MANITOWANING—The 15th annual Debajehmujig Storytellers Seed Swap ‘The Secret of the Seed’ took place this past weekend at the company’s Creation Centre on Queen Street in Manitowaning. The event attracted numerous gardening enthusiasts from across the Island who took in several workshops and presentations throughout the day.
Seed Swap organizer Ashley Manitowabi greets attendees at this year’s event.
Among the presentations were Mary Yett on Permaculture, Ashley Manitowabi on Living Seed, Richard Lathwell on Local Food Manitoulin, Dan Morreal on Simple Pickles, Jenn Mezei on Moths and Manidoo Bineshiinh on her company Binishii Dreams.
Workshops included Seed Collections by Manidoo Bineshiinh, Seed Art by Dustin Trudeau, Phyllo Pastry by Gino Caccioti (with venison rolls created being featured at lunch), Paint and Plant by Jenn Mezei, Simple Pickles by Dan Morale, Table Art Mural by Star Nahwegahbo and Tea Over the Fire by Bruce Naokwegijig.
Manidoo Bineshiinh of Binishii Dreams was on hand to assist gardeners with incorporating native species in with their gardens.
photos by Michael Erskine
“I am here to promote a workshop around seed collections,” said Ms. Bineshiinh. “I’m showing off some of my seed collection that I’ve gathered over the years and I have a business called Binishii Dreams where I do eco arts, food sovereignty and edible forest. So basically helping people to understand the importance of regenerative farming, non-GMO food, as well as restoration of the wild plants and medicines and then how we can incorporate our own fruits into the wild fruits and medicines and kind of make like more of a permaculture for generations.”
Her perspective is to look at gardening and the land as a long-term commitment. “How do we provide for the youth and the future well-being of our Mother Earth,” she said. We share our knowledge, and we get to also share our seeds—and that’s how we can help the movement of good safe food for our communities.”
“I started in the garden full time in 2020,” she said, stepping away from her career in tv and film production. “It became; how do I provide for my family without money?” she said. “Without my career and income coming in. Well, I grow food, and I provide off the land and learn more about how to save the seeds so that I can continue saving those seeds and showing my family how to save those seeds, and then, how to grow those seeds?”
She described her work in the film industry as “very fast-paced, it’s also a lot of hours. So much, like the garden, it requires a lot of physical labor, requires long hours, it requires focus and determination and it requires my commitment over long periods of time, so you know that was just something that just made sense to me because I was already in that pattern of working and committing myself to something for the greater good of the community.”
“It is something I was able to feel passionate about because I know my family comes from a background of agriculture gardening, farming, and then I also have a background in land based. survival, so those were all things that I feel like I grew up around. I feel comfortable with, and so it was basically like a natural setting for me—it was just my way of life.”
“It just became something that I was able to combine the arts and food because they go hand in hand,” she said of her company. “When you think about the naturalization of the land around us and the care of that land, the arts and the food, both require that land to be healthy and thriving in order for us to be healthy and thriving, and we are the ones who are here to protect and defend the Earth.”
Ellen and Lisa of Tehkummah said that they came to the Seed Swap largely out of curiosity.
As to whether they have a garden, they laughed. “We try, we’re trying, we’re getting bigger,” said Ellen. But she describes the local deer as “ambitious.”
Sisters Mary Ellan, Maggie and Theresa Shain dropped in to see what all the fuss was about. Two out of three are gardeners.
Sisters Mary Ellan, Maggie and Theresa Shain provided a wide range of interests. Mary Ellen now has a garden, thanks to sister Theresa, while Maggie isn’t that into gardening—although her sister threatens to fill her back yard with squash (key to note, Maggie isn’t crazy about squash). They also came largely out of curiosity and were enjoying learning about the many aspects of gardening and all things seeds.
Enid Runnells may be familiar to readers of The Expositor as the author of the Barrie Island News column in Friends and Neighbours. She was actually at the Seed Swap for the unrelated Manitoulin Fine Arts Association workshop on the Business of Art being presented upstairs by artist and author Sophie Edwards.
She was taking the opportunity to check out the Seed Swap during a break.
“On Barrie Island I’m able to grow a lot of flowers and tomatoes,” she said. “I’ve got a lot of heat there and so I was just interested in picking up some seeds and talking to people here.” One person she was speaking she described as “a real expert on natural seeds, how to know when to pick them out of your garden, and how to how to sort the kind that you should be planting them. She was giving me all kinds of tips and I am picking up all kinds of information.”
“I love flowers,” she said. “I just love seeing things grow. I love plants. I love them inside and I love them out.”
Ms. Runnalls said that she also loves to paint flowers. “I do a lot of painting as well, so I like to have a garden that’s sort of wild. That isn’t so lined up. I just like to kind of throw the seeds in the ground and see what comes up and hopefully shake it around, and hopefully, hopefully, it comes back next year.”
One of the tips she received was on the growing of asparagus. “So many people chop it down when it gets to a certain height,” she said. “It looks kind of scrappy, so they chop it down. But you’re supposed to wait until there’s little red seeds forming. And then you can remove the stock.”
Throughout the day, dozens of garden inspired folks dropped in bearing packets of their own seeds and taking the opportunity to pick up some new ones to try.
“We are really happy with the turnout,” said organizer Ashely Manitowabi, “it’s growing every year (pun intended).”
Debajehmujig students Sapper Wemigwans and Zoey Trudeau are in the Seed Swap spirit.
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