Network and the International

Model Forest Network to

develop an international

electronic directory of

products produced in Model

Forests globally. Our Shop the

Wild Festival and public

market last October attracted

over 2000 shoppers and a

survey revealed that many of

t h e m a r e d e d i c a t e d

c o n s u m e r s , r e g u l a r l y

purchasing natural and wild

products throughout the year.

F o r e s t m a n a g e r s a r e

increasingly aware of the need

to incorporate non-timber

values into resource plans in

order to support community

livelihoods – both financial

and non-financial – and the

ecosystems on which they

depend.

O u r c e n t r e

continues to grow

as well, in its

achievements (see

our web-site for

new publications)

and its reputation,

with increasing

p r o v i n c i a l ,

n a t i o n a l a n d

i n t e r n a t i o n a l

invitat ions to

cont r ibut e a s

e x p e r t s t o

advisory groups,

c o n f e r e n c e s ,

meet ings a nd

research projects. We received

a big boost in the last year

with three staff supported

through the Job Creation

Programme of Service

Canada: Jenny Bischoff, Holly

Caine and Sheldon Kitzul.

Their hard work has really

(Continued on page 2)

It‘s my pleasure to contribute

to this new edition of the

newsletter, A Future Beneath

the Trees. There is a lot of

information to share and a lot

to gain from working together,

and I‘m confident that the

newsletter will contribute to

building BC‘s wild sector.

It‘s a tough period in the

general economy and in the

BC natural resources sector in

particular. We feel the pinch

at CNTR as funding for

research, extension and sector

-support becomes tighter. We

know that our many partners

f a c e s i m i l a r f u n d i n g

challenges. We want to thank

our many supporters in the

private and public sectors for

their continued and valuable

support: Harvesters and

Producers across

the province for

their knowledge,

Thrifty Foods, Van-

city, SSHRC, FSP,

A g r o F o r e s t r y

Initiative, BCAFM,

Service Canada,

P a g e O n e

Publishing, the Min-

istries of Housing

a n d S o c i a l

D e v e l o p m e n t ,

Forests and Range

and Agriculture and

Lands.

I‘ll take this opportunity to

extend our sympathies to the

family and friends of Minister

Stan Hagen who passed away

so suddenly. He was highly

regarded as a good and decent

man, and we appreciated his

support for our work.

We recognize that it is much

more difficult in resource-

dependent communities as

economic mainstays falter and

collapse. In every crisis there

is opportunity. This one is

g e n e r a t i n g i n c r e a s e d

awareness and openness to

the possibilities of new

enterprises and new ways of

managing resources to create

and capture more value, and a

broader range of benefits.

Small natural-resource-based

enterprises will never replace

a mill as a large-scale

employer. Such businesses,

h owever , ca n p r ovide

employment creation, skills

development, and new ways of

managing

I‘m encouraged by the growth

of awareness of this sector.

The Buy BCwild Directory

continues to grow, with many

more businesses listed and

with high demand for the

directory itself. A similar

directory has been produced

for the Atlantic Provinces and

Maine following our model,

and we are starting work with

the Canadian Model Forest

Welcome

I n s i d e t h i s

i s s u e :

Spring in the

Cowichan Valley

2

Word From the

Woods

4

Economies for

Working People

5

From Our Atlantic

Woods

5

2009 Forum; Con-

sumer Survey

7

The NTFP Chal-

lenge

8

Sector Develop-

ment Activities

and Updates

10

B u y B C w i l d w w w . b u y b c w i l d . c o m

C e n t r e f o r N o n -

T i m b e r R e s o u r c e s

( C N T R )

A Future Beneath the Trees S p r i n g 2 0 0 9 V o l u m e I , I s s u e 1

S p e c i a l p o i n t s

o f i n t e r e s t :

Welcome to the

new Issue

The sap is flowing

What‘s Happening

in Atlantic Canada?

2009 NTFP

Business Forum

Sector activities.

Ideas welcome!

Shop the Wild 2008

A F u t u r e

B e n e a t h

t h e

T r e e s

Spring time in the Cowichan Valley!

P a g e 2

back.

