Scott

Hello there! Single, gay, male is seeking to connect with new friends, companions, or a chosen family to live a life that nurtures both ourselves and the earth we live on. Like many, I am looking to escape the city I currently call home and return to my roots after years working in the Retail Industry. The world is largely built for extroverts, which I am not. I have come to embrace my introversion and sensitive side and as such I have also looked inwards to re connect to what is important to me. I am equal parts small town guy, and nature wanderer. I am happy both at a farmers market or small town shop, as I am strolling the lakeside or surrounding woodlands. I love to photograph all the fine details in nature, or dabble with simple film making in an effort to share with others what I see. I am happy being with myself, just as I am with with a small group of fellow minded individuals. Growing fruit, vegetables, and flowers has always been rewarding for me. I grow what I can on my 5x15' balcony and my houseplants are the envy of my friends. My downtime, is spent recharging in the parks or green spaces. It is there that I can be found staring up into the trees (majestic things!) or looking at the patterns of newly unfolded leaves. Nature is a classroom, and it is one I have been too long out of. My hope is to find My Tribe as they say. To be with others that understand the importance of being connected to nature, and the art of growing food. Whether its a small farm, market garden, or urban agriculture enterprise, my goal is to be able to contribute to a community that allows people to be themselves, and strives for a regenerative type of lifestyle as much as possible. And while I have not worked on a large scale farm or enterprise, I have in my childhood and younger adult years maintained a good size garden that grew all sorts of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers in an urban environment. I practiced no till and composting techniques before they became vastly known. I had a seed starting system in the basement to extend the growing season, complete with all the racks and lights. As a mid life adult, I am mostly plant based in terms of diet, but will enjoy some cheese, eggs and occasionally some fish. I love animals, so I am open to opportunities that also include dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, goats. That said, I get attached to these cute critters, so a meat raising farm might not be ideal for me. I'm not the handiest when it comes to tools or carpentry but that is mostly from lack of experience living a mostly urban life. I am however creative in terms of having a vision, and I love to research. My work life has given me management skills, and I thrive in an organized environment and being on my feet. I do make great soups and salads. My role models have been anyone that promotes mental health, inclusivity, self awareness, kindness and the art of sharing. In terms of gardening, my inspiration comes from Charles Dowding, Richard Perkins, The Dutch Farmer, Roots and Refuge, Green Renaissance, Byther Farm, amongst others. All Found on YouTube. You can discover a bit more about me on my Instagram page gsy716, or by continuing on and reading more in the advanced part of my profile. If you think you may have an opportunity for me, (for us) then please feel free to send me a message. Be sure in your message to tell me the name of your farm/profile because at the moment Farm Link does not allow you to click on your profile from a message. I often get messages that say please check out our profile, but in fact you cannot do that at this point. (They are working on it!) I appreciate the time you have taken to read my profile, and I truly wish you all the best for today and in the future! Cheers! Scott

Experience

Urban Gardening I grew up alongside my grandparents who were active urban gardeners until their passing. There they gardened on about 1/4 of an acre. Summers were spent growing root vegetables, plus tomatoes, corn, squash, cucumbers, onions, cabbage, lettuce, peas, beans, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb. Food was mostly grown for our own consumption, however we did sell excess to neighbours. After my grandmothers passing, I moved into their home and paid rent to my grandfather to help offset some of the nursing home fees. I carried on with the gardening, plus made additional beds for herbs, and also added perennial gardens to attract pollinators. Seeds for much of the garden were started indoors under grow lights, and then transitioned outdoors as the days warmed up. I taught myself how to make compost, and when to use mulch. My knowledge other than from my grandparents, came from television (Victory Garden, Mark Cullen, and others) and also textbooks. After 3 years, my mother decided to sell the property, and as I had no available funds was unable to purchase my grandparents home and had to leave everything behind. My career took me into cities but no matter where I have lived, I have somehow managed to grow a few things either in a small spot in a yard, or even on a sunny balcony. Currently with the pandemic I have become a plant parent to no less than 50 houseplants. While it is not food, they do keep me connected to nature, and provide a learning experience. Even with the lack of gardening in recent years, my love of it has not wavered. I enjoy watching videos and following the accounts of both popular and unknown farming/gardening accounts such as Charles Dowding, Richard Perkins, and others. I have worn many hats in my retail career from General Management to HR. The majority of my career has been mostly dealing with the product, rather than direct sales. I travelled across Canada opening stores for one retail company, where my primary focus was on store display and internal marketing. I have held visual merchandising roles in large companies such as H&M, Sears, Pottery Barn and Roots. From 2010 until the end of 2019 I worked for an independent design firm where I assisted the designer in opening up a bricks and mortar store, and then a second one. I assisted in trade shows, home staging for print (magazines) and resell. I was kept on after the business was sold and was in charge of the entire operations as the new owners preferred to stay mostly handsfree. There I focused on the retail part of the business, and became the retail director in charge of the overall vision of the store, the buying of the product, and also the direction of the social media accounts. At the end of 2019 after several disastrous floods the owners decided to close the retail business and moved the design firm to another city. One of the things I was most proud of was that I had started moving the business into the realm of 'Buy Canadian' and was working with several artisans to design products for the store. I was even planning on using the unused courtyard as a weekend market for local growers of food and flowers.

Partner(s)

I am currently single. I would like to note that any opportunity I consider would have to be one that ensures equal opportunity for everyone regardless of race, sexuality, and gender. I myself am a gay male. As farmers/gardeners we should all focus on what brings us together...our love of nature. Not what our differences are.

Farm Vision

The farm I envision working/living on is one in which I can combine my love of growing things with some of the strengths I have developed over my career. I am not looking for a large industry farm, but rather a smaller scale market farm/garden gate enterprise. One that fosters a sense of community and sharing. Sharing in terms of selling produce and flowers, but perhaps also opening the doors to tours, workshops, artisans, (agrotourism) or on site market shop. In short, I would love to help establish the farm as a lifestyle or educational experience.

Relationship with Farm Owner

Currently my goal is to assist other(s) who have the land, the capital and want to open and expand their dream with someone who has a shared vision and values, but otherwise may not have the opportunity to do so. I believe in small scale market gardening, and I believe the no till method of gardening is the way forward as is Agrotourism. My hope is that by working closely together this would lead into a close knit, long term friendship and partnership. I do have a small debt load that I would need to continue paying off, so I need some sort of income in order to do so. Plus be able to put money aside for basics and retirement. I'd prefer my own space to retreat to when not working/gardening, but open to various thoughts around that.