At Home on the North Shore Fall 2019

THE

HEARTH & Fall 2019 $4.95

Houseplant Heyday Invest with Mindfulness Hello Haskap, Berry Nice to Meet You!

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SAM HUNTER of

ON OUR COVER: Sam Hunter chills out on the hearth of the stone fireplace that is still under construction in his home in Tidnish. His old-world philosophy of building and bending rules but not craftsmanship was the foundation of his beautiful home tucked in the woods along the Amherst Shore.

PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

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Inside this issue

Vol. 4 Edition 4 Fall 2019

Cover Story

The Inside Story

Departments

16

Sam Hunter charms

10 Houseplant Heyday

7

Editor’s Letter

A red door and a little change Welcome to Fall

Building Beauty old-world style

Indoor gardening tops the trend list

27 Mindful Investments

Put your money where your heart is

At Home with…

30 Nanda Shirke

Artist Kate Georgallas takes us en plein aire

14 Thresholds

Falling into friendship

On the Table

40

12 Off The Wall

Baskets in the background

34 Come ‘Togather’

24 deCoste Performing Arts Centre

A tablescape with a sweet spin on the season

Healthy at Home

26 The Library

40 Hello Haskap

Meet the north shore’s newest fruit sensation

37 Field Notes

Love your litterless lunch

46 A Tale of Crispy Kale

Found Drowned delivers suspense Sara Jewell makes history

50 DIY

44 Nix the Plastics

Your fall entertainment calendar that leaves nothing out!

A bountiful box that will be the centre of attention at your Thanksgiving table

Fall’s best super-charged snack

48 The Nature of Naturopathic Medicine

How to complement your regular health care needs

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The North Shore

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editor’s

LETTER

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PHOTO BY SHAUNA NORTHOVER

M

y Mum is painting the door to her new little house a bright crimson. It’s the colour that will soon ignite my Burning Bush shrubs at the end of my driveway. As I helped her put a second coat on the steel door there was a chill in the air and my feet were cold in my flip-flops. It was quite a shift in temperature from only a few nights ago when I sat on the deck of another family member’s cottage wearing my bathing suit and shorts, sipping wine and telling stories long after the stars filled the sky. As I pulled my brush through the thick paint trying not to drip on the doorknob I had a pang of both sadness and admiration for my Mum. On the other side of this half-ajar door was so much change. There have been many alterations to her life in the last few years and here she was adorning her threshold in a happy hue that said welcome to my new life.

As I learn to embrace more change in my family and work life, I am learning that what most people fear most is not change itself but the uncertainty that comes with it. It’s that place in between where we are just not quite sure what will happen next. It’s up to all of us to decide if that place is going to be uncomfortable or a chance to renew.

September, there is no other month that mingles its beauty with such change, shifting and transition. The melancholy of closing up the cottage or the last game of washer toss at the campground melds into the excitement on new fall schedules and the mouthwatering anticipation of biting into a crisp apple fresh from the orchard.

As my heart tugs at the change that comes to my own household this fall as child number three and first daughter heads of to university, I am trying to reach into the space in between the ending and beginnings where I find a little stillness and opportunity to ready myself for this next leap. I find myself reading more about being change adept and how some people can accept, manage and even yearn for change while others have a hard time changing the cereal they eat for breakfast. I think it’s in the DNA of some people and for others it’s a skill they struggle to achieve that is no different than learning to swim when you naturally sink like a rock.

These days change is met with a high five everywhere you go…well except when it comes to climate. Change Makers, Game Changers are sought after, lauded as visionaries and the ones to Change the World!

As you flip though the pages in this issue you will see and read a celebration for change. “At Home with Nanda Shirke; Being a Friend First” would not even be a story if Nanda and her husband hadn’t made a change in their life and moved to our community 10 years ago. If you have ever thought you wouldn’t enjoy Indian food, Nanda’s recipes, that will be released in our on-line magazine later this month, will definitely change your mind and have you craving curry faster than you can say, “Pass the naan bread.”

From the change of scenery that comes with painting en plein air to the changing trends that have made houseplants and macramé plant hangers cool again to the change of pace of building a home over the span of almost a decade there is lots to shift your mind to as you start to move into another beautiful season on the north shore.

I still need to give my Mum’s door another coat of that crimson paint so what used to be there is covered up. But just like life, there will still be a few little gaps around the hinges or an edge that isn’t perfect that will allow a little peak at what used to be.

No matter how much life changes there are always beautiful layers underneath to remind us of what was there before.

The North Shore

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CONTRIBUTORS

ALLISON GAUDETT is a local design consultant who is ever welcoming the changing of each season and the inspiration with which is brings. The shift to fresh crisp fall air means it’s time to break out the wool sweaters, pumpkin spice, even more pillows and blankets, and edit the home for the shift in lifestyle. Don’t mind if I do!

LORI BYRNE Fall finds me turning to creating a cozier home – lots of plants, textures and layers throughout. The richer colour palette, a wide variety of textures and a warm mug of comfort in my hand makes me happy and ready to hunker down as the temperatures start to dip.

TRACY STUART As we head into the cooler months we think about winding down with greens since the season has passed. This year everything changed for Tracy Stuart, as she’s discovered that All Things Green can remain in your families repertoire regardless of the season thanks to the indoor garden tower. Tracy also holds a Master of Science, Bachelor of Physical Education; she is also a two-time World Champion & Olympic Bronze Medalist in rowing.

PHOTO: STEVE SMITH,VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

SARA JEWELL has great admiration for people who grow, create and raise their own food and homes. Writing about people like Sam Hunter, building his house by himself, and Joe Piotti and Stephanie Banks who established a haskap berry farm allows her to live her DIY dreams vicariously. Sara hopes others are inspired by those who make their dreams a reality, and admits it’s not really as hard as she thinks it is. Sara is the author of Field Notes: A City Girl’s Search for Heart and Home in Nova Scotia.

Her Field Notes column appears exclusively in At Home.

AMY PUNKÉ For the past six years Dr. Amy Punké, has been practicing as a licensed Naturopathic Doctor on the beautiful North Shore of Nova Scotia. With her earlier education in acute care as a Respiratory Therapist, Dr. Punké’s healthcare training has spanned almost 20 years taking her to Arizona, Toronto and now back to her hometown of New Glasgow. Dr. Punké explores how naturopathic medicine can benefit you and your family as we head into the cooler months.

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DEBBI HARVIE The smell of wood stoves burning is just around the corner, a sure sign that my favourite season is fast approaching. You’ll see me hugging my pumpkin-spiced latte as I crunch the leaves under my feet and revel in the beauty we are so lucky to call home.

In this edition, I share what I have learned about Responsible Investing and how to align your investments with your values. I hope you enjoy the read!

SARAH BUTLAND A fun-filled and chaotic summer is drawing to a close. Months of meeting new friends, including Nanda Shirke and reading great books (see my review of Found Drowned), the importance of connecting and socializing outside of social media was evident. The value of what is offered throughout Pictou County in real life is outstanding, welcoming and should be experienced by all.

STEVE SMITH is a commercial photographer with VisionFire Studios in Pictou Nova Scotia, shooting features and covers throughout Atlantic Canada.

The North Shore

INSIDE STORY

houseplant Indoor gardening tops the trend list

BY LORI BYRNE PHOTOS BY LORI GOODWIN-CHAPMAN

heyday T

here is a strong trend in the home décor realm that incorporates house plants into the design aesthetic. It seems every home on Instagram, Pinterest and Houzz has plants in it these days! I’m not complaining, a home filled with plants seems to be filled with life.

I’m not an expert but I’d say there was a similar trend back in the 70s, too. You can keep your avocado stove, but I’ll keep the plants, thank you. Having grown up in a home that had houseplants, I still love being surrounded by them. When I see the varieties my mother had gracing our windowsills, it brings me back to my childhood and makes me smile. I’m passing that love of plants on to my children as our home is filled with plants too, some of which don’t belong to me.

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Houseplants are not only good for the design of a home, but they also are helpful in providing you with cleaner air to breathe, too. Certain plants, such as Boston Ferns, Spider plants and Snake plants are great air purifiers, with the addition of being plants that are relatively easy to keep alive.

My only word of caution about bringing plants into your home is to be aware of what plants are poisonous to your small children or your pets. If you are buying plants, ask the staff at the store for that information.

In Ingrid Fetell Lee’s book, Joyful, she talks about visiting the apartment of Summer Rayne Oakes, who filled her loft with over 670 plants. On a hot summer’s day, the plant-filled space was cool and inviting, an urban escape to a hectic life. She talks about studies having been done that show that being around houseplants can help boost creativity and free the mind, as well as lower blood pressure, and improve attention. Having plants in your home also makes you more aware of your surrounding – the light coming through the windows, the sun and the direction your windows face.

