Lynne Taylor stepping down as executive director of Bruce Botanical Food Gardens

By: Liz Dadson September 18, 2017 1615

Lynne Taylor stepping down as executive director of Bruce Botanical Food Gardens

About 200 people gathered for the fourth annual Bruce Botanical Food Gardens Harvest Dinner, held Thursday night at the Ripley-Huron Community Centre.

The crowd enjoyed some delicious appetizers, showcasing such local foods as wood fired pizza, water buffalo, pork sausage, fresh garden herb mini-scones with heritage green tomato chutney and sea buckthorn jelly, coconut curry butternut squash soup, pickled garlic, and spicy crabapple pepper jelly.

Just prior to the main course, Nan Grant of the food gardens, welcomed executive director Lynne Taylor to the front and presented her with a token of appreciation.

"I do this with mixed feelings as this is Lynne's last year in this position," said Grant. "She is finishing her term as our director, but in truth, she is so much more than that to the gardens and the community."

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the food gardens, she said, but Taylor actually began working on the project eight years ago.

"She saw the need to address food insecurity in the area by providing a safe place to grow and harvest healthy food options," said Grant. "She also recognized the value in propagating and preserving heritage food plants, many of which were endangered and rare but thrived in our growing environment."

Taylor created the Ripley Apple, grafted from heritage stock found along the Ripley rail trail, Grant said, and she realized that education was key in addressing many issues around food.

"On behalf of the board of directors, on behalf of all the children you have playfully and thoughtfully inspired, on behalf of the thousands of visitors you have educated, on behalf of all the volunteers you have engaged, on behalf of the people you have assisted, fed and supported, and on behalf of all of us here tonight, we thank you," said Grant.

Taylor thanked everyone for attending the fund-raising dinner and noted that much has been accomplished at the food gardens over the past five years.

"We have grown with the financial commitments of our major sponsors: Ontario Trillium Foundation, Huron-Kinloss Township, Ontario Power Generation (OPG), the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), Bruce Power and the Society of Energy Professionals," said Taylor.

Over the past five years, the food gardens has achieved the following:

Been one of only 50 nationally-selected hosts for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (2012)
Encouraged five Bruce County landfills to change their practices where mattresses and bed springs were concerned
Developed the Ripley Apple and made news across Ontario (2015)
Won Best Farm Business of the Year award in Year 3
Been identified in the Tenzing business development report for Bruce County as the most unique agri-tourism site in the county (2015)
Been identified in Huron-Kinloss' cultural action plan as an entity deserving of continued financial support (2015)
Engaged post-secondary students from Fanshawe College in site development
Attracted more than 6,000 visitors to the food gardens and the Village of Ripley over the past three seasons
Been identified as one of the Canadian Wildlife Federation's top six unique botanical gardens in Canada (2017)

"As we look forward, there is much more to come as we develop a separate business arm to support the financial requirements of the gardens themselves," said Taylor. "We will work toward an internship program at the gardens, providing opportunity for new young farmers to get a start by managing an acre-and-a-half of rarities. This will set them up well to maintaining rows of standard food plants on their own farms in the future."

The mud oven is nearing completion, she said, and the Bruce County Plowmen's Association junior plowers have helped improve the new garden expansions, including the food forest which is the next area to be tackled.

Taylor then announced she is stepping down as executive director for a number of reasons.

"When the shovel went into the ground in 2012, I lived in Kincardine, just 10 minutes from the site," she said. "That no longer applies and my life situations have, unfortunately, changed and since 2014, I have lived almost two hours away. With the gardens' open hours and now new staffing opportunities having been tied to my availability, I feel I am restricting the gardens' potential to move forward.

"A responsible parent has to know when to let the child go so it can grow and prosper. When that child is at the point of wanting to venture out, explore, and challenge its abilities, that is the moment when the parent must allow herself to cautiously let go a bit and celebrate the new adventures from the sidelines. We have had a very special thing happen this year. There are a number of people who have become incredibly involved in the day-to-day work of this organization, who have taken on this project like their own, and who have given selflessly of their time and talents - ready to spread their wings.

"So, although this place is my heart and soul, it is indeed with great pleasure that I step aside and plan to watch admiringly as the next chapter unfolds in the history of this place."

Taylor plans to remain a committed volunteer, and offered thanks again to everyone who helped put on the Harvest Dinner. She made special note of organizers Mary Rose Walden and Jodi MacArthur and their host of 25 volunteers, as well as Nicole Wise of Harley's Pub and Perk in Mildmay and the Ripley and District Lions Club.

The dinner, prepared by local chefs, featured roast beef and gravy, heritage tomato basil feta salad, horseradish, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables, vegetable roulade with roasted tomato marinara, and flat rolls and gluten-free rolls.

Dessert featured buckeye peanut butter brownie and lemon squares; blueberry, raspberry, cherry, and peach fry pies; and gluten-free mini tarts.

On tap to drink, were Four Nation fair trade organic coffee, Cowbell Brewing Co. local craft beer, lime basil and lemon balm infusion lemonade, and Hoity Toity Cellars fine wines and ciders.

Sponsoring the Harvest Dinner, were the following: