Back to the Land on Prince Edward Island

One of the projects I'm currently working on is a history of the back to the land movement on Prince Edward Island. The plan is to co-author a book on this topic with my thesis supervisor, Dr. Alan MacEachern. My assignment at the moment is to track down and interview as many of the movement's participants as I can.

The interviews that I have conducted thus far have been quite fascinating. It has been a real treat to talk with these people and to find out why they chose to establish a simpler lifestyle on the Island. Most, after all, have come from large cities across Canada and the United States.

I've been surprised on occasion when told who some of the movement's participants have been. While interviewing Roy Johnstone, one of the finest fiddlers around, I was informed that his home was formerly owned by George and Elaine Zimbel, who lived there during the 1970s. George is a world renowned photographer whose subjects have included Marilyn Monroe and various American presidents. He also took photographs of life at their farm while living on Prince Edward Island.

Today I interviewed Tony Reddin and his wife Marion Copleston while canoeing along the West River. Although Marion is from Toronto, Tony, as a native Prince Edward Islander, didn't have far to "go back" to. I've known Tony since I was a youngster, but I didn't know until today that his brother Art ran for the Small Party that I mentioned in my last blog entry. It just goes to show that you don't really know somebody until you've paddled in a canoe with them....

Budworm Battles and the Politicization of Elizabeth May

One of the most visible articulations of the environmental movement in Canada is the Green Party. In recent years the party has transitioned from fringe status to become a legitimate contender at the polls. Case in point: in the 2000 federal election the party gained less than 1% of the vote, while it secured 4.48% in 2006. Although the party has yet to elect its first Member of Parliament, recent developments have been positive. In a report prepared for the Globe and Mail and CTV in February 2008, Green Party support was pegged at 12% -- placing them in a statistical tie with the New Democratic Party as Canada's third most popular political option.

The Green Party of Canada traces its roots back to 1980, when eleven independents ran under the unofficial moniker of the Small Party. Comprised of anti-nuclear activists, the Small Party's raison d'etre was to run against high profile candidates in an effort to garner attention for their cause. A driving force behind this was Elizabeth May, who ran unsuccessfully in Cape Breton Highlands against Allan J. MacEachen, a long serving Liberal. May, the present-day leader of the Green Party, came a distant fourth.

As we all know, May has gone on to an impressive career that includes a stint as an advisor to Tom McMillan, the former federal Environment Minister, and a 17 year term as the Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada.

May has also authored a number of books. While they're all quite interesting, I particularly encourage anybody interested in May and, more broadly, environmentalism, to read Budworm Battles: The Fight to Stop the Aerial Insecticide Spraying of the Forests of Eastern Canada (Tantallon, NS: Four East Publications, 1982). In this book she details her transformation from a shy waitress working at the family restaurant at Margaree Harbour, Nova Scotia, to a prominent figure in the Canadian environmental scene. This metamorphosis came as a result of her leadership in a successful campaign, lasting from 1975 to 1979, to prevent the aerial insecticide fenitrothion from being sprayed on local forests.

Whether you're interested in the politicization of this rather remarkable individual, or simply looking for an environmental success story, I recommend you get a hold of this book.