Andrew in Guelph

In this episode, I speak with Ellen Piazza, known colloquially as Ellen Doodles (https://www.instagram.com/ellen.doodles/). Ellen moved to Guelph during the pandemic and wanted to get to know the sites, businesses, and people that make up the Royal City. So she turned her ability to doodle into a project called #100DoodlesofGuelph.

She's gained over 3,000 subscribers on Instagram and appeared on a number of local news outlets. You can buy her prints on her website https://ellendoodles.com/.

Make sure to check out Ellen's website and follow her on Instagram!

Man, did I ever love this conversation with Adam from Lost Aviator Coffee Co.

If you want to learn a little bit about the life of a pilot, learning entrepreneurship during a pandemic, and what goes into creating coffee company that with a best friend, you gotta listen to this episode.

Afterwards, head on over to https://www.lostaviatorcoffee.com/ and support this high flying Guelph business...their coffee is the best.

Everyone knows Abhilash Kantamneni by now, right? He's affectionately earned the monicker of 'Guelph Maps Guy' because he's spent the pandemic making fun maps of things to do and places to see around the Royal City.

Well, Abhi is a good friend of mine but I got to 'interview' him as a fan recently to ask him about his map making ventures and his noble quest to help people connect with the place they call home.

"I think home is a habit and belonging can be a practice. You can nurture your sense of belonging and cultivate your sense of home." — Abhi

Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/akantamn

When I read an article about Bill Gates telling the 'rich' world that we're going to have to quit eating meat to stop climate change, first I laughed, then I hit up Mike Dougherty from Wild Meadows Farm who knows a thing or two about how great #RegenerativeAgriculture is for our environment.

If you've ever wondered how we can have sustainable, affordable, healthy meat produced by a strong network of local farmers, you're going to love what Mike has to say in our conversation.

Then, once your done listening, head over to his website at wildmeadowsfarm.ca and try out their huge selection of delicious beef, pork, lamb, honey, coffee, tea, fermented good, and so much more.

Lastly, I'm happy to report to Mr. Gates that it is unequivocal: The future of animal agriculture in Ontario is strong, healthy, and environmentally sustainable. We don't have to quite eating meat.

I had so much fun talking to my good buddy Owen Bjorgan of Owen's Hiking And Adventures about conservation, the great outdoors, and of course, invasive species in honour of Invasive Species Awareness Week in Ontario. 

If you love exploring Ontario's outdoors and care about our natural landscapes, you're going to want to listen to Owen speak. Then you're going to want to go to his website and book a tour in the picteuresque Niagara region. My wife and I did one of Owen's tours last year for our honeymoon and it was amazing!

Thank you to the Invasive Species Centre for putting on #InvSpWk and bringing attention to non-native species living in Ontario.

I had a great conversation with Sensei Michael Marion about his amazing photography and how he can take a building I've walked by 1,000 times and make it look like something brand new from a city I've never been to.

We also dabbled in conversations about karate, mental health, forging a path for a career you love, and why he'd go BACK to Okinawa, Japan for his dream photography trip.

Sensei, as the name and our conversation would imply, also owns a dojo in town called Fighting Griffin Family Karate. As someone who's seen Sensei Mike in action and as someone who knows, anecdotally and through research, how much good the martial arts does for a child's development and self-esteem, I encourage you to check them out — they're in the heart of Guelph!

Mike Darmon is the VP of the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation and in this episode, I speak to him about the past, present, and future of active transportation in Guelph.

Here are some quotes from the conversation that I liked:

And lastly, a quote from my self that I particularly enjoyed:

Watch the videocast of this conversation on Facebook.