After a year in hiatus, we are back! The uncertainly of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 meant the HLC had to take a season off of programming and focus on the overall operation of the project. Now in 2021, we find ourselves with several new board members, new employees and many exciting projects in the works. One of these is a cherry tomato enterprise! We are growing 512 plants in our seedling house. Some of these will be available shortly for purchase as transplants for your own garden, while the crop of tomatoes itself will be marketed at the Liverpool Farmer’s Market, alongside information about the Centre.
Because pandemic uncertainties continue this summer, we cannot operate as usual. So, for this summer only, upon the lifting of lockdown, we are offering our main building and 4 cabins for private rentals. Be it a business retreat, a family gathering or a reunion among friends, our center can comfortably accommodate 20+ adults. Please note that our facilities are remote and rustic. Think summer camp. We encourage only outdoor enthusiasts and adventure seekers to inquire. Provincial public health restrictions regarding travel, gathering limits, and retail change frequently. In the rental of our facilities, public health guidelines must be followed. Please see our website for further information on spending a few days this summer at the Harrison Lewis Coastal Discovery Centre!
To introduce myself, my name is Kevin Morin and I have been employed as the general manager for the Harrison Lewis Centre. My background is in food and farming. After graduating from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in 2013, I have spent every summer either working on a farm or in a kitchen…or both! I first came across the HLC in 2012 when I attended an ‘'Introduction to Ethnobotany'' workshop taught by botanist Pierre Taschereau and mycologist Keith Williams. Over three days, we went on plant walks, cultivated wild yeast from plum skin, used lichens to dye wool and learned so much about plant names, the stories behind them, and their possible uses. It was a fantastic weekend. Fast forward to 2018. I was introduced to Dirk and the future needs of the HLC through a friend we have in common. I immediately voiced my interest in taking part in the project, though I was sheep farming in British Columbia at the time, and would only return to Nova Scotia in April of this year.
Upon arriving here on April 1st 2021, I faced a 2-week mandatory self quarantine. Luckily, Dirk and the Board of Directors allowed me to use the Harrison Lewis Centre for this period. What joy to have the hundreds acres of forest, the untouched shoreline and the various facilities at the HLC to explore during a quarantine; it felt much more like a retreat. However, there was a lot of work to be done as well. The main pasture in front of the HLC’s cookhouse was heavily overgrown with rosebush. The pasture’s fence was also in desperate need of repair. So, simply in the purpose of keeping busy while isolating in solitude, I set about repairing the fence that held cattle several years ago, without thinking that they would hold cattle again very shortly.
This is the second time in my short farming life that I had the priviledge to bring animals back to pastures previously grazed; to bringing cows home, so to say. The cattle arrived one-week ago today, a couple cross-bred Belted-Galloways from Kevin Veinotte's Out to Pasture farm. Having animals back on the land means much to me, Dirk and to the reasons behind the HLC project that bring together concepts of ‘’a practical harmony’’ between farming and nature. The smell of manure. The sound of chewing cud. The ever so curious beasts that watch our every move. The cattle strengthen our relation to the land and help us build faith in the future development of our center. And so it is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to contribute to the Harrison Lewis Centre.
The HLC team is in the process of developing a programming schedule for the 2021 summer. While it will be a limited schedule due to the pandemic restrictions, we hope to be able to host at least a few events welcoming the public here at Sandy Bay.