QOL

Viewfield Road is a little off most people's maps, but beside the many warehouses and businesses there is a key player in the regional food system. Executive Director Treska Watson takes us for a walk from the loading bays through all the spaces that ensure so much food is directed and redirected. From farmers' abundance to over-stock, and naturally best-before dates, there is everything from prog...

She has been elected 5 times! Definitely doing something right. Mayor Bard Desjardins has been influential in shaping this township: its mix of housing, its recreational and retail spaces, plus the relationship with the Canadian Navy are part of what makes it work. Mayor Barb reflects on the intentions matched with the natural beauty of the shoreline, waterways, and spectacular views across the St...

I recall participating in retreats here. In this episode we are inside the hand sculpted cob building that is the Healing Sanctuary. Brand Gallagher and I talk more about the Ecovillage and how it came to be. She shares the history of almost 3 decades of learning how to be a community and also a showcase of what is possible.

This is Part Two of my visit to the O.U.R. Ecovillage. Brandy Gallagher shares more about the philosophy of the place, offers a tour of the buildings and systems that make it a showcase of the possible. Come along for a walk and talk.

This is part one of a four episode series. It didn't start that way; it sort of just happened. When opportunity presents itself, you should run with it. Brandy Gallagher gave me two of the greatest gifts: she shared her time and enthusiasm. It has been more than 17 years since my last visit to this intentional community. Located in the hills above Shawnigan Lake (north of Victoria) this place...

Tea & Toast ? The name of Amy Friesen's company caught my attention... maybe yours too? It is a launch pad for conversations about the future. Your future, your loved one's future. Aging does not necessarily mean a diminishment, but if we don't talk about stairs, vision, cognition, then decision-making might just fall from your hands to another. It can rapidly go from "what if...

Who doesn't love a market? A farmers' market is a real community event. In Esquimalt Mel was kind enough to share the history and current progress of the local market. We have a conversation about merchants, music, and shoppers. Sitting right in the same park where the Thursday evening weekly event brings hundreds of individuals, couples, kids, and families we also acknowledge the seasonal...

Come along and meet some wonderful young people. You can hear their hopefulness and enthusiasm. Staying at the EcoVillage they help with the farm and all the chores. Dan was working on installing a green roof, while others were on gardening and animal husbandry duties. Preparation for a free-food dinner in Duncan included a leek soup. The kitchen and communal dining clearly is central to this inte...

What a pleasure to talk to someone who has the ear of airlines; well, if he is brought in to consult and recommend. It is more than getting passengers from A to B to C says Vassilios Georgakopoulos. As an airline consultant he focuses on the inflight experience. Mostly he fixes that gap between what you expect and what is delivered. Not on an individual case by case basis, but the larger system-wi...

Many thanks to Stacy Hornemann for the conversation and opportunity to taste current offerings at Blue Grouse Winery. The views from their reception centre are stunningly perfect. You could spend the day just looking out over the vines to the mountains beyond. But - of course - you are here to sample Ortega, Bacchus, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and other varieties that have been captured and bottles f...

Want to live the dream? Well Julie Powell and Zac Brown are. They are now the team carrying Alderlea Vineyards forward. It is a pretty property with a gentle slope towards the modifying lake water. Make a reservation and you will find such value in understanding the vineyard's history and direction. There is a tasting room and many shaded picnic tables just steps away. This 4200 case production wi...

Where eco-friendly objectives, a philosophy that generates bottles of magic, and tastes/flavours that are unique... what do you have? Holocene Distilling Project is actually not far off the Trans-Canada Highway near Cobble Hill, but under towering evergreens it feels a world away. Go to their website and understand the journey and what they offer and you will be as entranced as I have been. It too...

Prescribing time in nature is something that has come of age. It isn't just a West Coast thing that requires a tie-dyed t-shirt. Dr. Melissa Lem kindly tells us some 20,000 Canadian health professionals agree that to reduce stress, and maybe even extend your quality of life, you need to see, hear, feel, the natural world. After having Meg Carney and Bill Steer on this program it was a natural...