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I spoke with Lori Goodwin-Chapman, a Pictou County native who runs the Instagram account @leaf_as_we_know_it, a plant-filled account with the rare appearance of her pooch. She first started with one lone plant that was gifted to her by her husband. “I did some research on how to care for it, and once it started growing and thriving, I was hooked.” Hooked might be an understatement as at last count, her plant count landed somewhere in the range of 160, but she’d guess she’s closer to 200 now. Lori started out with succulents and cacti and they remain her favourite; she’s drawn to the strange and uniquelooking plants.

Lori offered up this tip to those of us with plants in our homes: Routine!! Cacti and succulents especially love routine because ‘too much care’ is often the cause of death.

The North Shore has lots of fabulous places to buy good quality houseplants and everyone was quite willing to recommend their favourite local shop.

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The North Shore

K

PHOTO BY CRYSTAL MURRAY

OFF the WALL

A FRESH BREATH Plein Aire painting opens the door to a whole new world of expression

BY CRYSTAL MURRAY PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

The North Shore

ate Georgallas is waiting for me on the front steps of the verandah that wraps around her turn-of-the-century farmhouse outside of Antigonish. Behind her is an old upright piano. The front face has been removed exposing the hammer rail and strings.

A collection of Christmas cactus are perched on the top of the cabinet soaking up the early August heat. She’s all smiles and welcoming as a little breeze lifts her strawberry blonde hair off her shoulders. The entire scene looks like a painting. It’s a perfect day to talk about painting in the great outdoors, which is funny because it was outside on a ladder when her life in the little university town began.

Kate has been an artist for most of her life. She grew up in Moncton and obtained both a Fine Arts and Education degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and earlier a degree in Theatre from the University of Ottawa. By happenstance she ended up in Antigonish when she was asked to paint a dragon mural on the side of a main street restaurant. During the project she caught the attention of a young man who was concerned for her many trips up and down the ladder with her paints. His name was Alex and they have been married for more than 25 years.

Love and opportunity kept Kate in the Antigonish community. While pursuing her own work she joined the art faculty at StFX University. She jokes that over the years she has taught almost every art course that was ever offered. Kate says that teaching has kept her grounded and she appreciates the special opportunity of working with the many different artists that work at the university. “We are not all full-time profs but we are all full-time artists so it gives us the chance to share our ideas,” she says.

Kate’s work has become very recognizable both for her style and subject matter. She works in a variety of mediums and it’s evident that her love for stained glass work shows up in her painting with defined shapes and forms. Her landscape paintings, she says in an artist statement from a recent exhibit, “are single viewpoint mostly evoking a solitary presence that are for the most part uninhabited and natural.”

With such a strong connection to nature there is no surprise to Kate’s fascination with the

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Plein Air movement, where artists take their art outside, abandoning the confines of their often solitary studios, to capture the light as it really exists and rub elbows with other like-minded artists.

En plein air is a French term that translates literally as “in the open air.”

It was first explored by the French impressionist painters and was at that time considered revolutionary. While it was initially self-fulfilling, the approach to painting opened the doors to a whole new world. In the early 1800s, prior to the invention of cameras, artists in the United States ventured into the interior of the country and gave people their first glimpse at the wilds of North America.

The original Plein Air painters have been referred to as some of the first environmentalists and naturalists.

In recent years Plein Air painting has become one of the greatest artists’ movements in history. In many cases Plein Air is a lifestyle moving beyond the sole artist bringing their paint and canvas outside to conventions and juried events all over the world.

“It’s become addictive for a lot of artists,” says Kate of her own experiences. “It is a highly focused discipline. It’s those moments when you capture the light, capture the scene. Light is so ephemeral. It changes one moment to the next. It’s very different from the studio. I can often lose my sense of time. It’s in those moments when I am at my most creative. It would be interesting to see a scan of an artists brain when they are painting this way. There are so many things going on I would imagine the scan lighting up!” says Kate.

While Kate explains the practice of painting in the studio as more poetic with opportunity for more editing she says that painting outside becomes an experience beyond what is happening on the canvas and for her it is everything she is sensing at the time culminating with a story. She says that she doesn’t have favourite Plein Air paintings but she does have favourite stories that have become part of each piece she has

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created. I am not just making a painting I am creating mini encounters.”

Kate picks up her painter’s box that she uses specifically for Plein Air. She fiddles with the tripod underneath that will hold her easel. “Lot of artists have fancy gear,” she laughs. “I keep it pretty simple.”

We head up a path in the meadow behind her home that she keeps mowed for such sojourns. She sets up her easel

and looks downhill at her farm house.

There isn’t time for her to put in a new painting so she brings a canvas that she completed a few weeks previously when the lupins were still in bloom. The breeze blows her hair and she tucks it behind her ear. “I would normally tie my hair back and wear a hat,” she says, and we laugh at the mocked up scene of pretending to paint en plein air.

Kate is known for recognizable landscapes like these paintings of Cribbons Beach, Antigonish.

The North Shore

THRESHOLDS The art of a Basket Wall STORY AND PHOTOS BY LORI BYRNE

Basket walls are a great way to add some texture and interest to your home. Any collection, when displayed en masse can add emphasis to it. The variety of baskets available to showcase makes collecting the baskets a joy!

Baskets can be a great souvenir to bring home from your travels, they pack easily into a suitcase and you don’t have to worry about them breaking like pottery might. Other places to look for potential basket options are in the serving sections of home décor stores and of course, your favourite thrift stores can be a great source without breaking the bank!

The key to a stunning basket wall is a variety of sizes, textures and if you want, colour, too. Odd numbers display better than even numbers, it tends to be more pleasing to the eye. You can fill that awkward wall above the staircase, do a display over a piece of furniture or fill an entire wall.

The best way to figure out how you want to display your baskets is to start by laying them out on the floor and moving them around until you have a configuration that makes sense for the wall space. Basket wall arranging is very free-form – the more organic and asymmetrical, the better!

Need to see some inspiration for your own basket wall? You won’t have to look much further than Pinterest or Instagram – there are so many well-executed basket walls!

The North Shore

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The North Shore

COVER STORY

Sam Hunter stands on the front porch of the house he built in the middle of 25 acres on his father’s property in Cumberland County.

When he’s not finishing the interior of his home or building homes for other people, Sam relaxes by working in his gardens.

The North Shore

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Building

beauty The Old-World Style of SAM HUNTER

BY SARA JEWELL • PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

T

he slate fireplace is about a third finished. The floor is concrete and doors and appliances sit up three-quarters of an inch awaiting hardwood to be laid. None of the three bathrooms are completed.

Yet when you step into Sam Hunter’s home, hidden in a field of wildflowers along Oxley Brook in Tidnish Crossroads, you don’t notice any of those things.

What you see is what he has accomplished since he began building his 2700-square foot home in September 2014.

When he realized getting a university degree wasn’t for him, Sam travelled the world and worked on a kibbutz in Israel, then returned to Canada to work on the Bluenose II. After thirteen years living and working in Lunenburg, Sam returned to the place he was born and raised with a toolbox full of skills and knowledge acquired over nearly twenty years.

“I was building all these nice houses [around Lunenburg] but I never thought I’d get to build this,” Sam said. “Coming back here was the first step. Summertime locals hired me for a post-and-beam renovation so once I knew I could support myself through the winter, I decided to stay.”

Sam eventually accumulated enough work to see him through his first three years.

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The North Shore

Sam named his secluded woodland home Hidden Hemlocks.

He designed the house himself, right down to the placement of plugs and light switches, and managed to do most of the building on his own. “I’ve had a lot of people offer help [with the building] but I haven’t wanted it because this is my project.”

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COVER STORY

Sam’s long-term project is building a floor-to-ceiling fireplace using shale rock he’s sorted and stacked outside his back door. As someone who enjoys solving problems, Sam revels in the challenge of selecting the rocks and figuring out how to get them inside (he built a special crane and wagon).

It took him three and a half months to get the exterior of his house finished, and he worked on the interior during that first winter until it was ready to move into the following spring. At the same time, he was working on other people’s houses for at least forty hours a week.

“In my first three-and-a-half years here, I achieved an astronomical amount even by my own standard,” he said. “It was 14 to 16-hour days just because I needed a place to live and I needed to work to finance it.”

Sam is perfectly honest about how he gained his skills: working alongside a boat builder, a stonemason and a carpenter.

“People ask me if I’m a carpenter and I say I’m a builder; I like being honest. I have no schooling, no Red Seal, no ticket, but I’ve been fortunate in the people I’ve worked with, and I think it’s safe to say I have an aptitude for it.”

After years of building other people’s houses, Sam was able to give his aptitude, and his imagination, free reign by designing his own house.

That’s part of the reason he is doing as much of the work as possible by himself, but another reason is the way he builds.

As an example, he gestures to the pine ceiling in his kitchen and dining room and explains that in traditional building, the rule is the splices have to hit the trusses and the studs.

“I don’t do that,” he says. “I always take them off the studs; that way, it off-sets the splices, and I find if anything’s out at all, it straightens it.

That’s one of the rules most people will tell you has to be followed and I just ignore it completely.”

Not following the rules doesn’t mean he’s cutting corners and doing shoddy work, however; Sam has high standards and while he doesn’t really have a ‘philosophy’ of building, he says he likes to learn and be challenged.

“I certainly put my heart and soul into any project I do because I want it to be good. I always worry things won’t be good enough for the people I’m working for.”

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The North Shore

The same eye for detail that selects wood also chooses light fixtures, pottery mugs, and the shiny pots hanging in the kitchen.

Sam says doing the work himself, and paying as he goes, means he had plenty of time to make the right decision about choosing black granite countertops for the kitchen.

Doing his best is reflected in his strong feelings about the materials he uses.

“I like natural wood so I use tongue-and-groove boards. Any of the century homes that are one hundred, two hundred years old, are all boarded in and that’s how I build,” said Sam. “In my opinion, natural wood is better, and it works for me. I’m certainly not going to change that part of how I go about things.”

Ultimately, it’s the small details that make Sam’s work stand out.

When selecting the exposed beams for his kitchen, living room and loft, Sam simply went down the road to Francis Verstraten’s mill in Lorneville and discovered red and white pine beams that had been sitting in Francis’s workshop for several years.

“That worked perfectly for me,” says Sam. “You can see the grey, and the wane, which is the bark, still left on them. They’re starting to discolour because of the moisture that gets into the log and that’s exactly what I was looking for. For a lot of people who want milled pine, they want the clear, nice pine. I want the character.”

Erecting a post-and-beam house by himself presented some challenges for Sam – like how to get the huge beams up to the vaulted ceiling in the living room.

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COVER STORY

“I had all the furniture pushed to one side and the staging on the other. I got the first beam by the dormer but I knew I couldn’t hold it. It went down, bounced off the staging and landed on the floor without hitting anything. I poured a glass of wine, sat on the step and came up with a different plan,” he says with a smile. “Once you figure out how to do things, it’s relatively easy. It’s the figuring out that is the challenge.”

He applies the same strategy to the creation of the

floor-to-vaulted-ceiling fireplace. He figures it will take him twenty years to finish it but it’s the perfect example of Sam’s old-world qualities: patience, problem-solving, and an appreciation of all things handmade.

Instead of leaving a pile of shale in the backyard, Sam sorted and stacked the pieces of shale by the backdoor.

“Stacking it up does two things for me: It allows it to be accessible in the winter and it allows me to see what I have.”

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The North Shore

COVER STORY

And since he’s building it by himself, he designed a crane on a wheeled platform to do the heavy lifting. A wagon brings the rock inside.

“That’s part of the fun, trying to manoeuvre and get things inside that I shouldn’t be able to do. It’s a learning curve, and seeing what I can get away with.”

He’s emboldened by both his successes and his failures, and driven by his passion for building good-quality homes that will stand the test of time.

“Right now, after six years, I’m where I thought I’d be in 11 or 12 so in that respect, financially and with what I’ve finished, I’m well ahead of anything I’d imagined,” Sam says. “Then again, seven years ago, I never thought I’d be able to build this.”

CONCRETE REASONS FOR GEOTHERMAL HEATING Sam Hunter installed a slab-on-grade concrete floor that doubles as his heating system (radiant floor heating).

Sam says he chose a geothermal system because it is the cheapest and most efficient way to heat a home, even one as large as his.

Sam explains how his system works: “I have five 200-foot trenches outside that go three feet in front of my deck down to the treeline. They come into the utility room where the geothermal unit is. I have a buffer tank which the geothermal unit keeps hot.

There are thermostats in each room, including the bathrooms, all controlled independently. When any of those rooms call for heat, the buffer tank will feed those rooms.”

Sam sets his thermostat at 22 degrees, and says generally, the temperature inside the house stays close to that, although it will drop on a cold, windy night, and it will rise slightly on a hot summer day.

“Coming in on a cold day when I’m chilled to the bone from being outside – and I take off my boots and socks to walk on the warm floor – I don’t think there’s anything besides a hot bath that will take the chill out of you as quickly,” Sam says.

As someone who creates with his hands, Sam appreciates the time and effort that goes into creating a work of art so he has a growing collection of locally-made quilts, and every painting in his home was done by his mother, Ruth Brown.

The North Shore

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October

a celebration of east coast songwriters

with

95% SOLD

THE LIBRARY

Found Drowned Kept Me In Suspense A REVIEW BY SARAH BUTLAND

Based on a true story, this first novel of Laurie Glenn Norris is hauntingly beautiful. Set between Cumberland County, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Glenn Norris captures the essence of an unsolved murder from 1877 that links both of these communities.

When a body washes up on shore and is discovered by two young boys on Prince Edward Island, the community comes together to first conclude she did not belong to them and then to put in an effort to lay her to rest.

Flipping through time to connect us with both families, the story offers intrigue, character development and a glimpse of the past while making us ask questions of a story that may never be solved. It was an easy way to travel back to a time of horses and train rides while it was difficult to imagine a murder so heartbreaking.

Although Found Drowned is Glenn Norris’ first novel, as resident of River Herbert, Nova Scotia she is an historian and author of non-fiction pieces and award-winning books. Hopefully Found Drowned will not be the last of her novels as it brings light to the history that makes our province interesting and widens her audience with its beauty.

Confessing in a GoodReads write-up that it took her more than 25 years to write, it was well worth the wait in my opinion though I hope it doesn’t take that long for Glenn Norris to write another one.

INSIDE STORY

I

f you’re like most people, you find it difficult to scroll through social media sites without learning someone’s opinion on pivotal social or environmental issues, both locally and abroad.

Perhaps you are even one of those proponents, sharing information and guidance surrounding these issues. If so, good for you!

Social media and the internet are wonderful tools that allow us to educate and express ourselves in ways never before dreamed. But, if you are someone who spends a lot of your time thinking about, speaking about, and sharing information about social and environmental issues, perhaps it’s time to take a look at how you can take steps to make an impact in these areas yourself; by putting your money where your mouth …or your heart is.

Environmental awareness has never been so heightened as it is now with the ability to consume as much information as humanly possible about issues at home and abroad. But what role can you play in helping to alleviate some of these issues?

It can start with simply buying local from your farmer’s market or supporting local coffee shops or cafés that give you the reassurance of knowing where your food is coming from and the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting your neighbours.

Our ideations and values can drive our decision-making and actions, but it can go far beyond just retail purchases, and into the realm of investments with Responsible Investing.

RI is a new concept that has evolved from our ever-growing socially conscious world, but how easy is it to make your investments mirror your values and still see your money perform?

It will take time and it will take effort, but the rewards will outweigh the work.

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Put your money where your

heart

How to invest with mindfullness Responsible Investing What is Responsible Investing, exactly?

Simply put, Responsible Investing is the ability to incorporate environmental, social, and governance factors into the selection and management of your investments, also known as ESG. Why is this important? Because it can not only lead to better financial returns and reduced exposure to risk, but it can also contribute to positive social and environmental impacts that align with your own personal values. RI includes shareholder engagement, thematic investing, ESG integration, negative screening, positive screening, and impact investing.

By this point you’re probably finding the number for your investor and figuring out how to split your funds so that you can begin investing in your values and feel good about making a difference. I know it’s tempting, but keep reading before you reach for the phone.

Something you need to keep in mind is that the concept of Responsible Investing is new and it’s not as simple as making a phone call and forgetting about it.

RI has only been growing in popularity over the last decade, meaning most investors, especially the more seasoned ones, don’t have all of the details at their fingertips. Research and digging by both brokers, and those looking to make the investment for you will be required to make a successful leap into RI.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY COLIN COOK

is

BY DEBBI HARVIE

“You have to understand the product, benefits, and risks,” explains David Whittemore, Financial Services Investment Advisor for Manulife Securities Inc.

Where do you start?

How and where do you start with RI? How easy is it to make your money match your values?

First of all, you need to narrow down what it is you are passionate about. Is it the environment? What about human rights? Or food scarcity? Narrowing down which area you want to begin researching will help your zero in on the companies that really align with your true values.

Once you know which area you want to begin with, next comes the research.

