eat.grow.flourish
passionate foodie.
urban homesteader.
proud locavore.
spirited advocate.
professional writer.
love crazy mother + partner.
this is me
passionate foodie.
Food is really at the heart of my whole life, and every 'hat' I wear encompasses and celebrates this passion.
In it's simplest form, food is our fuel, and as such is deserving of our utmost care and consideration. This really came into perspective for me when I became a mother six years ago, and found myself suddenly responsible for the health and growth of a tiny human (and now, three tiny humans!). How could I possibly expect this itsy-bitsy delicate, vulnerable, trusting little being to grow tall, strong, and healthy if I didn't feed her the absolute "best" food possible? And so began my journey into the world of food as my fuel - as our fuel.
Now, six beautiful years later, and good food has become the driver of everything I do, and am, in this life.
Delicious, homegrown garlic. One of my favourite crops to grow!
We start between 40-60 trays of plants every spring. To say they take over our house is an under statement :)
We typically grow an abundant winter squash crop. Feeds us all winter long and makes a lovely gift for dinner parties!
2016 was the summer of beans. We harvested at least 6 piles this big. We're still eating them (April 2017).... yeah!
Our greenhouse sanctuary. Changes every year and always provides a great harvest! Essential for our mountain climate.
urban homesteader.
Picture it: a small 'city' lot converted into a sprawling, multi-tier, ever-changing edible landscape; backyard chickens; elaborate compost + soil creation system; mobile hoop + greenhouses; water collection implements; perennial bee + butterfly gardens; food is free, help-yourself community garden. As a continuous work-in-progress, our "homestead" is never finished, and I wouldn't ever want it to be.
We are constantly learning, changing and strengthening our resiliency.
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I don't want to give this aspect of my life away in a small paragraph that doesn't have a hope of capturing the essence... the life....in our homestead. Rather, I want you to join our journey. I want you to follow along as I share our trials, tribulations, successes, tears and mad failures. I want you to be right here with us as we eat. As we grow. As we flourish.
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Bears have eaten our chickens. Raccoons have eaten our chickens. We will eat our chickens.
We eat from our property. Our neighbours eat from our property. Our friends. Our family. Our community.
This is the soul in our home...in our life.... that I hope to share with you.
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It is an impassioned belief in our family that food gets better the more we share it. So we share, and we share, and we share again.
We believe in the power of good food....and that local food is our future.
proud locavore.
Honestly, at the most selfish heart of it all, where my food comes from sincerely means something to me.
It goes much deeper than which country, or which side of the planet my food comes from...I'm talking - in as many instances as possible, I want to know the person who grows, raises, or creates my food. I want to know, and call them by, first name. I want to be close to them, to be able to reach them. I want to be able to hug them, and say thank you.
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When we talk bigger picture, I am a proud locavore because it is a smart thing to be. It's responsible. It serves a deep moral purpose.
How can I justify food travelling 1200 km to my plate when I can get it right here? I can't. That's the problem.
Wait - is that the problem, or the solution?
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I've become very connected with many growers and producers in the Kootenays, and if asked, aside from my kids, this is probably what makes me feel luckiest. I am so lucky!! Having a deep connection with where and how food is grown, raised and produced in my region means that my family eats pretty darn well!
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One thing I love to do most, is help people around me become more connected with what they're eating too. This passion is fuelled by my insatiable desire to contribute to tangible change. It is no secret that I am pretty concerned for the future of mankind, and this instills a feeling in me that I can never do enough; I can always make improvements; there is always more work to do. I'm discovering (yes, this is fluid - a constant learning process!) that part of my work, is helping people make smarter food choices by eating as local as possible, as often as possible. For stronger health of people, and planet.
"It's an act of loving ourselves to become aware of what we put into our mouths, and how it makes us feel."
-Louise Hay
spirited advocate.
I wholeheartedly believe in a lot of things.
With every ounce of my being and through every bit-e of my life.
Sourcing and eating wholesome, ethical good food; raising wild children who think for and believe in themselves and literally follow their dreams; supporting small local business and truly investing in community; treading as lightly as possible on our delicately resilient earth; passionately and positively raising my voice and standing up for what I believe to be necessary change in our world. To me being an advocate for something is more than just talking the talk.
It's living day to day in a way that reinforces what is important and contributes to a sustainable society.