Soon, the forest magically

opens revealing a light

drenched oasis, a boggy

marsh, an alder grove and a

field of blooming skunk

cabbage. We pause to offer

tobacco.

Alder was held in high regard

by the druids of my Celtic

ancestors. An alder grove was a

sacred place, where offerings and

prayers were expected before entering. Legend

has it that the cutting down of an alder was forbid-

den, the red pigment emitted from the wound of

their heartwood resembled blood. Taboo! We will

be harvesting alder bark today, removing limbs

only, pealing the bark for a digestive tonic.

(Continued on page 3)

It's March and the forests are

ablaze with the yellow glory of

our local swamp daffodils - the

Skunk Cabbage. Ah, one of

our earliest wildcrafting

excursions. It feels good to be

back in the woods. We head

up the old logging road, deeply

gutted from harsh winter

weather, 4x4 swinging

rhythmically, we pull in to

a familiar site.

Trekking along the barely visible "path", I look for

familiar markers as the forest swallows us. That

familiar ease envelops me, comfort in

transformation, I merge with the forest. We relax

into our pace, my eyes grazing the forest floor,

noting the wild herbs for future reference: miner's

lettuce, chickweed, cleavers, a patch of wild

violets, and nettles wandering off toward the

creek, tender and ripe. I'll get them on our way

helped advance the Buy BCwild initiative. We‘ve

had Anne Munier working with us as a researcher

on several projects for almost a year. The core

crew of Tim Brigham, Wendy Cocksedge, Evelyn

Goedhart and myself remain in place and bracing

for Wendy‘s departure for a maternity leave

beginning in April. It‘s a joyful event, but we will

miss Wendy‘s wisdom, vision and extraordinary

productivity. Tom Hobby has started his own

company, but remains involved in some of our

projects. Darcy Mitchell works in conjunction with

Model Forest projects and in developing new

linkages with Europe. She has just completed a

term as Visiting Scholar at the University of

Göttingen in Germany.

Finally, we continue to support the natural and

wild products sector, emphasizing both human

and ecological health and wellbeing. This is

central to finding ways to realize traditional,

cultural and spiritual values and desires in

communities. Our hope is that CNTR‘s research

and support of the sector can help create

opportunities for income and employment

through sustainable NTFR management.

Brian Belcher is Director of the Centre for Non-Timber

Resources

Welcome….cont.

Skunk Cabbage, Vancouver Island

A F u t u r e B e n e a t h t h e T r e e s

Schedule of Events

April 17-18, 2009: Traditional Foods of Vancouver

Island First Nations. Hosted by Snuneymuxw First

Nation. www.snunermuxw.ca

April 18, 2009: The Aromatic Farm Co-op is hosting

a public event in partnership with the BC Forest Dis-

covery Centre, in Duncan. Join us at this pristine 100

acre forested site to learn about aromatic farming,

essential oil distillation and the health benefits of aro-

matherapy. www.aromaticfarmcoop.ca/events

June 19 - 21, 2009: Seeds for Change Conference

2009 - A Cowichan Green Community event featuring

social, economic and ecological issues in the Cowichan

region. www.cowichangreencommunity.org.

Fall 2009: Forest Communities Conference—Trends

and Opportunities and BCwild Forum: A Future

Beneath the Trees. Nanaimo, BC.

www.buybcwild.com/bcwild-conference

―In every crisis

there is

opportunity. This

one is generating

increased

awareness and

openness to the

possibilities…‖

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

my prayers; black

bear has stumbled

sleepily into the

marsh, and is

immersed in a

digging ritual of his

own. Our eyes

m e e t ; d a z e d

acknowledgements

are exchanged. He

shakes his head

returning to his

work intent on a

spring cleanse after

a l o n g

hibernation. We

back off - returning

to our world -

leaving him to his.

Sheila Wray is a

wildcrafter, medicine woman living in the

Cowichan Valley. As owner

operator of Hedgewych

Wylds, she uses her 30 years of

folkherbal experience to produce quality

wild botanical

medicine.

www.hedgewych.com

U n b u t t o n i n g

my belt, I

remove my

e q u i p m e n t

harness and

l a y o u t m y

g a t h e r i n g

sheet, arranging

the tools in

o r d e r o f

need: trowel,

digging stick,

skinning knife,

clippers, bas-

kets, and the

often needed

twine. I take a

m o m e n t t o

breathe in the

fragrant air of

warm skunk cabbage and raw earth,

allowing the healing energy of this

place to take over. I find among the

yellow blooms a small plant, still

folded in its winter sleep. I say a

prayer and begin to dig.

