Island Roots Director: Peggy Burkosky

Peggy's initial reason for accepting the responsibility of director for the Island Roots Market Co-op was a simple one. As a producer of local value-added seafood, she agrees with the Co-op's goals to provide direct access to local food products. It has always been a challenge for local fishermen that work extremely hard to find a way to sell their catch other than to the typical chain of buyers and processors, leaving the fisherman with the least amount of benefits and a spiraling lack of encouragement for the next generation to continue the family business. This situation is identical to family farms across the nation that have not encouraged their children to carry on with their heritage farms. One of the most highlighted areas of need revealed in this month's VIHA hosted symposium "Food Connections Gathering " was that of a local farm/seafood market, followed by creating land trusts for food security on Vancouver Island.

Having been directly involved in working with local youth completing high school, she observes the highly prevalent need for jobs within our Island communities. Job creation has historically been achieved through co-operatives across Canada, and I can't think of a more rewarding effort than to try and serve these needs.

Best regards,
Peggy Burkosky

Island Roots Director: Mr. Dirk Becker

This week please get acquainted with Mr.Dirk Becker!


Over 20 years of activism and a lot of fighting against things, now his new direction is one targeted at creating things in order to facilitate real change.

Food, farming, farmers, farmer's markets and farmland is the medium he now uses as the primary tool to reach people to raise awareness with the hope that we will make better choices.

Cooperatives, which are a means of organizing and bringing people together, for the express purpose of mutual benefit, is a natural extension of that process.

Dirk looks forward and has hope that peoples' natural propensity to work together in cooperation and our genuine desire for a better future, will compel us to create new organizations that will take our culture and ultimately humanity in a better direction.

Over 20 years as an environmental advocate on Vancouver Island and an agricultural advocate for the past five years, Dirk Becker has volunteered countless hours for the betterment of his community and the regional district. 

His passion for creating positive change is infectious and has benefited the community in a number of ways from working to create local provincial parks to inspiring young adults to grow much of their own food. By walking his talk, Dirk inspires people to make more conscious decisions. Sustainability for Vancouver Island by lowering our personal ecological footprints is a large part of his volunteer work from doing talks on rainwater collection for the RDN (Regional District of Nanaimo), and Growing Food workshops for Seedy Sundays and Saturdays. 

Dirk's focus has been advocating for agricultural change on Vancouver Island – creating a climate to support local food. He has accomplished this by creating and organizing the 2007 Farmers' Showcase last autumn and creating the Bowen Road Farmers' market in 2008.

The purpose of the 2007 Farmers' Showcase was to:

a) educate the residents of the mid island, showcasing the variety of food that is grown, raised and produced right in our region from fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood to value-added food products such as cheese and preserves and even non-food products such as clothing from local alpaca wool and goat milk soap.

b) “prove” that residents of the mid island would support local farmers. Over 3,000 people attended the showcase (Dirk expected 600 people maximum) and many vendors sold out that day.

This showcase paved the way for Dirk to spearhead the creation of the Bowen Road Farmers' Market – the first true “Farmers' Market” in Nanaimo that firmly kept 75% - 80% food vendors, with the remaining percentage made up of quality artisans and other non-food vendors. It proved to be a success, with many vendors making the new market their “first” market – their primary source of income. The market ran from May 21st to October 22nd, of this year and there is now a growing wait list for next year's season. The market grew out of the original location with a consistent wait list of 20 vendors and moved across the street to our local exhibition grounds which is a much more suitable location with yet more room to grow.

The mission of the Bowen Road Farmers' market:

To create and foster relationships between farmers, small scale food processors and artisans together with people in the surrounding communities in order to promote, support and increase agriculture on Vancouver Island and area.

Dirk's gift for keeping the big-picture vision forefront when it comes to educating the public about global food systems and local food has not always won him favour with his board of directors or the vendors (with progressive policy on such things as minimum food pricing policy). However, by the end of this first year, he has proved that his instincts were “on” and that keeping food pricing at a sustainable level would allow farmers to make a decent living and encourage young people to consider farming as a viable career choice.

Organizations and events Dirk has directly spearheaded:

• Founder and President of the first CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) in our area, that employed four provincial “green teams” over a two year period.  

• Spearheaded the 2007 Farmers' Showcase in Nanaimo to highlight for residents the diversity of food that is grown, raised and produced in our region. This one day event saw over 3,000 people attend from our community (which proved there was local support for a new farmers' market)

• Founder and President of the Bowen Road Farmers' Market (First year May-Oct 2008). The purpose of the market is to educate the residents of the Regional District of Nanaimo the importance of supporting local agriculture. 

• 2003 DesignWrights "Think BIG, Go Green" Earth Day Canada second place award for rain barrel manufacture and design - 45-gallon, food grade plastic barrels can fill up in a 20 minute downpour.

• Co-host of the community radio talk show, “Hearts and Minds: Tools for Change” which addresses practical solutions for living more consciously. 

