Lush Demystified: Top Natural Products, Shopping Tips

A variety of colourful Lush soaps displayed attractively in reusable tins.

Things over at Lush can be a little confusing for the green shopper. The company seems so eco-conscious, and everything is fresh and handmade. But then again, some of the ingredients aren’t natural or safe. At Lush, eco-shoppers need to be careful, but they can still find many great products. It’s time to have Lush demystified. Lush is […]

Certified Organic Beauty From The Green Beaver Company: Personal Care Made Safe

Green Beaver toothpaste (green apple and frosty mint flavours)

Some time ago, I wrote about Plain Jane Soap, the Azilda-based company that hand makes most of the beauty products I like to use. Afterwards, I was asked about certain items which hadn’t made the list at all, especially those I use in liquid form. Admittedly, I prefer to use solid products whenever possible for water conservation reasons, […]

Keeping Honey Bees At Creekbend Farm

Bee carrying pollen in the center amid other bees.

The beekeepers of Creekbend Farm are perhaps better-known for their maple syrup operation, Sucrerie Séguin SugarBush, but they’re just as passionate for and knowledgeable about their bee colonies. Dan and Tracy Séguin partner with Michel and Louise Demers to manage the sugar bush, but they operate the bee business on their own. While the sugar bush has been […]

Fertilize It: Gardening With Worm Castings

Top view of a bag of worm castings shows the contents.

As much as we love vermicomposting, we don’t have time to do a lot of gardening. We only have two potted plants at the moment (basil and parsley). Marc did some online research and found that they only need a few tablespoons of worm castings every few months. Yep, this stuff’s that good! So, area gardeners can now […]

Vermicomposting With Help From Friendly Worm Guy

Newly mixed bin contents

Worms may not be something people would normally want in their kitchens, but Marc and I have kept a bin of them in ours for fifteen months now and have grown to respect them (if not quite love them) as much as our pets and laying hens. In November 2011, we joined a vermicomposting workshop in Sudbury offered […]

Interview with Andrea Gregoire of Pique Passion Mosaics: Upcycling for Art, Earth, and Hearth

Mosaic by Andrea Gregoire of Pique Passion Mosaics

A self-taught artist, Andrea Gregoire operates Pique Passion Mosaics out of her studio in Monetville. She recently discussed working and living as an earth-friendly artist with Green Niackery. Educated in fashion design at Fanshawe College, she now applies the principles of upcycling she learned in her studies to her art. Represented by The Backstreet Gallery in Noëlville, Andrea […]