The roots lay deep in their muddy

beds. The mud works

against me, like a suction

holding on, drawing me

down. I'm in their world

now, where speed and

effectiveness means

nothing. It is slow,

patient work. My arms

deep in the silty muck, I

s i n g - p l a n t s

communicate by song -

the thick fleshy root

slowly gives way, eased

by the sound of my

voice. I grab hold; with

one swift tug the struggle

is over. Strong medicine! I give

thanks.

A low rumbling grunting tone shatters

(Continued from

page 2)

Shepherdia canadensis.

Common name is soapberry or

soopolallie

Springtime…..cont.

―I find among

the yellow

blooms a

small plant,

still folded in

its winter

sleep. I say a

prayer and

begin to dig.‖

Alder

Nettle

trees‘ roots before there can be

a good sap flow. We‘ve had

problems this way during

unusual ly dry winters.

Temperatures were perfect,

but the soil was too dry.

Most years we get some sap

flow in November, but not this

season. November was one of

the warmest and driest on

record. Our pond, which

u s u a l l y r e a c h e s h i g h

water by Halloween, was still

down at New Years 2009.

When the white stuff came

down in mid-December, we got

excited, but would the ground

be wet enough?

Snow almost always leads to a

good sap flow when it starts to

melt. Unfortunately, the snow

that hit mid December didn‘t

disappear quickly and tem-

peratures didn‘t warm up

enough until early January for

the sap to really start flowing.

If it‘s too cold sap freezes and

we can‘t harvest it.

Most of us think that maple

trees are completely dormant

during the winter, but they

aren‘t. Just under the thin

outer bark of small branches

To those of us who tap the West

Coast‘s bigleaf maple trees, the

weather this time of year is very

important. We want some cold

and snow and then a few days of

spring-like conditions. This causes

the sap to flow like crazy in our

local maple trees. From November

through March we watch the

thermometer, barometer, weather

channel, and Internet weather

sites daily – looking for the right

moment to start drilling.

The timing of twisting the brace

and bit (or pulling the trigger on

the cordless drill) is critical to

lies a layer of green. This layer pro-

v i d e s a b i t o f

p h o to s yn t h e si s , e no ug h t o

trigger certain

events within

the tree in-

cluding sap

flow.

So for those of

us that are

waiting daily

this time of

year for that

liquid gold

c a l l e d

maple syrup, a

high water

table, and a

few days of

cold and/or

snow followed

by some warmer sunny weather is

what we‘re hoping for. In early

March the maple season starts back

East, just when our season is ending

with bud burst changing the flavour

of the sap.

Gary, Teesh and Katherine Backlund own and operate BC Managed Forest 127 near Ladysmith, BC. Activities consist of maple tapping, floral greens and salvaged wood prod-uct, roadbed plant rescue, sales of native plants and trees and timber management activities.

P a g e 4

Word from the Woods - West Coast Tapping

A F u t u r e B e n e a t h t h e T r e e s

success. A hole drilled too soon won‘t produce.

Some mechanism within the tree‘s physiology will

treat that hole as a wound and close off the sap

flow to it. But if we can drill when the sap is

actually flowing, the tap hole will usually be very

productive.

Even the productive holes start to heal over after

about four weeks. Then it‘s time to pull out the tap,

known as a spile, and drill a new hole nearby.

Another factor is the height of the water table.

Maples grow in wet areas and have shallow root

systems. The water table needs to reach the maple

West Coast Big

Leaf Maple

Tapping on

Vancouver

Island, BC

“Most years we get

some sap flow in

November, but not

this season.

November was one

of the warmest and

driest on record.”

Islanders are not happy with the status

quo but little has changed as people

press for increased local control of

resources, protection of sacred places

and sustainability.

