Credit: Shari MacDonald

5Qs - Growing Stronger

Organic Islands Festival’s Deb Morse harvests hope

Talk about events that are ahead of the consumer curve. When the Organic Islands Festival and Sustainability Expo was conceived back in 2004, founder Deb Morse thought it was more than just a good idea. “Even then, my research showed that we had to go this way from what was happening environmentally,” Morse recalls. “I just had an inkling this is what people wanted. Then Al Gore’s film came out, and that was it. It happened faster than I thought it would.” With a zero-waste commitment and daily sustainability presentations, the solar-fuelled celebration of all things green has introduced (or reinforced) forward-thinking practices to more than 15,000 people over the past five years. In addition to eco-furniture and landscape design, the festival’s 150 vendors offer everything from tasty food to stylish clothes; as well, there’s an expanded kid’s zone this year plus entertainment by musical guests Jeremy Fisher, Lester Quitzau, Oliver Swain and an acoustic version of the Grapes of Wrath. When we asked Morse about the festival’s success, she just chuckles. “I think people are digging what we’re doing.”

Monday Magazine: When you look back at the last five years, have you seen any dominant trends or results?

Debra Morse: The festival demonstrates demand to people—I’ve seen young people getting into farming as a direct result of the festival, or starting a green business. They saw there was an opportunity here and wanted a business that aligned with their values.

MM: You’ve got a session called “Reviving the Vancouver Island Diet.” Why “reviving?”

DM: There was a time when 90 percent of the Island’s food was grown here—that’s what we want to get back to, so we’re not so dependent on what’s happening with the global economy. So if that’s where we used to be, it’s not just about our current Vancouver Island diet but about connecting people to our heritage, and reviving it. I’m from Toronto, via Calgary, and to be in a place where you can grow year-round—in Canada—is pretty amazing. The possibilities here are endless.

MM: You seem to have amped up your alternative-energy presence this year. True?

DM: We have a solar energy station in the village, where the bulk of the booths are . . . and we’re powering the mainstage and any exhibit in the village that needs electricity with that and a wind generator, as well as the children’s village—we have a whole impetus to appeal to families to learn together about sustainability. And we have solar-powered hand-wash station and a biodiesel shuttle bus. That’s something I want to develop for the future, having sustainable technologies demonstrated at the festival, a place where people can come and see these things at work. They won’t think you have to live in a yurt . . . and it isn’t just for people who can afford it, because there is that part of the green theme, that it’s so up-market, so eco-chic. We’re making this accessible for everyone.

MM: What’s the word on your zero-waste strategy?

DM: We actually call it our zero-waste commitment, because it really is a commitment. Last year, we had a great team of volunteers who really stepped up and were passionate about what they saw happening at the fest. This year, we’re requiring all our vendors to have compostable supplies if they’re doing food sampling; last year it was a request, this year it’s a requirement. Our aim is to first reduce, then divert as much from the landfill as we can. And we’re tracking the number of garbage bags each year.

MM: If people are seriously interested in changing their lifestyle, is this the place to come?

DM: Absolutely. We’ll show you how, and we’ll show you businesses that can show you how too. The festival is educational, but it is fun. It’s got all the sights and sounds of a summer festival and country fair. Having that feeling of gratitude and celebration can be an impetus for change; you don’t always need that fear-based motivation to change—the possibilities are glorious, and not just to get us out of trouble.

The Organic Islands Festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 4-5, at Glendale Gardens, 505 Quayle Road. Tickets are $7.50-$12 or $35 family pass. For full details, see organicislands.ca or call 250-658-8148.