Clearing a New Path

Justine Anderson says she is a folk herbalist, soap maker, artist, writer, flower sniffer, garden and cat care-taker, astrologer and tarot card reader.  She owns and operates Wildflower Co. Botanicals in rural Newfoundland in the scenic Codroy Valley, where she sells body care products and hosts workshops and retreats.

The story of how Justine wound up there, though, is fascinating. She left the food industry as a chef after suffering unbearable eczema on her hands. Following the wise advice of a colleague, she tried calendula and that launched her interest in flowers as healing.

Wildflower co. botanicals is a small-batch apothecary specializing in handmade cold-process soaps, hydrosols, 100% natural body care, soy candles, and handpicked organic & wild herbal teas.  Justine recently purchased a still, and while speaking with her, I could actually imagine her stirring it and preparing her creations.

When I asked Justine how she knew that her love of working with, and creating products from flowers, would actually sustain her as a business and frankly, make her some money, she said she just had an ‘inner knowing’ that she was to embrace her roll and accept that this was what she was supposed to be doing.

But there were pockets of doubt. As it is for so many of us, some of her hardest won battles were with her biggest critic, herself.

But she persevered!

What struck me about Justine was that she seemed to radiate positive energy and inclusiveness. I also loved that she believes that if our ancestors hadn’t used plants for healing, we couldn’t have survived.

All of Justine’s products are made with sustainability in mind, using plastic-free, re-usable & compostable packaging, where ever possible, and sourcing only high quality organic ingredients and ethically wildcrafted local botanicals.

Justine says her products are made with the intention to soothe body and spirit and help you feel more connected to body, spirit and the earth. She is a huge proponent of land stewardship and in that spirit, her business is currently operating from the whimsical Bert Bark Eco-Inn Headquarters.

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Art design and audio branding provided by ImaginaDev Studios.

Podcast production by Radar Media.

Podcast supported by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.

Season Kirkwood calls herself a bit of a nomad. She spent much of her adult life, living in different cities and towns, working in different sectors to develop her entrepreneurial passions.

She worked for the City of Winnipeg before leaving to pursue land-based recreation entrepreneurial development.

Season provides mentorship and leadership to Indigenous communities to create and run recreation programs with increased access to the outdoors.  She has also partnered with the local recreation commission, to create offerings for families, children and tourists, visiting local historical sites and experiencing land-based activities.

Season shares knowledge of Métis culture. She also takes the opportunity to talk with families about the language we use around inclusion and gender identity.

What you will hear loud and clear in this conversation, is Season's love of nature and the outdoors and her passion for sharing it with others!

Season is a pioneer. She was trained as part of a committee of folks that will now coach others in discovering experiential tourism opportunities across Canada.

One of the best parts is that she is connecting other small businesses, creating a community centred approach. She told me about how a group of women will show up at council meetings together, to show support for one another and I was struck by her sheer passion for community and inclusiveness. Plus, she’s a captivating storyteller.


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Andrew Button from MashUp Lab

Art design and audio branding provided by ImaginaDev Studios.

Podcast production by Radar Media.

Podcast supported by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.

Lucy Sloan is the Founder of Lil Steps Wellness Farm, an animal-assisted therapy facility in Manitoba. She and her staff work with children, youth, and adults experiencing mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. 

The farm offers a range of services & programs including play therapy, animal-assisted therapy/counseling, and equine-facilitated wellness, both team and individual therapy.

Lucy holds many designations including:

• Professional Registered Counsellor 
• Member of the Counselling and Psychotherapy Association
• Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor through the Mental Health Commission of Canada
• Certified Animal-Assisted Therapy Professional

Lucy has also received specialized training in the areas of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety, and various other mental health areas. 

Lucy worked for 11 years with the Department of Justice, helping rehabilitate people with criminal backgrounds. She then moved into working in the Community Mental Health field and worked as an Intensive Case Manager and Community Mental Health Worker. 

As you can see (and hear!), Lucy has lots of experience in mental wellness. But that didn’t prepare her for her own journey, recovering from a serious head injury. Lucy talks about some of the residual challenges she deals with daily as a result of her invisible disability and also some of the most effective therapy she received, working with animals. It sparked an idea.

Lucy has always identified a need for alternative approaches for children and youth. Lil' Steps Wellness Farm was created to provide a service for children and youth to gain skills, insight, self-confidence, and other tools to foster and promote resiliency and positive mental well-being. Unsurprisingly, she also has a strong passion for animals. 

Lucy has become a published author.

Lucy's book and sensory store
News about Lucy
AMI documentary about Lucy and Lil Steps

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Art design and audio branding provided by ImaginaDev Studios.

Podcast production by Radar Media.

Podcast supported by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.