It may seem like a daunting task, but think of all of the time you spend writing status updates or sharing news articles about the environment. Now you can direct that energy into tangible results.

As Whittemore notes, here’s where you start: “You need to understand and look at a company’s financial statements, their future plans, how they generate revenue, what investments they hold, etc.”

It’s one thing to say you want to invest in clean water, but once you start doing your research, you discover that the company you intended to invest in has holdings in oil or has exposure to military arms, for example, the sin stocks, something you are abhorrently against.

The North Shore

Don’t get discouraged. This is a good thing when you unearth this information, because it means that you didn’t take a leap and regret investing in a company that was against your values.

Like I mentioned before, it’s not going to be easy, but how focused and deep you go in your research depends on how committed you are to supporting your values.

Some information will be readily available on company websites, like the number of women in executive roles, or how much money was devoted to deforestation. But you will need to dig deeper. Look into the products, read reviews, pick up the phone and start asking the questions you want answers to.

It might be easier in the beginning to start with investing in Mutual Funds. This will give you a taste of different ESG investments so that you can get a feel for how it works and the kind of return you might expect.

Once you become more comfortable with RI, you can begin investing in companies or Community Investment Funds. The options are abundant depending on your goals and how closely you want to match your money with your values. And as with any investment, you need to determine how much risk you are prepared to take before jumping in.

Whittemore says, “It is incredibly important when looking at RI to determine your comfort of risk level and time horizon.

“RI is a very interesting part of the market because it is constantly changing.” Which means there are always opportunities to grow and get deeper into RI. The more people pursue RI, the more companies will begin to listen and change their methods or sources of income to align with what the investors want. And it can begin right at home.

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How to keep it close to home Are you ready to put your money where your mouth is? Why not start locally?

Although there is no clearly defined list of companies that align with ESG, a simple Google search will open the door to local companies that are doing great things that align with your values.

For example, if you are interested in investing in clean energy, you can begin by searching for companies in Nova Scotia that provide wind, turbine, solar, or other forms of power.

A quick search of solar energy companies in Nova Scotia brings up a Community Economic Development Corporation looking for investors.

From there, you can comb through their website and see they have a Board of Directors where women make up 33 percent of the board. You can also see that this particular investment may be a high-risk, longer-life investment because of the nature of the business.

From there, search out the products, reviews, and pick up the phone to ask about the information you can’t find.

The best thing to do, says Whittemore, is, “Do your research, and create a list of possible companies that you want to invest in, and then once you have that list, see your broker and go over the research you have compiled together to determine the best fit to align with your values and your goals. RI is a way to make an investment and make a difference while also getting that return on your investment.”

It’s not something you can do overnight. It will take time, and it will take patience, but the feeling of knowing your money is out there helping make the world a better place while also earning you some sweet dividends is reward enough.

If you take the time to do your research, you can very easily put your money where your mouth is!

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GLOSSARY Responsible Investing: Responsible Investing is the ability to incorporate environmental, social, and governance factors into the selection and management of your investments.

ESG: Environmental, social, and governance (in relation to Responsible Investing options or values).

Community Investment Funds: These include things like local windfarms where you can invest smaller amounts of money while still making a difference locally. These tend to be longer-life investments.

Community Economic Development Corporation: Is a corporation that actively elicits community involvement when working with government, and private sectors to build strong communities, industries and markets.

Comfort of risk level: This is how comfortable you are with losing money. Are you willing to put your money in high-risk investments where the reward could be great, but so could the loss? Or low-risk investments where you may make less money but there is also less chance of losing money?

Time Horizon: This refers to the amount of time you are comfortable with your money being tied up in investments.

Long-life investments: These investments can take five- 10- or 15 years down the road before dividends are paid out.

Mutual Funds: A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities.

Shareholder Engagement: This refers to the ability of a shareholder or investor to be included in analyst conference calls, quarterly earnings calls or annual general meetings.

Thematic Investing: Thematic Investing (TI) develops portfolios that benefit from long-horizon investment themes across the globe. TI’s in-depth research informs a view on how innovations in technology and business models, or demographics will impact industries and companies – in some cases decades into the future.

Negative Screening: means excluding companies that do not comply with specific, pre-set social or environmental criteria.

Positive Screening: Positive (or affirmative) screening means that rather than excluding companies, investors select companies that set positive examples of environmentally friendly products and socially responsible business practices.

Impact Investing: refers to investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return.

The North Shore

Nanda soaks up the sun in her shimmering orange sari that she purchased on one of her visits home to India. In her lap she holds a Masala Dabba. The circular canister is filled with small cups containing her family’s favourite spices. The Masala Dabba is a mainstay in every Indian kitchen and are often passed down through generations.

NANDA

PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

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AT HOME WITH...

friend

being a

first

BY SARAH BUTLAND

W

hen AJ Shirke was hired by Sobeys as an IT Specialist he moved to the county six months before his wife, Nanda, made the move. On one of his voyages back to Toronto he returned with a pamphlet that would change their lives dramatically.

The offering contained information from our local Multicultural Association of Pictou County from the New Glasgow Library and Nanda was hooked. Just one week after moving to the community she met with the association and her introduction to the county began.

The family originally landed in Toronto from overseas in February, for the first time in Canada, before moving to Nova Scotia two years later. They were not prepared, buying their jackets in the Middle East in anticipation of our winters they are celebrating the warm days of Canadian summers and have since bulked up their winter wardrobes.

Celebrating their tenth year in Pictou County on July 1st, Nanda was hesitant to make the move in the beginning and did face challenges but has since found her home here. Moving with her teenage son and husband, they decided to stay because they found the perfect work-life balance and made incredible friends.

Nanda, who is now co-chairing for the Multicultural Association of Pictou County (MAPC) also works as an English as an Additional Language teacher with the Celtic Family of Schools, helping new immigrants adapt to our school system and learn English. On top of volunteering for the association, being a teacher has helped Nanda connect with students, parents and educational professionals to integrate herself into the region.

Often hearing about how unfriendly the county and Nova Scotia is as a whole when it comes to welcoming “come-from-aways,” Nanda stresses the importance of a different perspective. Being active and involved in the community has been vital in ensuring her place in the community so she has joined a local book club, introduced herself to wonderful neighbours and volunteered wherever and whenever possible in a variety of capacities.

A few favourite family recipes “I have learned that you have to belong to a place to make it your that Nanda loves to share; own. You have to contribute towards the building of the community Chick Pea Curry, you dream of. Get involved. Connect with your neighbours. You

Palak Paneer,

Cucumber Yoghurt Raita Mango Lassi 31 -

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The North Shore

AT HOME WITH...

Nanda dips a slice of naan bread into the Cucumber Raita. Yoghurt is a staple in Indian cooking and is used to make certain dishes creamier and helps to turn down the heat on some spicier dishes.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

For Nanda’s recipes, visit our website for special on-line exclusives on

OCTOBER 1 have to get our there and be a friend first. You have to be equally involved in the process of being welcomed. Share about your culture (local library, churches, etc.) You might not always have an equally welcoming response 100 percent of the time... but you have to go on,” says Nanda.

As a practicing Hindu from India, moving between a few of the 26 Indian provinces as well as the Middle East throughout her life, the challenges she and her family faced integrating into life in Pictou County seem small in comparison to her other moves they have made in their lifetime. Not having a Hindu Temple close by, she regularly visits the Hindu Temple-Vendanta Ashram Society and has been to Hindu Temple of Nova Scotia in Frankville.

Having a designated area in her own home and celebrating all cultures, including her own, has eased some of these obstacles.

Within the 26 provinces, the country has eleven official languages and Nanda speaks four languages from India, being able to read and write three of them, on top of the English she has learned in Canada.

Having to travel to Halifax for Indian food staples such as flour for Roti and a preferred rice, plus vegetables such as zucchini, lentils, gourds, and fresh coconut, she still finds a lot of Canadian food bland but has modified some to be spicier and more like The North Shore

home. Nanda does have new favourites such as strawberry shortcake and supports local when she can. She has developed a taste for biscuits from several of the local bakeries and she visits a nearby farm and the market in the summer for the family supply of vegetables. Seafood chowder is also a new favourite, not needing to add anything to it to make it delicious and Nanda adores Canadian breads.

Authentic Roti and Naan breads from India differ from what’s available in our stores so are made regularly in the Shirke household but our own staple of bread is something the family adores as an alternative!

Buying an occasional meal from a local restaurant, especially the Shree Curry food truck, also helps remind Nanda of home and makes it easier for the days she doesn’t want to cook. Those days do not come often, however, as she is very fond of cooking food from all cultures, bringing the dozen different cuisines she knows from India.

