PAN NEWSLETTER SEPT 2026

meganashworth

12 minutes ago

3 min read

Hello again dear PAN newsletter subscribers! Hope this finds you well and enjoying the last warm rays of long(ish) days, harvesting and storing away some of the land's bounty for the coming winter. For me this felt like a precarious blessing of a summer season, full of rain and reasonable temperatures. We got lucky! Although I hear some parts struggled with too much rain at times. Unpredictable nature of the times we're in I guess.

The pic above is of huckleberry, still beautifully ripe in mid September. Huckleberry where were you all my life? Seems shocking to me that I am only now at 48 catching on to this wild berry native to our region. I have a walk in Ship Harbour to thank for finally being introduced to this super tasty berry, with Cheryl Maloney and her Peace and Friendship Medicine Trail initiative. The Peace and Friendship Medicine Trail is an effort to reconnect Mi'kmaq and settlers alike with the healing plants that grow all around us in Mi’kma’ki. The pop up events are open to all and can be found on the Peace and Friendship Medicine Trail facebook page. There is a closing one for the season happening at Taproot Farms tomorrow (Monday sept 21st) celebrating the many uses of the infamous stinging nettle plant. One of my faves. Details on that event here.

Coming up next month, on the weekend of October 17th & 18th, the Deanery Project will once again host Natural Building East. This weekend symposium brings together people with an interest in building in local, sustainable & low carbon ways. Saturday will have a mix of presentations, demonstrations, hands on workshops & conversation. Sunday will feature tours of a straw bale home and an earth-bermed home(!). What better time than now to explore construction methods that take principles like passive solar and thermal mass into consideration. Construction based around these principles can help provide for our heating and cooling needs using only the energy of the sun and the properties of the earth. Various locally available building materials will be explored. Registration & more details here. If you know of someone who might be a good fit as a presenter please share. I'm looking forward to volunteering at the event so I can soak it all up!

It's that time of year to get perennial plants into the ground so they can have an easy transition in their new locations. For this reason I'm going to share a list of local edible and medicinal nurseries (apologies in advance if I miss yours, please write and make sure I get you in the directory!)

blackbird hollow - phinneys cove, NS

Floreren Farm - Centrelea, NS

Ditch Rich Nurseries - Shemogue, NB

Sima's Roots & Fruits - Kingston Peninsula, NB

Springfield Trees - Kiersteadville, NB

Grapefest is happening next weekend at Corn Hill Nursery. Were I closer to Corn Hill NB I would be making a point to get to this event!

I came across an offering from Ivan Chan out of Ontario, and though they would be considered to be in one of our 'favourite cousins' regions, they do have a good selection of edible perennials and will ship across northern turtle island. Recommend checking out Eden in Season.

On his page there is a mention of a 'permaculture in ontario' map, and when I look at that I feel I want that for our atlantic network. If anyone here in the network sees this video and thinks if they were given the info they could make one for us please let me know..

I hope to up my own permaculture plant nursery offerings, with a website to list available plants & seeds. For now if you want to follow my plant musings and occasional offerings you can follow me on instagram @sky_organics14.. and while you're there don't forget to follow our newish PAN instagram page @permaculture.atlantic.network!

Lots of upcoming offerings from Charles and Earth Activist Training. More info about all events, including in-person PDCs, food forest design workshops, mapping courses & more here.