Contributing Authors

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Hi, my name is Kiri Martin and the best way I can describe myself is to say that I am just a city girl, who wishes she was a country girl, who is currently living in the ‘burbs. I grow a lot of my own food, save seeds, cook from scratch and preserve my harvest through canning. I am passionate about heirloom seeds and helping other people to learn to grow food for themselves and their families. 

In my day job, I work for a bank and fill my spare time blogging, making purses and generally never sitting still. One day I plan to pack up my suburban life, buy some land and start living the full homestead life. Until then I grow as much food as I can in the space I have, with a heart full of homestead dreams, and chicken. I really want chickens. #makefoodgrow

Hello Everyone! My name is Francis and I am a Graphic Designer by trade and an “expert” amateur outdoorsman. I have a passion for the Great Outdoors, but especially Ice Fishing. Something about sitting on a frozen lake in silence and patiently waiting for that next big bite has me hooked!

I grew up amidst all the hustle and bustle of a major metropolis close to the water, so fishing is something I fondly remember. I found an affinity for Ice Fishing when I moved to Alberta, and was introduced to it by some friends.  Like anyone new to the hard water, I too was concerned about everything from ice safety rules to targeting species. Even after hours of research I still find myself learning new things. I’ve barely scratched the surface. 

Most of what I’ve learned is from listening to other people's experiences, testing it out and gaining experiences of my own. So now I get that opportunity to share what I have learned and hope the new wave of anglers can benefit from my tips and tricks. Come learn with me! Happy Fishing

  Ashley is an agronomist who has had a passion for plants since she was a small child. In the long summers as a child, she would garden alongside her grandmother and it was then that she realized her love for greenery. With years of great studying, Ashley had begun her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan.

 At first, her second love, animals, was the career path she chose but while doing her undergrad she realized that her education would take her elsewhere. And with that, four years later she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor’s degree in science and a major in Soil Science. 

Some of Ashley’s interests are YouTube, in which she posts informative videos about plants and gardening. The focus of Ashley’s YouTube channel is to bring science to gardening in a way that is informative but also helpful to others learning to garden. She also talks about the importance of having your own garden and the joys of gardening indoors. Ashley continues to study plants in her free time and hopes to expand her YouTube channel as well as her reach to up and coming gardeners. 

 Our names are Chris and Stef, and we have challenged ourselves to only eat what we Catch, Grow, Harvest or Raise for an entire YEAR! This includes everything right down to the basics, such as sugar, salt and flour. We hope you enjoy following along with our journey. 

We are the BEE TEAM:  Beekeepers, homesteaders and mentors to those who love nature. We own and operate Meadowlily Honey Farm in London Ontario and are founders of Ontario Bee Rescue. Ontario Bee Rescue is a collective of over 100 caring beekeepers dedicated to saving the honeybees. We also run a duck refuge for wayward, injured or homeless ducks. We love to work with and help animals and people. Our Motto is: The more you help others – the better life gets! 

For more information buzz by our website! 

  Hello, we are Carly and Brett Rempel. Our journey as a hobby farm started only a few years back on a small ten-acre piece of land in southeastern Manitoba. Both of us grew up around farming with most of our experience being around beef cattle, pigs, chickens and even sheep. We are by no means experts at any of these animals but we hope to share our experiences, both good and bad, through our social media and written articles. Happy farming!  

 Hi everyone!  My name is Marianne, and I’m passionate about yarn crafts.  My love started with crochet when I was young (7 or 8?) when my Mum taught me how to crochet and my Dad worked at a Yarn Company so we were blessed with lots of supplies! Later in life, I started knitting and couldn’t believe how different it felt from crochet.  I struggled to find resources, so now that I’ve overcome the learning curve I’m sharing my knowledge with the world. I strongly believe everyone should know how to knit or crochet - it relieves stress, it’s mobile and you can construct some truly beautiful things!  Aside from this, I work in tech (#womxnintech), am married with 3 kids and a fur baby who doesn’t shed, which works well for my yarn stash! 

 Hey there, my name is Ryan Mercier and I am an extremely passionate outdoorsman from the beautiful British Columbia. I am very passionate about the natural world. What I mean by the natural world is that our lives, in reality, revolve around the food chain, and I embrace that little fact about our existence. I am a hunter with a tremendous amount of respect for the creatures that we pursue. I am also very proud of our hunting heritage and intend on keeping it alive and well for generations. Join me at A Hunters Journal for conservation topics, hunting stories and more!