Brittany Boychuk: Founder, Programs Creator & Wild Skills Teacher
Brittany was a child who loved the feeling of mud between her toes, wondering what makes a seed grow, and counting the stars. Now Brittany spends her life educating people through playing, growing, sharing and discovering in Nature. Previously a government worker, Brittany and Alister met in a Permaculture Design Course and now they inspire people through simple actions you can take to meet your needs while healing the Earth.
This Is My Story.
My name is Brittany, daughter of Jeff Boychuk and Melissa Malloch. The blood that runs through my veins comes from every continent on Earth with the exception of Australia. I was born in Texas and raised in rural southern Ontario in a small village called Limehouse. This is my story:
I spent much of my childhood with my brother and sister in the forests of Southern Ontario building forts, climbing trees and discovering caves, bones, antlers, mushrooms and other hidden forest treasures. We learned the secrets to gaining the trust of frogs so they would willingly climb into the palm of our hands and come for a kayak ride. We were the only kids at school who had a pet crow named Heckle come visit them during recess. Sam the red squirrel's favourite place to sleep was right behind me and my sister's necks beneath our long wavy hair. Star, the chipmunk, taught her daughter to eat from our hands, and her daughter later passed this on to her own daughter Diamond. Diamond became the bravest in her family lineage and would assertively jump up into our laps looking for sunflower seeds while we sat on the patio with my great-grandmother Jean who enjoyed drinking her Bloody Mary as Heckle-the-crow dutifully pecked off the ashes on the ends of her cigarettes. This was my life. Then I left for the big city...
I spent much of my childhood with my brother and sister in the forests of Southern Ontario building forts, climbing trees and discovering caves, bones, antlers, mushrooms and other hidden forest treasures. We learned the secrets to gaining the trust of frogs so they would willingly climb into the palm of our hands and come for a kayak ride. We were the only kids at school who had a pet crow named Heckle come visit them during recess. Sam the red squirrel's favourite place to sleep was right behind me and my sister's necks beneath our long wavy hair. Star, the chipmunk, taught her daughter to eat from our hands, and her daughter later passed this on to her own daughter Diamond. Diamond became the bravest in her family lineage and would assertively jump up into our laps looking for sunflower seeds while we sat on the patio with my great-grandmother Jean who enjoyed drinking her Bloody Mary as Heckle-the-crow dutifully pecked off the ashes on the ends of her cigarettes. This was my life. Then I left for the big city...
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The forest was our playground and our teacher. It's peoples were our friends. |
As a high-honours student, I spent my Environmental Studies university degree in the library, surrounded by trees turned into countless rows of pages. My first grown-up job as an environmental policy analyst for the federal government looked like five years spent in a sky scraper behind a computer screen, printing out more trees than I was saving. I had a mortgage. I had a car. I was on the workplace social committee. I was set up for the standard "American Dream", except I was miserable.
I stumbled upon my path again by chance. I came across the word "Permaculture". The next thing I knew, I was enrolled in a the first Permaculture Design Course ever held in Ottawa.
My first day of class was one of those life-changing, electricity-surging, toes-tingling, stepping-stone moments where time seems to stand still and you're not quite sure what's going on but you know it's important. I found a new way of life completely full of meaning, solutions, fertility and hope. I met many amazing people and and made some life-long friends.
And, best of all, I met Alister. He is my business partner. He is my soul mate. He is my best friend.
I stumbled upon my path again by chance. I came across the word "Permaculture". The next thing I knew, I was enrolled in a the first Permaculture Design Course ever held in Ottawa.
My first day of class was one of those life-changing, electricity-surging, toes-tingling, stepping-stone moments where time seems to stand still and you're not quite sure what's going on but you know it's important. I found a new way of life completely full of meaning, solutions, fertility and hope. I met many amazing people and and made some life-long friends.
And, best of all, I met Alister. He is my business partner. He is my soul mate. He is my best friend.
It has been an absolutely incredible journey so far. Together we've faced and overcome many challenges. We've met some amazing people, animals, and even plant friends from all over the planet. We've studied with some incredible teachers in permaculture and ecological gardening, bushcraft and wilderness skills, first nations culture and medicine wheel teachings, and traditional martial arts.
Best of all, I get to spend my life playing, learning, growing, sharing and discovering in Nature with kids aged 2 to 92. I was a child who loved the feeling of mud between her toes, mimicking the sounds of animals, wondering what makes a seed grow, and counting the stars. Reconnecting with that inner child and forest path was the best thing that ever happened to me. By starting small, working in community, and letting Nature be our guide, together we can heal the world.
Best of all, I get to spend my life playing, learning, growing, sharing and discovering in Nature with kids aged 2 to 92. I was a child who loved the feeling of mud between her toes, mimicking the sounds of animals, wondering what makes a seed grow, and counting the stars. Reconnecting with that inner child and forest path was the best thing that ever happened to me. By starting small, working in community, and letting Nature be our guide, together we can heal the world.