Cornucopia... maybe that's word? Talking with Canadian author Mark Leslie ( Lefebvre ) you can't but recognize his ability to leap from concept to completion. He is a prolific writer of "speculative fiction" and that in itself is very broad topic. Listen along a find out how many books he has penned. This boy from Levack has pursued his love for storytelling. He has thoughts abou...

What a delight to have a conversation with Crystal Shawanda. This blues/rock/jazz performer has power and precision both as a singer and storyteller. Her voice shares stories of the highs and lows of life in a way no one else does. Catch her on tour from coast to coast to coast as she tours this year and into the future. I caught her just before her May 1st show in Knox Hall in Sudbury where she w...

Okay! I'll admit it: talking to Dr. Gerard Courtin is a bit like a walk down Memory Lane for me. A very personal experience perhaps? But there are so many of us who attended his classes, went to labs, did field trips... we followed him up and over blackened hills, and into snowy landscapes. His Arctic/Alpine ecology lectures challenged us to reconsider the industrial damaged environment of Sud...

It's happening this week: a book launch. Melanie Rollins and Lynne Dupuis are ready to welcome you at Place des Arts in Sudbury. Listen along for details. If you can't attend, you can still order a book. It provides a very useful framework to help non-profits with governance as well as being applicable to businesses generally.

We've been wanting to talk for some time: well, here it is. Isaac Harvey speaks about his happier 2026 and the challenges of 2025. He now has secure supportive housing and funding to ensure care. Bestowed with an MBE he may now have even more of voice when it comes to accessibility and possibilities. He takes the trains, he flies, he even has jumped out of an airplane. He is inspirational!

Lived experience can lead to launching a business. "Enable Talent" is more than a business. Amandipp Singh has built a network of people and a platform addressing the employment barriers facing people with disabilities. It empowers and solves challenges. It delivers "value over advice" says Singh. It can also help employers in the hiring journey find great people who have tradi...

Not that we were unconscious, but now we are asking questions and often pushing the travel industry to think about what it offers and the implications of the suite of services. From carbon offsets, to being aware of the potential to raise communities' opportunities, Amy is asking "Why?" when it comes to how the hospitality industry works and the products it entices us with. This conv...

It is a narrower number of passionate people who are involved in all the activities that eventually make wine for you to enjoy. Todd Anderson will install posts and training wire, drive a tractor, watch the grapes grow, harvest, encourage the magic that transforms juice into wine... all this and more. He delights in taking you on the journey that opens your mind to experiences and vocabulary that...

I think it has been a decade since Gil Penalosa and I last recorded a podcast. His work has had input and influence on over 300 cities globally so why does he make Toronto home? What makes Toronto (and Canada) great... and what are the opportunities we seem to be actively missing? Naturally, we talk about transportation, project management (and project mismanagement), tree canopy, play for childre...

In her comprehensive book on the Opioid crisis Reggie Caverson documents the origins, history, and impacts of this pain medication. Designed for end-of-life applications it got wide-spread adoption for other purposes. In a mere 5 or 6 days it could easily become addictive. More importantly she talks about the misguided prescription and misuse of Oxycontin. Caverson sounded the warning 25 years ago...

What is FerryShare? You can hear the passion in Ben's voice as he describes what he has built. He created this readily available app to make your life easier. You can reduce your cost to get to or from Vancouver Island (the Gulf Islands are being added as I write this) by using FerryShare. As a passenger you save; as a driver you too can save. One person in one vehicle is inefficient in so man...

Speaking from Milan Francesco (PhD in Urban Design & Master Planning) tells me it is already +30C in this spring day. Heat crises, non-permeable surfaces, the love of the automobile and so much more are going to have to be replaced by more livable environments. Bringing his learnings and practice in Asia he speaks about a favourite topic: "A Tree is Not a Pin". The landscape should s...