Wild mushrooms, especially the

popular chanterelles, have been

commercially harvested on the islands

for over 20 years. Every fall, off-island

buyers set up temporary shacks from

where they purchase mushrooms for

export markets. Most are sent to France

where premium prices are paid for this

wild delicacy. Experienced local pickers

can attest to the steady decline in the

prices paid to pickers. Two years ago,

prices dropped to just $1.00 a pound,

Webster's dictionary defines economy

as 'part of a system that deals with

mans material needs’; or, more

br o adly , a so c i a l sy st em o f

production, exchange, distribution, and

c o n s u m p t i o n o f g o o d s a n d

services of an area. In other words, how

h u m a n s i n t e r a c t w i t h t h e i r

environment and each other to meet

their needs. The economic reality on

Haida Gwaii over the past 100 years

would be better defined as ‗part of a

system that deals with corporate

needs' . In logging, fishing and even the

local wild mushroom 'industry',

off-island companies export local

resources and the profits, with only a

small benefit going to some islanders.

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

Economies Working For People?

Haida Gwaii Co-op Aims to Try

For over a year now, the team at INFOR Inc., New

Brunswick‘s premier private forestry resource centre, has

worked with representatives from this province, Nova

Scotia, Newfoundland & Lab-

rador, Prince Edward Island

and the state of Maine to

develop a non-timber forest

product directory. ―From Our

Atlantic Woods‖ will be

available in April 2009 and

―From Our Atlantic Woods‖…. Update

while retail prices remained at $20.00-

$30.00 a pound. Some local people

wondered if it would be possible to

o f f e r b e t t e r p r i c e s t o

pickers and create more local

employment if mushrooms were

processed on the islands.

A June 2005 feasibility study made

some startling discoveries. After

ruling out the possibility of going into

competition with the off-island

companies in the fresh market, a

cutting edge technology for drying

foods was discovered. A process called

Vacuum Microwave Dehydration uses

microwaves in a vacuum chamber

(Continued on page 6)

will list NTFP businesses from this region, include an

extensive collection of photos and recipes, and contain

information on historic and current uses of NTFPs. We

have used the Buy BCwild

Directory as a model to

develop our own East Coast

resource.

Our campaign to recruit

businesses to list in our

directory has been extremely

successful; we currently have

over 250 listings from

businesses selling regionally

popular products like

Christmas greenery, fiddle-

heads and maple syrup as

well as a wide array of edible

and natural body care prod-

ucts made from lesser known

gems like cloudberries and

hawthor n haws. The

directory will also showcase

wild mushroom growers,

hiking and bird-watching

(Continued on page 6)

“The official launch of the

[directory] is on April 4,

2009… printed copies

will be distributed

through listees, via

tourism booths...

organizations, Sobeys

grocery stores, farmers’

markets and other

venues.”

tour guides, beeswax artists, walking stick creators,

figured wood sculptors and many more. The sheer

number and diversity of NTFP businesses in our

region astounded all of us working on the recruitment

portfolio!

Business owners are very eager to be part of this

initiative to promote NTFPs and their small

businesses on a regional and global level. The

directory will be available as a printed catalogue as

well as a search-friendly online tool. As well as

promoting existing businesses, we hope the directory

will bring woodlot owners, harvesters, producers and

entrepreneurs together to share resources and ideas

to expand and enhance the regional NTFP industry.

Work is ongoing on the directory; we are currently

planning the official launch of the product on April 4,

2009. Afterwards, printed copies will be distributed

P a g e 6 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

through our listees, via tourism booths, steering committee

organizations, Sobeys grocery stores, farmers‘ markets and

other venues.

We are happy to add our own directory to the growing array

of resources promoting Canadian NTFPs. It is our hope that

the people of British Columbia will enjoy browsing our

directory as much as we have enjoyed the Buy BC wild

publication.

Following our launch, you can access a copy of the ―From

O u r A t l a n t i c W o o d s ‖ d i r e c t o r y o n l i n e :

www.fromouratlanticwoods.com or request a free printed

copy via INFOR Inc. in New Brunswick: ntfp@infor.ca or

506-450-8787.

Janette Desharnais is executive director of INFOR Inc. providing education and information to New Brunswick's Christmas tree growers, private woodlot owners and maple syrup producers. Janette hails from a francophone farming community in Manitoba and, after completing her forestry degree, has adopted New Brunswick as her new province.