It's living consciously...living true.
professional writer.
Writing is a profoundly satisfying way to express yourself.
I've been writing for years, personally and professionally. I'm the person with dozens of journals, notebooks and writing collections...who can't help but fall in love with those handcrafted, empty books that are just itching for adventure. I love to write about food and life, which not surprisingly, go really well together.
For a few years now I have invested much of my writing into promoting my local food shed, and the purpose of Eat.grow.flourish is to create a new perspective on that, by sharing my personal story through written word + personal photographs. The more we all share experiences, the more unified we become.
This is my experience.
"This is LOVE.
This is everything."
-Me
love crazy mother + partner.
My family, my tribe.
Everything I do is for them, because of them.
They are intricately woven into every aspect of Eat.grow.flourish, and so you will see them often, in many of the instances that I will be sharing with you.
I deeply believe in the value of connecting our children with food from an early age, and it fills my heart to have our kidlets help in the garden and kitchen. I hope you enjoy these cute faces... they're a ton of fun!
We deserve the healthiest food. So do you. Let's build a stronger future. Together.
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about me | about YOU.
So enough about me already. Where do you fit in to this picture?
Well, I like to think of food as the most important thing that connects us all. This is obviously up for debate, and we all have our own opinions, but to me good food is at the heart of every relationship, and it is certainly at the heart of our future.
Eat.grow.flourish is my journey into local food, but in the big picture, we are all on this journey together. There is no me without you, and you, and you, and everyone.
We all deserve the healthiest food, each and every one of us, and our planet deserves the care and consideration given by sustainable farming + growing practices. This is a collective effort (just as it is a collective impact) and it will take all of us coming together through this good food revolution to reset our course for a sustainable future. So join me, let us eat + grow together, celebrate good food together, and of course....flourish together!
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead
MICHE WARWICK
Kootenay Food Communications Liaison;
Rossland Mountain Market Society Founder;
B.A. University of Western Ontario.
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Originally from Ontario, Miche grew up in a small town in the Muskoka region, Parry Sound. After fast tracking through high school, Miche ventured off on her own to begin her post-secondary educational adventure at the age of 17. Eventually landing in London as a student at the University of Western Ontario, Miche completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology while travelling to and from British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario. Knowing that a break from the grueling life of a working university student was needed, Miche packed her backpack and left for the northern wilderness of British Columbia immediately after graduation in 2009, and hasn't looked back since. So began her journey into the physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging realm of forestry, farm and orchard work. Little did she know that this would be the pivotal, life-changing experience that would ignite a passion and fire inside and catapult her into the world of local food systems.
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Now, Miche has been a committed and passionate advocate in the agricultural sector, specifically in the Kootenay region, for nearly 10 years. As an avid supporter of sustainable farming practices and local food systems, Miche has invested her skills in building a strong farmers' market in her hometown of Rossland, while building comprehensive working relationships with farmers, food producers and agricultural stakeholders in her region.
Miche founded the Rossland Mountain Market Society in 2015, and the same year led this vibrant farmers' market to win the "Small Farmers' Market of the Year" award by the We Heart Local BC foundation, who also presented Miche with the "Favourite Local Advocate" award.
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Much of Miche's success comes from unwavering dedication and hard work with area producers and agricultural groups, but also through her ability to bring producers, foodies and our regional communities together as a united voice through the local newsletter 'Eat Kootenay Local', which is produced by Kootenay Food and that Miche is the Editor and primary writer for. In helping everyone unify their efforts for a stronger food shed, and work through common issues or struggles together, Miche continues to contribute to a resilient and strong farming culture in the Kootenays.
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Miche places a great deal of emphasis on providing excellent customer service, and her journey began in the hospitality industry more than 15 years ago. This experience quickly grew to embrace all facets of the food chain in order to ensure the best possible experience, with the best possible food products, for the end user. The people and communities that benefit from these efforts are what drives her to be better every day at work and to encourage an appreciation for the fact that Mother Nature provides all we need to nourish ourselves. The challenge continues to be finding the best way to reap the benefits of nature, while creating a clean, sustainable process for producing our own food. Through this challenge Miche is establishing her niche in the Kootenay food shed, where she contributes to real change and delivers real value...one relationship and one bite at a time!
Connect
To connect with Miche, please send an email to miche@eatgrowflourish.com or fill out the contact form below.