Last year at one of Bowen in Transition's training sessions, the issue of food security on our island came up. Kim Kasasian suggested for Bowen in Transition (BIT) to sponsor a project to increase food security by helping people obtain fruit trees. She worked with Shasta Martinuk, Roberta Hardie and Judy Dale to research and find a supplier. Last week, 15 families purchased 32 trees, with eight more to come. In the process they discovered that there was a lot of support for the idea of growing more food locally.
Thanks for help with the project go to John and Josephine Riley, Aubin van Berckel, Wynn Nielsen, Andre Chollat, Steve Bayly, Brian Hoover, Cathy Buchanan, and special thanks to the Knick Knack Nook for sponsorship. And please forgive us, if we've forgotten anyone. Your help and support was much appreciated.
We are now planning to hold a Pruning your Fruit Trees workshop for new fruit tree owners and all islanders who are interested. We will publicize this workshop as soon as we have nailed down the details.
Because the fruit tree project was so successful, BIT is entertaining the idea of making it even bigger next year and maybe even involving planting on municipal land.
We remain excited about and committed to the idea of increasing local resiliency through a variety of initiatives! Keep tuned-in and watch for other projects in our monthly newsletter that you can receive by contacting [email protected]
Don Marshall and Carol MacKinnon (BIT coordinators)