Organizations and events Dirk has dedicated time and effort to making a success:

• Volunteered at and helped organize the 2008 Green Solutions tradeshow and speaker series

• Linley Valley Park Committee, which later morphed into the Nanaimo Area Land Trust.

• Worked with Nanaimo residents, City of Nanaimo and provincial government to fundraise for the purchase of Neck Point Park.

• One of the main participants in fundraising for the acquisition of Jedidiah Island as a provincial marine park.

• Has emceed several Nanaimo Earth Day events 

• Past Board member of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee.

• Past volunteer and board member of the Nanaimo Recycling Exchange.

• Past Board member of Nanaimo Family Life.

In addition, Dirk is public speaker and workshop presenter (www.dirkbecker.ca)  

• Named among “Nanaimo’s Top 20 Most Powerful People” three years in a row - 2009, 2010 and 2011. 

• Currently a director of the Farmland Defense League and sits on the advisory panel for GMO-free BC. 

• January 2009 LiveSmart BC Community Hero

• Interviewed by newspapers over 50 times in past four years discussing global challenges, including the connection between fossil fuel, world conflict, agriculture and food 

bio from:

www.DirkBecker.ca

Charismatic, funny and well–informed, Dirk Becker is a Sustainability Guru. His timely message reaches thousands of people through newspaper and magazine articles, at public education forums, across the internet and over the airwaves. With life partner Nicole Shaw, he co–hosts the radio program, "Heart and Mind: Tools for Change," on CHLY 101.7 FM, Vancouver Island. Nicole and Dirk are also the Publisher and Assistant Editor respectively, of "Synergy," their bi–monthly community–driven magazine dedicated to personal growth through the body, mind and spirit. See www.synergymag.ca

 Besides talking the talk, Dirk walks the walk as a dedicated organic farmer. On his own 2.5 acres in Lantzville, B.C., he’s turned what was little more than dust and gravel into lush, productive farmland using simple, successful, bio–intensive methods. He offers hands–on demonstrations and runs a variety of practical workshops at the farm.

 Dirk has campaigned for and created a new Farmers’ Market, organized large agricultural showcases, and been a featured speaker at environmental tradeshows and various community forums. He’s also President of the Bowen Road Farmers’ Market, a prominent Local Foods advocate and only sells his produce fresh–picked!

Always environmentally concerned and globally aware, Dirk considers his mission in life that of creating a greater consciousness and teaching by example: "My interests are very broad, and my goal in teaching is about much more than simply vegetables and organics. For me, it is about creating a shift in our culture and way of being."

 Growing up with Dyslexia and what is now known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), he’s spent much of his life researching the connections between lifestyle choices, (such as the foods and food additives we eat; the pesticides, herbicides and chemicals we use, etc.) and the alarming growth of modern health problems, including the unprecedented increase in diagnoses of conditions such as ADD and ADHD.

 Dirk is also keenly interested in the complexities of human relationships and the contributing influences of society and lifestyle. As well as co–hosting the weekly radio show, "Heart and Mind: Tools for Change," he’s been a frequent speaker on various public radio programs (see www.womensradio.com ) and the Canadian podcast network at www.rabble.ca.

Island Roots President: Mr. Larry Whaley

Larry Whaley
 
Background:

Larry’s mother and father were members of a co-op in the small Alberta town where he grew up so you might say he has the co-operative movement in his blood. After completing high school, Larry moved to Calgary and shortly after that to Burnaby. Almost on arrival, he joined the South Burnaby Credit Union.
 
 When the need to house his young family (in a very tight housing market) arose, Larry looked to co-operation for the answer. He and others from the Burnaby Tenants’ Association formed the Norman Bethune Housing Co-operative. The result was a co-operatively owned, family oriented, 24 unit housing development near Simon Fraser University in North Burnaby. From there he and his family made a weekly trip to a small food co-op to pick up the things they needed and support another part of the movement.
 
 In 1980 Larry accepted a transfer to Nanaimo where he became the BC Governments Family Financial Counselor for the area. He immediately joined the credit union and what is now the Mid Island Co-op. Later served 4 years on the board of that organization.
 
 Larry left his BC Government job in 1983. He traveled widely across Canada and became known throughout as the Borrowers’ Advocate for his efforts to assist those people who were having problems with financial institutions and for his outspoken criticism of the way banks treated customers who faced financial problems as a result of annual interest rates that reached into the 25% range.
 
 Early this century Larry became involved with another small co-operative. This one back in Burnaby. In 2008 the manager of the Burnaby Co-op died and Larry stepped into a more active role. Last year the members of that co-op decided, after more than 30 years of running a completely volunteer back yard business, that it was time to close, sell the assets and divide up the resulting cash.

Occupy Nanaimo
After listening to the comments of participants at general assembly of the Occupy Nanaimo group Larry heard it mentioned that many of the participants want to farm and he wondered how they could sell the items they might produce and if they could possibly make a living farming in this area. He then began a planning process that involved dozens of people and resulted in the creation of the Island Roots Market Co-operative.