In summer 2011, the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network organized the 1st Meet Your Farmer Bike tours in Maritime Canada. Check out this short video!

Jen Greenberg presented this workshop at the 2011 ACORN organic conference and trade show in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  (54 mins)

At ACORN's 2011 organic conference and trade show in Nova Scotia, Cuban permaculturalist Roberto Perez Rivero presented his research and experiences with a permaculture-based Cuban society.  (60 mins)

Farmers' Amy Lounder and Tarrah Young introduce the concepts of root cellaring at the 2011 ACORN organic conference and trade show in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (56 mins)

Urban Agriculture: Learning from Cuba’s Example with Marjorie Willison: Land; Convivial Communities; Commons; Food habits

Keeping Chickens in the City with Louise Hanavan: Chickens; Supplies; Pest control

Presented by Denis LaFrance CETAB+ at the 2015 ACORN Conference PEI

Presented by Estelle Drisdelle at the 2015 ACORN Conference PEI

View slideshow presentation here

In this talk from the 2013 ACORN Conference in Moncton, Alyson Chisolm gives a speedy overview of the many important factors to consider when growing organic vegetables. Topics covered range from choosing a proper site for your garden, to specifics on pest and disease control. Alison does a great job of packing all of this critical information into one short hour.

­Food forest gardening does not mean gardening in a forest, but like a forest. It is an imitation of a woodland ecosystem, focusing medicinal and edible plants that thrive together. Unlike dedicated gardens, they are low maintenance while still offering an abundance of food and medicine. At the 2016 Homesteading Symposium in Dieppe, Estelle Drisdelle shares her insight and years of experience on maintaining food forests and guilds.

At the 2016 Homesteading Symposium in Dieppe, Estelle Drisdelle shares her knowledge of harvesting and preserving local plants. Her presentation explores the variety of healing properties these maritime plants posses and how to reap the benefits.

Having both grown up in the city, Bryan Dyck and Shannon Jones of BroadFork Farm came to realize that their vision of farming included a desire to homestead. Their favorite way to preserve their harvests is through lacto-fermentation. At the 2016 Homesteading Symposium in Dieppe, they presented 3 styles of lacto-fermented vegetables: kimchi, sauerkraut and pickle.

Authored in 2016 by Research Assistant Kathleen Glasgow, paper looks at different types of seed collections, their form, function, and membership. Also explores integration between seed collections and future intentions and aspirations of leaders of community seed collections.

Robin and Rebecca LeBlanc met in Moncton and later moved to Bathurst, where they have been homesteading since now joined with their 3 children. At the 2016 Homesteading Symposium in Moncton, they offered insight of their experiences living off the land including the making of their cob oven, maintaining the green house and poultry, and mushroom logs. The LeBlanc’s strive to balance both their careers as teachers and musicians, and as a result prefer to do large batches of their preserves and dairy in order to have quick access to their bounty year long. Every July they leave their homestead in the hands of a neighbor and are full time musicians for the month.

At the 2016 Homesteading Symposium in Moncton, Alyson Chisholm of Windy Hill Farm explained what options there are for extending your garden’s season and maintaining a continuous harvest.

This report was completed by Research Assistant Shelby Jamieson in 2016. A joint project of ACORN and Carleton University, this report provides a scan of current seed security work, an overview of some potential partnership opportunities, and seed challenges and issues in Newfoundland. This report will be the basis of further consultation in the region, and helps lay the foundation for a program that will help address some identified issues.

This newsletter was developed in March 2016 after a conference call attended by seed library organizers and other interested people. It shares their progress, insights, challenges, and solutions that seed collections right across the region can benefit from, as well as helpful resources.

Part 2 of 2, this newsletter presents additional resources for seed library and seed collection organizers, as well as tips on sourcing seed and fundraising.  

Developed by Seeds of Diversity, this manual is the gold standards of best practices for anyone loooking to set up a community seed bank, or other seed collection focused on conservation of high quality seeds. 

Whether attempting seed saving for the first time, starting a seed collection in the hopes of supporting other seed savers, or simply continuing down a path of lifelong learning about seed production, this bibliography has something for everyone.