With the opening of Balai – A Taste of Home Filipino and Asian Food Mart in Stellarton, foods from other countries and cultures are becoming more accessible in Pictou County and Nanda has hope a shelf for Indian foods will be made available soon.

Nanda has been involved in supporting the new families from Syria that have been resettling in Pictou

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County. She acknowledges that her experience and how she came to Pictou County was different, but she can appreciate the struggles they have simply with understanding differences in culture. She sees this in her teaching when newcomers seem to have a fear of approaching teachers or speaking up and that her students are not all used to the idea that teachers can be asked for additional help or just to share a story with.

Understanding each other, being patient, creating opportunities and celebrating the growing cultural experiences in Pictou County has become ingrained in almost all aspects of Nanda’s life. Her work with the Multicultural Association allows her to continue to elevate this philosophy. From international potlucks, cooking classes and the Fusion Festival plus the celebration of Diwali, Eid, which is celebrated by Muslims and is also called the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” has allowed the Shirkes the opportunity to not only celebrate their own special customs but to share in the many other expressions of culture that are surfacing in the region.

Nanda feels it is important to understand that the Multicultural Association of Pictou County is for everyone. “It’s not only Hindu’s that get together, it’s all the people from Syria, Muslims, and also local folks join us,” because it’s not only for international cultures but our own as well. Their celebrations of life and international holiday’s offers tremendous value

with respect to understanding the world and its differences.

“Everyone is okay to come, and enjoy the spicy food offered by the ever-growing potluck events,” she says Like most people who move far from family there is a longing for parents, sibling and relatives that are far away. Nanda has made several trips home, too. This summer her sister was able to visit the county for the first time and Nanda continuously encourages her to move closer as she knows it would not be easy for her.

AJ now has his own business with a Department of National Defence contract out of Halifax, travelling back and forth through the week, and their son lives in Halifax but Pictou County is home. Nanda is impressed with the progress being made with respect to the availability of Indian food in the county and hopes the popularity will inspire someone to open an Indian-focused restaurant soon.

While Nanda enjoys flip flops, she hesitantly admits to enjoying the mix of seasons available in Canada. This is the first time in her life that she has been fortunate enough to live in her own home and have space of her own. “I don’t think you can own a beautiful home like this anywhere outside of Pictou County without paying a lot more money. So much light, it’s beautiful with so much light. This is like a dream place and that makes it home. This is home.”

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The North Shore

ON THE TABLE

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

For Allison’s recipes, visit our website for special on-line exclusives on

OCTOBER 1 The North Shore

Texture and subtle colour – as varied as the basket collection and mixed marble/wood place setting – beckon to guests to come, sit, and stay.

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BY ALLISON GAUDETT PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

A

Some of Allison’s fall favourites...

Mini Pumpkin Muffins Candied Bacon Egg Cups Maple Latte Charcuterie Board

s the view beyond the window pane shifts from summer’s vivid hues of green to autumn’s abundant warm tones, inevitably so too does the mood within the home itself.

The ever-brief Maritime indoor-outdoor living comes hastily to an end as the warm breeze adds its cold snap and the windows and doors get shut up tight. Intuitively for most locals this is not a sad ending but rather a quarterly deviation in both lifestyle and pace. An opportunity to re-imagine ones self, surroundings, and company.

Fall looks, smells, tastes and feels drastically different from one person to the next.

Childhood memories, experiences, and inspirations drive the interpretation of the season, which absolutely lends to why entertaining, decor and comfort foods from one household to the next should reflect just that. Keeping in mind there is no ‘right’ way to celebrate the season of gathering – beyond that very action – consider how you might tailor this year to suit your personal preferences.

Get Inspired Pumpkins, scarecrows, pinecones, Mums… all excellent go-tos to transform your home or elevate a tablescape for the next dinner party this season. But if those don’t resonate with you, get creative with your source for inspiration. Perhaps a cherished piece of art or favourite table runner can drive the scheme, or the colours from a favourite fall family recipe. Switch gears from standard fall items altogether and

layer textures and colours that feel like fall for you – handwoven baskets, wool, woods, leather, mixed metals, etc.

Consider Colour Often the pallet for fall decor is assumed – the colour of its defining changing leaves, harvest bounty, or its eerie mood. These key elements certainly speak loudly to fall but the otherwise traditionally ‘off season’ colours don’t automatically need to be excluded if they resonate with your personal inspiration. Consider soft hues of pink playing nicely with the deep shades of purple in this season’s vegetation. Or soft robin’s egg blue, often found in spring pallets, feeling right at home paired with any of the gorgeous shades our local maple syrups take evolving from translucent golds all the way to opaque deep mahoganies.

Fuss Free Foods Thanksgiving is a safe bet for everyone getting together during this season. But it doesn’t have to start and stop there. Hearty stews, layered charcuterie boards, tasty pumpkin pastries and lattes don’t have to be labour intensive but can equally lure company in to stay awhile.

Sacrificing Style Simplistic, casual dining does not mean sacrificing on style.

Intentional attention to detail can elevate the most basic get togethers and evoke specific moods. Without necessarily costing anything might I add, if you shop your home. Think layering wood cutting boards, natural stone

Gather

come to 35 -

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ON THE TABLE

elements, mixing glass with ceramic dinnerware, incorporating linens, mixed metals, etc.

Central Piece With a set table, the

Layering mixed finishes – tableware, wood, slate, metals, textures and colour – lends to this gathered decor style.

eye inevitably goes to a central hanging fixture and directly down to the decor moment beneath. Whether you splurge on a fresh bouquet to suit your decor style, arrange local produce in a salvaged dough bowl, or mix heights and metals with candlesticks, the centrepiece is both the focal point and finishing touch to every table.

By curating a style within your home that feels authentic to you and your interpretation of fall, this season will without doubt have you more than happy to stay inside. Family and friends could however feel the same about your haven and be knocking on the door.

Better turn the coffee pot on.

comfort food Oven-ready Apple Pork Roast Comfort food is a staple for anyone wanting a hearty meal and a little taste of home.

Try this comforting classic tonight.

dress it up

A ROUX is the perfect way to thicken your liquids (such as gravy) and keeps your sauces from becoming lumpy.

With equal amounts of butter to flour, melt butter (or fat) in a saucepan and whisk in flour until smooth.

Allow it to bubble for at least 1 minute while mixing.

For a blonde roux, allow it to cook a minute or so.

For a dark roux, cook the flour/fat mixture longer while whisking, until it reaches a golden dark caramel color.

Pour roux into the drippings of the roast and you will not be disappointed.

2578 Westville Road | (902) 755-3260 or Denmark The North Shore

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T

he phone rang one evening in mid-February and I recognized the name on the display. It was Kendall Mills, the director of The Church Mouse Players, a popular, long-running community dinner theatre group in Oxford, NS. I knew why he was calling.

“It’s a small part,” Kendall told me. “Just 29 lines but I think it’s perfect for you.”

When I said yes, I became a part of history. The April 2019 production was Kendall’s 30th. The volunteer-run dinner theatre group began in 1995, reorganized in 2003, then moved to the local Legion in 2013 after outgrowing the church basement.

Fifteen years, thirty plays, dozens of actors, thousands of plates of roast beef, and Kendall’s devotion to this zany theatre group is stronger than ever.

“I’ve been doing this for so long, I know I don’t have to hold on tight,” he says, holding up a clenched fist. “If I just let go, “ he releases his fist and holds his palm open, “some things trickle through like sand but I’ve learned it all works out.”

The greatest challenge can be finding the right mix of characters. “We’ve done enough plays so we have the process figured out,” Kendall says. “I just want it to always be as fun as it has been so we can continue to keep doing it.”

This reminds me of the evening rehearsal in mid-March that was so off-script, half the cast was bent over laughing.

“It seems like chaos but it all comes together by opening night,” Kendall assured me, one of four newbies in that production.

Laughter is the big draw for both actors and audience.

The play is always a comedy, explains Kendall’s wife, Tania Thompson, who creates sets and costumes, and also acts.

“People have enough crap in their lives; they need some fun and good food at a reasonable price.”

This may explain why the performances, offered in November and April, sell out the same day the $25 tickets go on sale.

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Ten weeks of rehearsals, four performances, twice a year is quite a commitment for volunteers in a rural area. Yet it proves that living in the country doesn’t have to mean there’s nothing to do. The Church Mouse Players began when a small group of people wanted to try something different, and dozens of people have appeared on the stage since then.

“We’ve always tried to include younger actors,” says Kendall. “Watching those talents grow, you know they’re just looking for that kind of venue to explore. You never know where their talents will end up, whether it’s on stage or doing lights and sound or even set design. You plant the seeds and water them and let them see what they want to be. That’s one of the best feelings. And some day we’ll be passing the torch on.”