Atlantic Woods…cont.

instead of heat and creates superior dried food

products that maintain their size, color, flavour and,

best of all, reconstitute beautifully. Traditional

air-dried chanterelles presently on the market are all

and discoloured and do not reconstitute very well.

Test samples were very impressive and presently,

there isn't anything remotely close to it on the mar-

ket.

The Queen Charlotte Culinary Cooperative’s

purpose is to provide local benefit to islanders, by

creating local employment and increasing local

control over islands resources. The idea of a

community cooperative as a vehicle for harvesting

and processing non-timber forest products makes

sense in a place like Haida Gwaii. Co-op members

must be residents of the islands, be interested in

harvesting in a sustainable manner, and understand

and respect community values. With community di-

rection – especially from the Haida, to protect valued

local food sources – other non-timber

products could be considered for harvest such as

berries, seaweed and salal. The co-op could also help

facilitate more local control over islands

resources by being a voice to the government to

Haida Gwaii…. cont.

manage forests for their non-timber values instead of

only timber stands.

The beauty of a cooperative structure is that its

members (islanders) have the power to create its

direction and priorities. Profits don't go to a single

company owner but back into the cooperative to

provide fair prices and wages for those doing the

work.

“Cooperatives are founded on a common idea-that

people, no matter what economic class or

educational level, know what's best for themselves.

People can work together to meet their own needs. A

cooperative is an enterprise that is collectively owned

and democratically controlled by its

members for their mutual benefit.” (Melanie Conn,

Simon Fraser University Cooperative Studies.)

The Cooperative presently has 38 members, all of

them residents of Haida Gwaii.

Lynda Dixon is the Queen Charlotte Culinary Cooperative and Gen-eral Manager. She can be reached at: Phone: (250) 559-8202; Fax: (250) 559-8242 and E-Mail: Lynda@qc3foods.ca

explore:

The values of working together;

Collaborative community based

research;

Models for NTFR-based community

development;

Policy and resource management.

The Forum connects people from across

Canada to discuss emerging issues and sets

the stage for informed approaches to

developing a sustainable wild products

sector. There is something for everyone:

whether you are new to the sector or a

seasoned practitioner, come discover a future beneath the trees.

To stay informed on the Forum and learn more about the 2009 Canadian

Forest Communities Conference, watch for future issues of the newsletter

and visit www.buybcwild.com

The Centre for Non-Timber Resources, in

partnership with the Canadian Forest

Communities Conference and Natural

Resources Canada, is

planning a one day Forum

for the Fall 2009.

Please be on the lookout

f o r a n u p c o m i n g

announcement of the

dates. Plan to join us at the

stunning Vancouver Island

Conference Centre for a

day of learning and

information sharing,

linking research, policy and

economic opportunities to

build a stronger NTFR

sector.

Workshop themes will

P a g e 7 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

A Future Beneath the Trees Forum

Vancouver Island

Conference Centre —

Nanaimo, BC

Eating and buying local; supporting local economies; greater value; more

wholesome. These are just some of the ways that attendees at Shop the Wild

2008 saw wild foods and other NTFPs.

Overall, the survey results show that the festival attracted its target audience –

those people that are concerned about and want to purchase their goods and

services locally.

Some highlights of the 2008 Shop the Wild Consumer Survey:

68% of those surveyed purchased a product from First Nations individuals

or businesses in the past year.

99% purchased local products in the past 12 months.

The most often purchased product was prepared foods and berries. Health

and beauty products, mushrooms, and

home and garden products were also

purchased by a significant number of

people.

More than 80% of the respondents

purchased a wild product (or service) in

the past year.

The most often picked reason for

buying a wild product or service was

―Supporting Local Producers‖

See www.buybcwild.com for more

survey results

Shop the Wild 2008 Consumer Survey

A F u t u r e B e n e a t h t h e T r e e s

More than 80% of Shop the

Wild respondents have

purchased a wild product or

service in the past year

Your comments on

this issue or sugges-

tions for upcoming

issues are always wel-

come. Contact us at:

bcwild@royalroads.ca

We are proud to

present a one day

Forum in

partnership with

the Canadian

Forest Communit

ies Conference

and Natural

Resources

Canada.

