Up Schitt's Creek and a Walk in a Historic Garden
Harrowsmith Radio
The Rundown In this episode, I chat with Andrew Barnsley, an executive producer of the Canadian comedy Schitt’s Creek. We discuss how and why small-town Canada has found a place in the hearts of audiences around the world. Next up, is a walking tour of the historical kitchen garden of Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario. We learn about how two acres of produce sustained the family of Sir Allan Napier McNab a Premier of the United Canadas in the mid-1800s. So huge gardens and small towns all in one episode. By the way, if you want to read Harrowsmith Magazine instead of listen to it you can...
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A Reborn Mill and the Sustainability of Birds
Harrowsmith Radio
The Rundown In this episode, we learn how COVID and a fortuitous canoe trip led to an affordable housing expert and an architect buying and giving fresh purpose to a 135-year-old grist mill in Paisley, Ontario. Next, how cities and citizens can make their communities more friendly for birds, and why that makes sense for urban sustainability. So birds and flours all in one episode. By the way, if you want to read Harrowsmith Magazine instead of listen to it you can subscribe to the print version online at and you can find Harrowsmith Magazine on selected newsstands across Canada. But for now,...
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The COVID Departure Lounge
Harrowsmith Radio
In this episode, I chat with world traveller and advocate for tossing your bucket list Heather Greenwood Davis about how to think about and tackle travel now that restrictions are being lifted, and maybe, just maybe we can start returning to the new normal. Next up cookbook author Claire Tansey tells us how to get dinner ready faster than a trip to your favourite frozen food aisle and back. So jet planes, and fast cooking all in this episode. The COVID Departure Lounge In 2011 Heather Greenwood Davis was a successful but miserable litigation lawyer in Toronto. She’d dreamed of travelling...
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This Old Smart House and Banana Peel Bread
Harrowsmith Radio
The Rundown In this episode, I chat with pioneering tech consultant, keynote speaker, and proud PEIer, Amber MacArthur, AmberMac to her friends. I talk to her about how she turned a 140-year-old Charlottetown house into an eco-friendly smarthome showcase. A showcase sporting 38 lightbulbs you can talk to. Next up, former food stylist and chef Christine Tizzard explains how to shop, cook and dine with zero-waste. Is there a banana peel bread in your future? So, smart appliances and smart eating all in one episode. By the way, if you want to read Harrowsmith Magazine instead of listen to it you...
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Good Burdens and a New Table
Harrowsmith Radio
In this episode we learn how some burdens, the ones that bring us together in the physical world, can be good burdens. I chat with author Christina Crook about her new book all about just that. Next up, a beautiful cookbook that centres around the seasons, family and a kitchen table. We coming together, all the time, on this audio outing.
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Brittlestar and the DIY Tomboy
Harrowsmith Radio
In this episode, we meet up with Canada’s favourite Internet dad, Stuart Reynolds, or as you might know him, Brittlestar - the comedic nemesis of Covidiots everywhere. Next up, that jovial jill-of-all-trades Karen Bertelsen explains why making, fixing, and cooking stuff yourself is good for the planet.
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An Urban Gardening Doc and the Nutella Waiting Game
Harrowsmith Radio
In this episode we discover the incredible variety of folks, produce, places, and methods involved in urban gardening in Toronto in a new documentary by Jamie Day Fleck called In My Backyard. Next up, a decades-long waiting game played with hazelnuts, farmers, and science.
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Emm Gryner, the Uncovered Voice and Harrowsmith's Food Editor
Harrowsmith Radio
In this episode Emm Gryner who rocketed from a chicken farm to singing backup for David Bowie talks about how singers, and the rest of us, can uncover the voices we’ve got inside us. Next up, Ilona Daniel, Harrowsmith’s relatively new food editor explains how Anne of Green Gables and a father named Gilbert changed her life.
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The Rock 'n' Roll Chef and the Smartphone of Welding
Harrowsmith Radio
In this episode a visit with that self-proclaimed culinary charlatan, Bob Blumer, whose new book teaches us all how to make bombs, flavour bombs that is. Speaking of making, our go-to DIY guy Steve Maxell is back, this time to explain why MIG welding is the glue gun of the future.
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The Weather Wizard and the Jungle Farm Queen
Harrowsmith Radio
n this episode, we spend a little time under a virtual umbrella with Harrowsmith’s go-to weatherman, Mark Sirois. Mark’s been doing long-range forecasting for the Harrowsmith Almanac and extreme weather prediction for Southern Quebec for years. Now a modern home weather station has empowered him to think big and broad. Next up Alberta farmer Leona Staples on how entrepreneurship and innovation have kept her farm alive and adapting for generations.
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In this episode, we learn how COVID and a fortuitous canoe trip led to an affordable housing expert and an architect buying and giving fresh purpose to a 135-year-old grist mill in Paisley, Ontario. Next, how cities and citizens can make their communities more friendly for birds, and why that makes sense for urban sustainability. So birds and flours all in one episode.
By the way, if you want to read Harrowsmith Magazine instead of listen to it you can subscribe to the print version online at harrowsmithmag.com and you can find Harrowsmith Magazine on selected newsstands across Canada. But for now, settle in for the next half hour of Harrowsmith Radio.
The Reborn Grist Mill
When COVID hit, Graham and Emma Cubitt wanted to get outside and away from it all. For the affordable housing expert and architect, that meant an August 2020 canoeing on the Saugeen and Teeswater Rivers, just east of Lake Huron near the little town of Paisley, Ontario. That trip, in turn, led them to discover the old Stark mill, once a thriving flour then grist mill on the Teeswater River. The mill imported grain from across Canada and delivered flour around the world through a robust railway system and the port of Owen Sound to the north. In 2002 Paul and Helen Chrysler renovated parts of the mill and opened it as Nature’s Millworks, a beloved hub for artists, crafters, and tourists to Paisley. The Cubitt’s bought the mill 18 years later, after that canoe trip. Their plans for the five-storey mill and four-storey wooden silo are ambitious, as you’ll hear. And they intend to be good stewards of the 30-acres of wetland and two kilometers of Teeswater riverfront they now own. Here’s our conversation about a conversion that started with a canoe outing.
You can learn more about the Paisley Mill at https://paisleymill.ca
The Sustainability of City Birds
Barry Coombs is a visual artist, an avid bird, and the former co-chair of Bird Friendly Hamilton-Burlington. Barry’s been tirelessly working to make cities more sustainable for birds, which in turn contribute to urban biodiversity and sustainably. Here’s our conversation about the biggest threats cities pose to our feathered friends and what we can do about it.
You can learn more about saving birds at https://www.birdscanada.org
End Notes
Want more Harrowsmith? No problem. Visit our website. Or you can check out Harrowsmith Magazine on selected newsstands across Canada or you can order subscriptions online at harrowsmithmag.com.
By the way, the music in the podcast? It's by good ol' Canadian singer, composer, and friend of the 'cast, David Archibald. You can find more of his music at his website, davidarchibald.com.