This volunteer effort is all about community. The Church Mouse Players (CMP) is a non-profit group so their ticket sales support the Legion, and cover the cost of scripts, costumes, props and the food. The money raised through the sale of pop at each performance is donated to a kids’ program or charity.

Last spring, pop sales allowed CMP to support twelve school breakfast programs in Cumberland County.

With the arrival of fall, Kendall and Tania have chosen their play for this November so already they’re thinking of who they want in the cast of their latest production. Will it be the funniest one yet?

“I love it when we see the audience laughing, and as they’re leaving, someone still tells me, ‘That’s one of your best ones yet’,” Kendall says. “If I can hear that after 30 productions, that tells me we’re doing the right kind of stuff. When you do this as a labour of love, you don’t expect someone to pat you on the back and say good job but it’s nice to hear in that way.”

The North Shore

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By Sally O’Neill

You hear it before you see it. The steady roar and splash of tumbling water. It was Waterfalls of Nova Scotia: A Guide, and author Benoit Lalonde’s enthusiastic social media posts that inspired educator Chara LaRusic to spend a season chasing all the waterfalls she could find.

LaRusic, a schoolteacher trained in outdoor education, lives in Amherst with her son, and the two have visited waterfalls all along the North Shore. LaRusic’s partner Stacia Findlay, mom of two, and student at St. Francis Xavier University, joins hikes whenever possible. For this active couple, waterfall adventures have been a great way to connect.

“It’s great for our relationship,” says Findlay, “Sometimes we go without the kids and choose more challenging terrain. It’s something I might never have done without Chara there supporting me.”

Nova Scotia has waterfalls for every adventurer. “Start with something easy,” advises Benoit Lalonde, “Once you’ve mastered that, choose a greater challenge, and ease yourself in.” His book offers descriptions of each hike, location, difficulty, type, and distance, so you can make an educated choice.

CONSIDERATIONS:

Safety Your basic day-hike pack should contain: • Water • Sunscreen • Compass (check online for compass tutorials) • Snacks • Insect repellant • GPS unit or phone app • Map • Cell phone • Small medical supplies (bandages, alcohol swabs)

Ticks LaRusic and Findlay recommend insect repellant, hiking on wet days, and staying on trail, as ticks prefer long grass. Chara uses a lint roller on clothes and skin after hiking.

Finding Falls Benoit Lalonde’s guidebook can be purchased online, but Lalonde recommends a trip to your local independent bookstore.

Find everything you need for your next adventure.

Drop in to view the latest gear by your favourite brands.

65 Inglis Pl, Truro, NS B2N 4B5 | takeitoutside.ca

Chasing Waterfalls

Easy Access Family Friendly PARK FALLS – THORBURN, NS Directions: Off Highway 104, take Sutherlands River exit and Thorburn Rd. Turn left on Park Falls Rd. Beautiful, three-tiered falls just off the road.

Challenge: Easy Distance (one way): Roadside, short access trail to bottom pool.

Coordinates: 45°58’64.80”N, 62°49’82.51”W WENTWORTH FALLS – WENTWORTH, NS Directions: On Highway 4, drive approximately 1 km from the intersection with Mountain View Lane. Park and walk to a dirt road on the west side with boulders blocking vehicle access.

Challenge: Easy Distance (one way): 250 m Coordinates: Trailhead: 45°35’17.38”N, 63°33’39.66”W Waterfall: 45°35’16.2”N, 63°33’52.2”W

A Bit of a Challenge

Hidden Gems

FALL BROOK FALLS – MACPHERSON’S MILLS, NS Directions: From Highway 104, take Highway 347. In MacPherson’s Mills, turn right onto Fraser Rd., and left on Fall Brook Rd. Drive about 700m to a culvert below the road. Head upstream for about 1.3 km to this 40-foot, slide-type waterfall.

Challenge: Moderate Distance (one way): 3 km Coordinates: Trailhead: 45°21’37.78”N, 62°51’4.74”W Waterfall: 45°21’02.7”N, 62°50’44.8”W

CUTIES HOLLOW FALLS – JAMES RIVER, NS Directions: From Highway 104 near Marshy Hope, take Strathglass Rd., (becomes Brown’s Mountain Rd). Continue as it climbs and then descends. Park at 45° 37.509’N, 62° 9.967’W. Trailhead sign east of the road. Descent to the falls requires use of existing ropes.

Challenge: Moderate Distance (one way): 1.75 km Coordinates: Trailhead: 45°37’28.34”N, 62°9’58.22”W Waterfall: 45°37’33.0”N, 62°09’04.0”W

HURLBURT BROOK FALLS– LOCHABER, NS Directions: Take Highway 7 from Antigonish, toward Sherbrooke. In view of Lochaber Lake, take Middleton Rd., and go uphill until the road levels off. Park here.

A series of three falls are on the south side of the road, a short hike requiring some bushwacking and a steep descent to the bottom of the large waterfall.

Challenge: Moderate Distance (one way): 200 m Coordinates: Trailhead: 45°26’34.96”N, 62°0’41.10”W Waterfall: 45°26’36.66”N, 62°0’51.39”W

ANNANDALE FALLS – EAST WENTWORTH, NS Directions: Take Highway 246 at Wentworth Station, drive about 5.75 km (45° 37.516’N, 63° 29.845’W). Take dirt road on the right.

Pass the blueberry field on the left, park at the Y-intersection. Falls are ahead and to your right. Annandale is the highest waterfall near Wentworth Valley. Descent is steep and requires use of existing ropes.

Challenge: Difficult Distance (one way): 200 m Coordinates: Trailhead: 45°37’10.48”N, 63°29’54.25”W Waterfall: 45°37’7.82”N, 63°29’55.95”W

ADVERTISING

ABOVE: Ben O’Neill and Riley Boulter check out Park Falls before taking a cool summer dip in the lower pool.

Photo by Sally O’Neill.

INSET: Noah Ross stands in awe at Annandale Falls.

Photo by Chara LaRusic.

LEFT: Stacia Findlay enjoys an adventure at Hopewell Falls, with kids Tillman and Elisa Borkert.

Photo by Chara LaRusic.

SALLY O’NEILL is a Canadian Parks and Recreation Certified Professional, Coordinator of Active Pictou County, a board member with the Nova Scotia Trails Federation, and facilitator with Hike Nova Scotia’s Reconnecting with Nature Program. She is a hiker, trailbuilder and lifelong explorer.

INFORMATION ADAPTED from Waterfalls of Nova Scotia: A Guide, Benoit Lalonde, and trailpeak.com.

ONLINE RESOURCES: trailpeak.com connect.ca hikenovascotia.ca nstrails.com

HEALTHY AT HOME

how

SWEET

BY SARA JEWELL PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

Getting To Know the Maritime’s Newest Fruit Sensation

W

hat happens when an investment banker from Rhode Island and a civil engineer from Nova Scotia get married, have kids and decide to trade it all in for a farm in West Earltown?

Haskap happens.

“I told him I wouldn’t date him unless he agreed to be open to moving to Nova Scotia,” says Stephanie Banks, who attended university in Halifax and Alberta before taking a job in Rhode Island where she met her future husband, Joe Piotti.

In the fall of 2011, Stephanie and Joe, along with their two young children, moved into a rented home in Tatamagouche while looking for the right property: 10 to 50 acres close to the village.

What Stephanie fell in love with, however, was 200 acres on the top of Spiddle Hill, a twenty-minute drive from Tatamagouche. After fixing up the house and barn, the family of four moved in and started their homestead with chickens and pigs.

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Realizing they needed to do something with all their land, Stephanie and Joe travelled to Bridgewater in 2013 for an information session hosted by the Haskap Growers Association of Nova Scotia.

“We did a blind taste of six red juices,” Stephanie says. “Blueberry, pomegranate and combinations of berries. We all tasted and rated each one. We had no idea what we were drinking. All but one of us rated the haskap juice number one.”

The couple found the results so compelling, they bought three thousand plants that year and started working on an orchard. Now, six years later, Sweet Earth Farm has planted ten acres and is a certified organic grower of haskap berries.

Joe says the blind taste was significant but there were other reasons for committing to haskap.

“Blueberries and strawberries were suggested but getting into an existing conventional crop wasn’t where I wanted to be. The market’s already

ah! Fall 2019 - 40

LEFT: Covering all the bushes with netting is labour intensive but an absolute necessity because the birds love berries and can wipe out an orchard. Nuttby Mountain is in the distance.

BELOW: Because a haskap berry is always blue, the only way to know if it’s ripe is to taste it or test it using a refractometer, which measures sugar content.

established, it’s already being dictated, and you can’t change anything. You can’t make a difference.”

The haskap berry, which looks like an elongated blueberry, originated in Siberia and ended up in the northern hemisphere through migratory birds eating the berries and leaving seeds behind during their migration.

Growing in the boreal forests of North America, and in every province in Canada except Newfoundland, the wild berry is tart and thin-skinned.

In 1998, a group from Japan approached university scientists in Saskatchewan and Oregon to see about creating a sweeter, tougher skinned berry that humans would find palatable and could be picked by machine.

The result? Haskap cultivars that are creating a demand for this up-and-coming fruit.

According to Stephanie, “Anything you can do with a blueberry, you can do with a haskap.”

That demand, and his desire to make a difference, means former banker Joe Piotti got involved with the growers’ association to help other haskap farmers make a difference through a cooperative business model.

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kap s a ed et H erv s e e w und use it pS he a t a s k bec e. For ha s y y a r r r lu H e er rb ns b pb on

r ti ka sou t tu ica has as a hen i n ind e n h o a T he w e tati ed not nt is. T can b e u k s p c i i r y p re e th t r u olo ften con a ber esting f is o kap, c ugar t o by ;s ss) as a h eness eetne g it or w ip tin of r ess (s by tas ter. the ix) n e d e e om sures n t rip i Br c ee erm refra mea .A r t g e a d r ops ng de r e n ( t i d e r e 3 a di juic ractom f sug t 2 or rea r o a f s e sug Brix. age with ju Ar ea ent v c d r i a ees pe liqu will h degr y n p 0 2 ka in a nd has 5a e 1 p i r en we bet

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ON THE TABLE

“We want to be able to control our own destinies instead of competing with each other,” explains Joe. “That’s the goal. So this is how we make a difference: to allow a farmer to actually make a living off of farming. Isn’t that just crazy?”

Currently, Joe is chair (volunteer) of the Haskap Marketing Group (HMG), a cooperative of farmers and growers that began in 2015.

“Every farmer, no matter how big or small the farm, gets one share and one vote. Everyone’s treated equitably.

Now, your volume of crop will dictate what you make as a farmer so that’s fair. But everyone has input.”

HMG started out selling berries in bulk, frozen, to companies who take the fruit and turn it into a product they can sell. The group regularly pre-sold their stock so they didn’t have a chance to think about creating their own products right here at home.

According to Joe, the board and the members realized they want to have more control, and they want to have

The North Shore

a bigger impact. “Not necessarily impact for our own shareholders and our own farmers,” Joe explains, “but these crops were leaving the province. All the economic benefits were being done somewhere else.”

Last spring, HMG launched its own brand of haskap products under the name Hazzberry Farms. “This is the farmers taking it one step farther,” says Joe. “Instead of just harvesting the crop and selling it to a food services company that would make a consumer product out of it and sell it, we’re doing that.”

Neither Joe nor Stephanie have an agricultural background, and they’re like many haskap growers.

According to Joe, as chair of HMG, that’s actually a benefit.

“The skill set that the people of our group bring to the table is not just a farming knowledge or growing knowledge but an overall business acumen. These people are wonderful to work with; the kind of collective thinking and the concepts and ideas they come up with are exceptional.”

ah! Fall 2019 - 42

LEFT: Joe Piotti, Stephanie Banks, and their two children, Luke and Sadie, demonstrate how they harvest using a special attachment on a reciprocal saw. It shakes the berries off the branches and into a collection tray. Joe says once the family is harvesting all ten acres of plants, they’ll look into partnering with someone with a mechanical harvester.

ABOVE: The Hazzberry Farms brand was created by the Haskap Marketing Group to allow haskap berries grown in Nova Scotia to become products made and distributed in Nova Scotia so local farmers could enjoy more economic benefits.

BELOW LEFT: Stephanie, Sadie and Luke walk through part of their five-acres orchard. Another five acres contains young plants that will mature and start producing berries in a couple of years.

BELOW RIGHT: For a family with no agricultural background, the

ly me e n, xtre ripe ds lov e o e t r r i t t a i B a e. n fru ap ask e first t of Jun s, eve tting h ne th er ian ar row ts with . nad d are first p g a C n e ns so an pla t ripe dy y in th rries r r r i a i h age be er the fore all n r a p e in a gen t hask to cov op be sery m ltants r f r u a c d u ons eller o e eir to e , nee en h C h t t y e s g m is tr hom k losin onald Fores er and the ho s , t i D w r r e ate ro ac ki or wa d g to Jac l pollin hree e M d Ste i e s k t Jac wil se ing cen t an cot sh, a li ccord s that ds the lis, S t e a n ni rea ts. A arieti mme igo v : Bo lan o r p s Ant c e eth eed kap e re has ener n nd sh ell tog w d ,a gar other work ra. t h a c e uro th ea cki dA ars n v i a ll Ja t l a : e u c n u c l or atio ry B rm rt.com o Ber f a in ew ore dst m n r a Fo ott 82. it sc -10 Vis 2-968 0 at 9

Piotti-Banks clan are happily reaping the organic fruits of their labours. Joe sees their haskap berry farm as an investment not only in their children’s future but also in the future of rural Nova Scotia.

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ah! Fall 2019

The North Shore

HEALTHY AT HOME

nix the plastics

BY RACHEL MCLEAN PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

The North Shore

B

ack to School. Is there a sweeter statement after two months with your precious darlings? I’m kidding... to a certain extent. Summer came as a much needed break in our routine and we are now wringing out the last few weeks of fun times while on family vacation. I heard someone say recently that August is the Sunday of summer.

Still a day off but you know that Monday is looming. Shifting into Fall mode can be tricky. Jump starting those new/old routines, bedtimes, lunch packing... but it doesn’t all have to be about summer ending. Fall beginning is a fresh start! Being overly ambitious for my own good, with a Pinterest board jam packed, I’m getting focused on how to streamline and do more for less this Fall. Less garbage, less plastic, less hassle. More fun!

As a full-fledged garbage nerd, I love going to the Pictou County Solid Waste Facility. This is where I met Sasha Barnard, their Regional Educator. We worked together during this year’s Go Clean Get Green campaign as well.

She has a wealth of knowledge, awesome ideas AND gets to share this with schools, the general public, social media, just about anywhere anyone will listen. Sasha teaches at every grade level.

Grade primary to six focus on reducing waste and lifecycle concepts. “Not easy things to understand, but kids are naturally curious and already have an understanding of single use plastics” she says.

Incorporating waste-reducing practices into daily life is easier than you think. It just takes a conscious decision when the time arises. What better time than Back to School to set intentions and get motivated? The first thing Sasha suggests is to take an inventory of what you have: lunch containers, clothing, existing craft and school supplies. Before you just buy it all, there may be things you already have that you can scratch off your list before leaving the house.

Do you have extra of something or something that just doesn’t fit anymore? Why not host a neighbourhood backto-school swap? Invite some friends over and see if you can scratch some more things off each other’s lists. This doesn’t have to be just for clothing, supplies count, too.

Now that you have reused and minimized your list as much as possible, Sasha suggests hitting up your local thrift store.

ah! Fall 2019 - 44

If you don’t find something the first time you go, don’t be discouraged. The more often you go, the better the selection. When you are making purchases, look for items that contain recycled material and have low to no packaging. Think durability over disposability, choose something that will last longer. Taking care of your things so they don’t get wrecked is another waste-reduction concept that Sasha includes in her curriculum.

With all supplies acquired, lunches are another area that you can reduce your waste with a few simple changes, even if it’s one day a week, that will make a difference.

Buying in-season fruit and veggies can be cut and packed in reusable containers vs packaged or canned fruit, pudding, jello etc. Make sure backpacks head out the door with water bottles and all the necessary tools for lunch, even when you buy lunch.

Most importantly, don’t be overwhelmed. Doing more for less shouldn’t be complicated. If everyone championed just one thing, we’d have a huge win reducing our garbage footprint.

LITTERLESS LUNCH Challenge your workplace to do a “litterless lunch” once a week. Everyone packs reusable or compostable options.

PACK IN, PACK OUT This saying doesn’t only apply to hiking in nature. Having kids take their garbage and uneaten food home, ensures it’s disposed of properly.

BACKPACK KIT Everyone has a million single socks, right?? Use a sock to take clean cutlery to school and stash the dirty cutlery for home. Then simply throw it in the wash and grab another one for tomorrow!

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ah! Fall 2019

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HEALTHY AT HOME

ALL THINGS

green

BY TRACY STUART

MEDALING WITH MY FOOD Tracy is an Olympic medalist and has a Chef’s Diploma from the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts.

