Oceanside Wild

A handful of the Tamarack saplings from the Mira backwoods for planting out (re-wilding) at Oceanside Wild.

We Are The Ark. At Oceanside Wild, we are an ark.

Looking out through a dry sugar kelp curtain on this gusty rainy day.

"Release the stagnant qi, or stagnant energy, that has built up from sheltering in place through our pandemic winter. In spring, the projects that we’ve been dreaming and planning through the colder months also bud up toward the sky. It’s important to move our bodies and minds, both to release latent tensions, as well as to bring our budding visions and potential into reality."

Crabapples before turning to jelly. #oceansidewild

New size, 200ml, large Red Wine-infused coarse North Atlantic Sea Salt. Ideal for seasoning hearty winter dishes. Now available through www.pancapebretonfoodhub.ca.

New, large, 200ml. size Rosemary Sea Salt is now available for ordering at www.pancapebretonfoodhub.ca.

Wild cranberries hand-harvested from the Atlantic coast barrens of Cape Breton. #oceansidewild #visitcapebreton

We’re moving along very nicely technologically. We know that seaweed can improve many aspects of our life... But I don’t think things are working in a parallel fashion in the political and social world.

Our small-batch hand-harvest of really wild blueberries is pitiful this year. The story tells it all. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53902850

Canadian burnet, dotting the hillsides and swampy areas around here.

Wild angelica is blooming here at Oceanside Wild and on the hillsides around us. All manner of bees and other insects are drawn to the flowers which are known as excellent general pollinators. The plants grow a couple of metres tall and branch out robustly. The right-hand picture shows how deeply they root. The stems of seacoast angelica (angelica lucida) are eaten as wild celery. Wild angelica (angelica sylvestris) is seen as having been brought to Cape Breton by the French ...and is commonly viewed as an invasive species, having proliferated. However, angelicas are native to temperate and sub-Arctic regions of the northern Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The roots and seeds are sometimes used to flavour gin. Its presence accounts for the distinct flavour of many liqueurs, such as Chartreuse. Angelica sylvestris roots have been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea or tincture for treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, nervous system, and also against fever, infections, and flu. See more

I am loving reading Braiding Sweetgrass, a seminal book of immense wisdom written by Robin Wall Kimmerer, member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She writes so eloquently of the Honourable Harvest: "Collectively, the indigenous canon of principles and practices that govern the exchange of life for life is known as the Honourable Harvest. They are rules of sorts that govern our taking, shaping our relationships with the natural world, and rein in our tendency to consume - that the world might be as rich for the seventh generation as it is for our own. The details are highly specific to different cultures and ecosystems, but the fundamental principles are nearly universal among peoples who live close to the land."

Our wild flower sward has begun to bloom. It must be summer. #oceansidewild

Raised beds are coming along midst the wild vegetation. Baby arugula, baby Red Russian kale, spicy mustards mix, mixed greens will be available to order through www.pancapebretonfoodhub.ca next week. #pancapebretonfoodhub

Home delivery day for Cape Breton Food Hub. The lupins, buttercups, forget-me-nots by the roadside basking in the warm sun by the Mira. (Still foggy here).

Proud to be designated an Ark, the only one to date on Cape Breton Island. "An Ark is a restored, native ecosystem, a local, small, medium or large rewilding project. It’s a thriving patch of native plants and creatures that have been allowed and supported to re-establish in the earths intelligent, successional process of natural restoration. Over time this becomes a pantry and a habitat for our pollinators and wild creatures who are in desperate need of support." Check out Oceanside Wild on the map.

COVID-19 has brought into focus the weaknesses in our food system. Thanks to a lot of media coverage and grocery store shortages (no flour, again?!), we have be...en reminded and made very aware of just how complex our current food system is with long supply chains spanning countries, and huge factory meat processing facilities. People are increasingly adding their voices and their food dollars to demand a healthier, more environmentally sustainable, and humane food system. Organizations like the C.B. Food Hub (Pan Cape Breton Food Hub Co-op) are showing there is an alternative. Another way to get food that benefits our local community and bring together elements of environmental stewardship, fair pay to farm workers, the humane treatment of animals, and healthier food. Early on during COVID-19 the Food Hub formed a partnership with the Cape Breton Farmers' Market (CB Farmers' Market) to enable vendors to keep selling online. Together, these organizations decided to move to a contact-free home delivery model to ensure that everyone could get their food safely while staying home. They also received funding to help families who lost their income access fresh, healthy local food of their choice- for free! These adaptations happened very quickly only a matter of weeks. This ability to quickly pivot and adjust their business model is really a credit to the number of strong partnerships, a committed volunteer base, an involved board of directors, and dedicated staff that the Food Hub had already in place. . . . #cbgoodfoodstories #bettertogether

Oceanside Wild Fine Foods are available for ordering online at Cape Breton Food Hub, www.pancapebretonfoodhub.ca.

Gundi's arrangement of Gooseberry Cove-gathered seaweeds of different sizes, textures, colours... Zoom in to sense the ocean's aromas!