notorious Billy Waters. It seems in December our professor emeritus of economics and business from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management was named a member of the Order of Canada “for his engagement in broadening access to higher education for students in Toronto and for his generous support of musicians and arts organizations alike.” We are so proud! Jim Welsh and the Orangeville High School Gang

Bruce Trail birthday

Thanks so much to Nicola Ross for her article on the 50th anniversary of the Bruce Trail (“An Audacious Idea” spring ’14). I think it is excellent and captured the sense of my approach to the whole hiking business. By doing so you have shown it can be an activity that most people can enjoy. When a “novice” walks into a place like Mountain Equipment Co-op, it can be very intimidating and that is the feeling I hope people can avoid. Sometimes it is just a walk in the woods, it’s not an expedition hike.

I have passed on the online link to the article to all the board and some friends, and we’ll have a few hard copies available at our 50th AGM.

Thanks again for such a positive article about hiking and the Bruce Trail. Jean Kerins, President, Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club

in praise of

Inglewood Farmers’ Market

Thank you for the excellent article about local food by Nicola Ross (“Local Food: A Look Back at a Decade of Progress and the Challenges Still Ahead” spring ’14). At the mention of the Inglewood Farmers’ Market – “the little market that could” – I wish by dint of writing to you to praise the intrepid vendors of that little market, which is still in its infancy. Without these persistent people, there is no market.

For the first five years, Roxanne gave us space and safety. There was consistent music by Ross, Randy, Kay Dee and others. There were Paul’s strawberries, Debbie’s honey products, Zak’s veggies, Barb’s preserves, Diane’s plants, Crystal and Kelly’s produce, Neil’s jams, jellies and humour, Julie’s mushrooms and optimism, Mel’s veggies and fruit, Pat and Gord’s beef, John and Miriam’s pork, Bert and Karen’s lamb, Jen’s soup, Steve’s chutney, Rusty’s bagels and garlic, Walter’s perogies, James and Jessica’s sweet corn, Sue and Owen’s veggies and sundries, Pie Man’s pies, Cupcake Girl’s goodies, Al’s fudge, Sausage Girl’s sausages, Bonnie’s native plants.

I haven’t named everyone, I’m sure, but all still are praised.

Started by the entrepreneurial genius of another Karen, it’s the stubborn spirit of these vendors, who must persist through all weather and very low profit margins, that truly supports this endeavour. Although not all these vendors continue at Inglewood, an enthusiastic group remains to entertain and feed.

Spring has sprung! A new season has arrived! Rusty Ephemeris, Caledon

beyond the fitness fad

Great article! (“Beyond the Fitness Fad” spring ’14) As a physiotherapist I see a lot of clients with “sitting-induced” problems. After they are done with physiotherapy and able to train, I’d love to be able to scoot them over to a holistic lifestyle coach such as Nikola Boadway. She is great at motivating people and very well educated. Katrin Happel (web comment)

Thank you very much for article on personal fitness trainers by Nicola Ross which captures what I stand for beautifully. I am very grateful for being featured as one of the trainers and for having the chance to train Nicola a little bit. Nikola Boadway, Palgrave

the right answer is 12

In the puzzle “An In The Hills Two-Minute In-Your-Head Challenge” (spring ’14), question 8 asks: If you write the numbers from 1-20, you will write the number 1 twelve times.

The answer on page 104 says, no, it is 11. But truthfully, it is 12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 • • • • • • • • • • • • Ed Vandersterre, Mono

The editor responds: Mr. Vandersterre is correct, of course. We appreciate his gentle politeness in pointing out what was truthfully a sloppy error on our part.

online in the hills

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