A

fter I retired from rowing I had a dream of putting down roots (literally) as my husband and I raised our two little girls in the country. I dreamed of what my garden would look like. I planned, I sketched, and finally when we built our home in River John I executed the plan (double deer fence and all). For the past five years we’ve been planning and planting; each year learning more and more about the soil and the pests and how to keep them from getting to our food first.

I absolutely love our garden, especially reaping the rewards of delicious, mouthwatering, fresh, nutrient-dense food.

Year after year we’ve enjoyed spending endless hours during the warm months of summer tending

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ah! Fall 2019 - 46

and nurturing our seed babies ensuring they reached their ripe age of maturity until harvest. I always feel a sense of satisfaction mixed with a hint of sadness as the bounty comes to an end at harvest time.

This year everything changed; business and education for our girls had us relocate to the city during the school year and our time has been divided between city and country time. This has severely cramped my style and has wreaked havoc on my beautiful garden. The pests are always one step ahead of me and seem to quite enjoy my absence. The words, “there has got to be a better way” kept nagging me. There must be a way to keep up with my dark leafy greens in particular, before losing them to the pests that move in while we’re away. So began the quest for an alternative gardening option, something where we could enjoy our homegrown food without daily supervision.

This quest lead me to the exciting world of tower gardens!! BEST find EVER!! The possibility of what can be grown on these towers is endless, and the growing season is not limited to summer. So, on Father’s Day our garden tower experience began.

I decided to start with dark leafy greens

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since they are a constant in our diet.

This group of leafy greens that includes spinach, kale, Swiss chard and collard greens are some of the most nutrient-dense foods out there. They are packed with chlorophyll, fibre, calcium, anti-oxidants, Vitamins A,C,E,K and some B. So you may be thinking, ‘That’s great Tracy, we all know that vitamins and minerals are essential for our bodies to function but what do they actually do?’ Since my focus has recently shifted to dark leafy greens, because that seems to be the only thing I can keep up with these days (thanks to my garden tower extraordinaire), I thought I’d dig into the key functions and benefits of including these green wonders in our diet. To my surprise the list is large and extensive, so for the purpose of this article I decided to choose one superstar – kale. Greens can be tricky with kids, but kale is a big hit in our household. In fact, kale chips are one of the most requested snacks, which secretly makes me smile!

According to America’s Test Kitchen Superfood Recipes (April 15, 2019), “Just one cup of this hearty green has more than 100 percent of the daily value of vitamins A (responsible for immune function,

healthy vision, organ maintenance and cell growth) and C (responsible for immune function, protein metabolism and wound healing, collagen production, absorption of plant-based iron, antioxidant properties, possible role in delaying certain cancers and heart disease). It’s also packed with potassium (responsible for blood pressure regulation, electrolyte balance and fluid regulation, muscle contractions, and may reduce stroke and heart disease), calcium (responsible for bone growth and maintenance, required by heart muscles and nerves, may help protect against cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure), and vitamins K (responsible for blood clotting, and bone metabolism) and B6 (responsible for brain development and function, and hormone production… talk about AMAZING! Without further ado, here is my secret weapon for sneaking in healthy snacks, please enjoy crispy kale chips with the whole family, knowing that you supercharging your body with every bite!

I am also thrilled that my garden tower discovery will keep these amazing greens in my family’s repertoire the whole year through, regardless of the season!

Crispy Kale Chips Servings: 2-4 as a snack These kale chips, topped with Parmesan, salt & a bit of fresh lemon juice, are a delicious way to get your crispy-salty fix.

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1 bunch curly kale, leaves removed from tough stems and torn into large pieces • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil • sprinkle salt (to taste) • Lemon • ¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, using your hands, massage the kale leaves with the olive oil until evenly coated. Arrange the kale in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 18-20 minutes, until leaves are completely crisp but not browned.

3. While the leaves are still warm, sprinkle with ParmigianoReggiano, salt and a squeeze of lemon (go very easy on the lemon; a little goes a long way). Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Transfer to a platter and serve.

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HEALTHY AT HOME

Never heard of or been involved with naturopathic medicine? You may be surprised!

THE NATURE OF

Naturopathic Medicine

BY DR. AMY PUNKÉ

D

id your grandmother ever make you her special chicken soup recipe when you felt under the weather? How about a cup of chamomile tea after a large meal to settle your stomach? Or sitting in a hot sauna and then jumping into cold water afterwards?

While these traditional remedies may seem unrelated, they all have a common theme: the healing power of nature and the ability of the body to heal itself when supported and stimulated – the naturopathic medicine philosophy.

Chicken soup tends to have a lot of nutritional value; rich in vitamin C and other nutrients that can support your immune system. Chamomile, known for its potent medicinal properties has been valued as a digestive relaxant for centuries.

The alternating application of heat from a sauna followed by cold water is considered a form of hydrotherapy; a treatment that dates back to ancient civilization.

With an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion, it is not surprising that more than 70 percent of Canadians regularly use complementary health care therapies, such naturopathic medicine,

to stay healthy and improve their quality of life1.

Naturopathic medicine is also proactive and provides unique treatment options for individuals and their families.

Addressing both acute and chronic conditions, naturopathic treatments are chosen based on the individual patient – their physiological, structural, psychological, social, spiritual states, and their environment and lifestyle factors.

Brittany and Devon Balodis decided to see a Naturopathic Doctor before they started growing their family: “I decided to see a Naturopathic Doctor more than five years ago, to make sure I was doing what I could do to prepare my body for a healthy pregnancy and baby,” says Brittany. “We talked about healthy supplementation, nutrition, did acupuncture, and looked at my body as a whole. Since then, Naturopathic medicine has supported our family through having two healthy babies and keeping them healthy as children. We’ve worked with our Naturopathic Doctor on things like digestive issues, skin issues – where we didn’t want to cover those

Dr. Amy Punké is a member in good standing with the Nova Scotia Association of Naturopathic Doctors (NSAND) and the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND). Licensed with the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta (CNDA).

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symptoms with a medication, but get to the root cause.”

With headlines like, “Family doctor shortage a threat to health care in Atlantic Canada,” and “Nova Scotia’s doctor shortage is putting residents at serious risk,” the way we approach health and our healthcare model has to change and evolve to meet the needs of our communities.

Dr. Jennifer Lilly has been practicing as a Naturopathic Doctor for the past 14 years in Antigonish. With the growing healthcare crisis, Dr. Lilly believes Naturopathic Doctors can step in to help guide patients through the system and help them be an advocate for their health.

“Our expertise in disease prevention becomes even more important at this time,” says Dr. Lilly. “Teaching patients how to prevent and/or naturally manage any pre-existing conditions can help lessen the load on our current medical providers. I believe in an ideal system where there would be a “marriage” between conventional and naturopathic medicine, creating the best holistic model for patients.”

The roots of naturopathic medicine run deep: there is the honouring of traditional and natural medicines while combining advances in modern medical knowledge.

From the use of natural medicines that have been used throughout most of human history, to the growing state-ofthe-art scientific research in naturopathic treatments, naturopathic medicine is as unique as the people and families it supports.

Communities that thrive need healthy populations. By emphasising the “health” in healthcare, and focussing on prevention as well as being proactive in working with patients, the whole community benefits from the work of naturopathic doctors with our current medical model. Their extensive and rigorous education, training and licensing ensures that they can fulfil their naturopathic oath, which is: “By precept,

education and example, I will assist and encourage others to strengthen their health, reduce risks for disease, and preserve the health of our planet for ourselves and future generations.”

1

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DIY

Centre of Attention

There is nothing like a table set for a bountiful fall meal, rich in colours and textures.

And at the centre of the table, there should be a beautiful centrepiece that sets the tone.

This centrepiece starts with an old wooden box, found in a dusty corner, long forgotten but now it becomes the centre of attention. Faux branches add the only bit of colour, the white candles and white pumpkins, keep it simple and clean, leaving the focus on the textures.

SUPPLIES:

DIRECTIONS:

Vintage wooden box Tapered candles Faux branches Pumpkins Antlers Shredded packing paper Scrap wood Drill and spade bit Staple gun

STEP 1 Fill the vintage box with scrap wood to raise the bottom so your arrangement is visible over the top edge.

STEP 2 Determine where you want the candles and drill holes in the scrap wood with a spade bit large enough to hold the tapers.

STEP 3 Cut the branches to manageable sizes and staple them in place on the scrap wood.

STEP 4 Add your candles and then the shredded packing paper. Layer your antlers and pumpkins in the box.

STEP 5 Add your centrepiece to the middle of your table and invite friends and family over for a tasty fall meal.

Centrepieces don’t have to be complicated or elaborate to set the tone for your meal. A few simple items brought together are enough to grace your table and bring some fall onto your table.

BY LORI BYRNE PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

The North Shore

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