Our main destination was Salt Spring Seeds.
This farm, dedicated to growing food and seed of older varieties of plants, is run by Dan Jason. His 'seed and plant sanctuary' is funded by the sales of his heirloom seeds and the yoga centre on the property. (Some similar heirloom seed and plant growers in New Zealand are Koanga Gardens, Seed Savers, Edible Garden, and Eco-Seeds.) Dan spoke to us about the need to save seed, his philosophy of conservation and farming, the problems associated with genetically-modified seed, and then showed us round part of the farm.
The farm reminded me of my grandparents and their 3-acre farm in Levin, NZ. They have a fabulous vege garden, orchard and flower garden. Grandad enjoys sharing his produce and Heath family Christmasses wouldn't be the same without their potatoes, peas, and salad greens!
After visiting the farm we swapped transport and my group headed back to the boat. (The Wilkinsons use this boat on their summer school boat course each year.) On the way to the dock we stopped at a market day in the settlement called Ganges. There were lots of crafts, preserves and plants from the local artisans and gardeners. The other group had stopped there earlier in the day.
The trip back to Galiano took about an hour and a half. It was much more difficult to keep in time with each other than it looked. I'm sure I'd get the hang of it by the end of the boat course, but my fellow rowers may have thrown me overboard by then! There was no wind and...
...we broke an oar about halfway back across the strait!
We got home safely enough, and scrambled up the rocks before reheating some nettle spanokopita (picked by myself and Nathan, and prepared by myself, Joe Ellis and Sarah Crowley before the course started).
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