The driving force behind the biggest outdoor green festival in Canada is Victoria’s Deb Morse, director of Organic Islands Event Promotions.
The upcoming “Organic Islands Festival and Sustainability Expo” at the idyllic Glendale Gardens and Woodland in Victoria features over 125 exhibitors and is expected to attract over 7,000 people.
Exhibits include local goods for sale, activities for children, high profile panel discussions, fun activities, non-profits, health and wellness, grass roots activism, local chefs and real farmers.
Part of Morse’s inspiration for Organic Islands comes from the idea that so much of what we really need is right in our own back yards.
Morse spent her childhood on an acreage in Hamilton in a rural area surrounded by farmers. Her back yard consisted of “fruit trees, berries—blackberries, raspberries, mulberries—our own well water, and wild land. It was idyllic.”
When she moved to Victoria from Toronto as an adult, she was surprised to see cows in her neighborhood. She describes her amazement at discovering the wealth of local goods and the various initiatives that were literally in her back yard.
“Many people had been doing great things for years before I came along.”