It doesn‘t much matter where you

go, or how far people might be apart

geographically - basic needs are

common to us all. Symbiotic

relationships between plants,

animals and people are the realities

of our existence.

In traditional Polynesia, people were

seafaring warriors and gardeners

whose skin was stressed with

tropical sunshine, salt water and

wind. A plant came to the rescue -

the kukui (Aleurites moluccana),

whose pit contains enough oil to give

it the name ‗candle nut‘. In the

Mediterranean region, olive oil was

used for skin care (as it is still), and

the extremes of the Sub-Saharan

African climate have as skin antidote

a waxy solid oil from the karite

fruit‘s pit, with natural sun screen

properties. It has become popular-

ized of late as ‗shea butter‘. All these

plant oils are also traditionally used

as food and food-medicine by the

people who first grew and processed

P a g e 8

The NTFP Challenge, Russian Chapter

A F u t u r e B e n e a t h t h e T r e e s

the food oils people process from their

forest plants, such as pine nut oil,

rosehip oil, sea buckthorn oil, a wild

cousin to eastern

European flax, as

well as rose essen-

tial oil from

Bulgaria. All of

these oils have

t r e m e n d o u s

benefits to human

skin.

The process of

replicating my own

formulas, replacing

oils we use here for

their medicinal

p r o p e r t i e s

(calendula and St.

John‘s Wort for

example) was an

i n t e r e s t i n g

exercise, as it showed that not only

did we need to create the same kind of

active ingredient profile, but also to

consider scent, texture and whether

the ‗oil‘ was hydro- or lipophilic - in

other words, would it even work in a

non-water base?

Months of preparation came to frui-

tion on a beautiful morning in late

May. The Russian economic

development delegation had arrived

on Vancouver Island, and it was my

turn to ‗show and smell‘. Although it

was months before distilling season,

they were so keen to see my

distillation unit at work that I found a

barrel of 2006 lavender flower buds. I

had no expectation of getting any oil

from them at all, but with

simultaneous streaming translation I

filled the still and explained the proc-

ess of form shifting lavender flowers

into an elixir of volatile oil – and lo

and behold, it was the highest yield

that still has ever produced. It must

(Continued on page 9)

Eating foods

produced locally

makes sense on

many levels. In the

same way, using

body care

appropriate to our

bioregion also

makes sense.

them.

The term ‗biodynamic‘ is

becoming more commonly heard

in our quickly greening era. If we

can consider the concept to

include ‗bioregional‘ - as in the

‗One Hundred Mile Diet‘ - eating

foods produced locally makes

sense on many levels. In the

same way, using body care

appropriate to our bioregion also

makes sense.

It was this logic, combined with

the realities of a tricky situation

that provided an NTFP challenge

last spring. I was charged with

applying my knowledge and

experience in formulating

natural body care products to a

very specific situation: creating a

model line of products that

could be made with local

materials, minimal processing, a

sparse population and a VERY

isolated region - the Russian

Urals, neighbor

to Siberia!

Thankfully, the

internet has

made research-

ing such a

c o n u n d r u m

more pleasure

t h a n

b r a i n - p a i n .

First, looking

at what was

a c t u a l l y

available there

(as I had to say

more than

once, you can‘t

make lip balm

f r o m t r e e

bark)... then

exploring the

properties of

Russian visit to Canada, Fall 2008. They are smelling conifer essential oils of balsam, fir,

pine & spruce – trees that they would have growing in their region.

have been something about that

f l u i d s t r e a m o f

Russian...

Next up was actually

making the salves -

one of the delegates

w a s N a d e z h d a

Alekseeva, Head of

the Settlement of

Sa r a np a u l - a

charming, astute,

woman who was very

interested in the

process. She and her

co-delegates were

delighted to learn that

I had included many

NTFP oils their

people would be able

to access in their

home region, possibly

c r e a t i n g o t h e r

business ventures in growing and

manufacturing these oils in the

more Canadian raw materials to

include in product formulations –

building on the inspiration of the

Russian Challenge, to create a new

‗100 Mile Body Care‘ personal

challenge – more on that as it evolves!

We look forward to sharing more

about Cowichan Full Circle in future

editions of the newsletter.

Hopefully we‘ll meet you at the up-

coming Shop the Wild events in Victo-

ria and Nanaimo!

Beth Lischeron is an evolving project – combin-

ing decades of work with Indigenous peoples

around the globe with studies in ethnobotany,

herbalism and essential oils with her consider-

able body of work as a writer, broadcaster and

event coordinator. in 1995 she created

‗Dragonfly Dreaming‘, a pioneer company in

natural body care in Canada. Beth resides in the

Cowichan Valley, raising awareness, a new joint

venture – Cowichan Full Circle - and a teen-

ager. www.dragonflydreaming.com 250-

743-8036

P a g e 9

Russian Chapter…cont.

A F u t u r e B e n e a t h t h e T r e e s

“I included NTFP oils

their people would be

able to access in their

home region,

possibly creating

other business

ventures in growing

and manufacturing

these oils in the

Urals.

U r a l s . T h e e x e r c i s e

certainly showed us all that, if

they could identify a local

entrepreneur with an herbal

bent - or a local herbalist with an

entrepreneurial edge - a thriving

cottage industry could develop.

Although we don‘t know yet if

our Russian friends will be able

to find a team to do it, we are

using the idea here in the

Cowichan Valley. A team of

Cowichan people have launched

a new venture called ‗Cowichan

Full Circle‘, which is dedicated to

native plant salvage, sustainable

harvesting, preparation of

materials and manufacture of a

line of organic body care prod-

u c t s . I t a l s o i n c l u d e s

capacity-building with First

Nations youth, and a public

education component. This ex-

ercise lead to an active search for

The Buy BCwild Initiative and the Centre for Non-Timber Resources

would like to thank our partners for their continued support of the

Initiative.

Funded in whole or part through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement

200 business from across BC.

Shop the Wild 2008: a tremen-

dous success bringing about

$40,000 in sales to festival

vendors.

Shop the Wild Market Toolkit:

this planning toolkit allows

Our sector provides clear economic

opportunities for individuals and

communities. Buy BCwild is an im-

portant initiative that supports the

wild sector by building capacity, edu-

cating consumers, linking the sector

with emerging trends and creating

opportunities for the sector to work

collaboratively.

Exciting news/activities include:

2009 BCwild Forum in part-

nership with the National

Forest Communities Confer-

ence. Visit www.fcc-ccf.ca for

information and registration

details.

2009 Buy BCwild Directory

due for release in June. This

edition features more than

communities to host Shop the

Wild markets throughout the

province. We will be reaching

out to regional ‗hosts‘ to work in

partnership with us to test the

toolkit in two municipalities in

2009.

Sector Market Analysis: Shop

the Wild consumer survey pro-

vides important information for

NTFP-based businesses. Focus

groups are planned in the near

future for more in-depth analy-

sis.

The Atlantic region‘s ―From Our

Atlantic Woods‖ directory is due

to be released in April and is

modeled on the Buy BCwild

Directory.

Sector Development Activities and Updates

www.buybcwild.com

Centre for Non-Timber Resources (CNTR)

2005 Sooke Rd

Victoria, BC

V9B 5Y2

Phone: 250-391-2600 ext4328

Fax: 250-391-2563

E-mail: bcwild@royalroads.ca

www.buybcwild.com

The Buy BCwild Initiative‘s goal is ―to

support the ethical and sustainable de-

velopment of BC‘s wild sector and to im-

prove the contribution of forest re-

sources to livelihoods, employment and

i n c o m e g e n e r a t i o n i n r ur a l

communities.‖

The Initiative uses four main activities to

work towards meeting this goal:

Buy BCwild Directory

Shop the Wild Festival & Toolkit

BCwild Conference

Quarterly Newsletter: A Future Be-

neath the Trees

Buy BCwild

A Future Beneath the Trees

Published three times per year: April, August and December

by the CNTR. Submission deadline is the 10th of the previous

month.

CNTR Director: Brian Belcher

Coordinator, Education and Capacity Building: Tim Brigham

Coordinator, BCwild Initiative: Holly Caine

Editor: Sheldon Kitzul

Shop the Wild 2008