Ashley O’Neil is a wildland firefighter in British Columbia. She says they had a helluva season in 2021.

But not only was Ashley fighting fires, running into the flames as others were running out, but she has been growing her business,  AshFireWear

When Ashley started firefighting several years ago, she was one of only a few females fighting fires in her region. There were no companies that made firefighting clothing, specifically designed for women. Now that more women have entered the field and after coming home from a particularly challenging tour a few years ago, Ashley realized that not only was her clothing ill fitting but it also felt unsafe.

So she started to research. And as a proud indigenous woman, a member of the Ktunaxa First Nation, she thought, I have aunties who can sew…

It took her a few years, and she was sidelined a little bit with the COVID-19 pandemic, but she’s been moving forward with a line of clothing not only for firefighters but also for folks working in the mining industry. AshFireWear isn’t just for women, it’s for everyone. And it’s environmentally friendly.

At one point, I asked Ashely what compelled her to take up such a noble career as firefighting and she was quite open in saying that in the past, she got into an unhealthy lifestyle and got tired of waking up hungover, so she decided to enter the career and she hasn’t looked back.

AshFireWear is soon expanding into a line of undergarments, specifically designed for her target customers.

Vancouver Sun article

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Art design and audio branding provided by ImaginaDev Studios.

Podcast production by Radar Media.

Podcast supported by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.

This year Terrena Rizzoli celebrates 10 years as an accomplished Indigenous business owner and denturist at Rizzoli Denture and Implant clinic. Not bad for someone who says she was an ‘okay’ student and that she felt she had to work much harder than most to get the grades needed for the denturist program.

But now it’s a labour of love. After being in business for several years, she realizes now just how many folks needed her services and the confidence that improving someone’s smile can bring.

As a small child, Terrena remembers her mom consistently putting herself last and without insurance, Terrena recalls her mom having painful toothaches and always wished she could help her in some way, that is what sparked her interest in the dental field.

Terrena comes from a line of entrepreneurs, her parents both also owned a business and ran a farm. You could say it was in her blood.

But it certainly hasn’t been easy. As the mom of three children including a set of twins, balancing family and a business has had its pressures and challenges.

Terrena talks about asking for help and that sometimes we, ourselves, can be our biggest obstacle and she outlines some of the unique challenges Indigenous entrepreneurs face.

Terrena hails from Stoney Plain, Alberta.

Rizzoli Denture and Implant Clinic
Futurpreneur video
National Aboriginal Capital Corporation - Indigenous Women's Entrepreneur Program

Instagram: @rizzolidentureclinic
Facebook: @Rizzoli Denture and Implant Clinic

Art design and audio branding provided by ImaginaDev Studios.

Podcast production by Radar Media.

Podcast supported by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.

A trigger warning: This episode makes indirect reference to domestic violence (13:30) and there is a brief reference to the discovery of thousands of children’s remains at some of Canada’s residential schools (15:40). This may trigger some of you and is in the second half of the episode if you’d like to skip that part.

National Indian Residential School Crisis Line for former Residential School students:
1-866-925-4419

As the daughter of a Residential School survivor and a Sixties Scoop survivor herself, Tina Sheridan didn’t want to become another statistic and she wanted to leave a different legacy for her own family.

At the age of 33, she got her high school diploma and turned her side-gig catering jobs into a mining camp services empire called Cree Quest Corporation. She has cited hunger and poverty as the driving force behind her ambition.

But it took a decade and it was by no means easy.

Tina hasn’t spoken about her struggles much in the past, because she was ashamed and feared it would affect her credibility. But she shared some of them with me and with you, in this episode.

Tina hails from Taykwa Tagamou Nation near Cochrane, Ontario.

The first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is happening in Canada on September 30, 2021.

Information about Canada’s Residential Schools: https://bit.ly/2VkKUMn
Information about the Sixties Scoop: https://bit.ly/38JDRjf
Legacy of Hope Foundation
Orange Shirt Society

Recent Northern Ontario Business article
Article about Emily (Tina’s daughter)
Cree Crest Corporation website

Art design and audio branding provided by ImaginaDev Studios.

Podcast production by Radar Media.

Podcast supported by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.

Shivani Dhamija moved to rural Nova Scotia to be with her partner. Armed with a degree in Public Relations from Fanshawe College, she was shocked when she couldn’t find a job. She was very determined though and took jobs where she could. One of those jobs was at the Canada Games Centre and when a friend of Indian descent visited, and told Shivani a trucker friend was looking for home cooked Indian food for his trips, it sparked her idea to provide an Indian meal delivery service.

At first she called it Home Made Tiffin but couldn’t register the name. Then she realized there likely wouldn’t be anyone with HER name selling Indian food so Shivani’s Kitchen was born!

She offered cooking classes, sold products at Farmers’ Markets, created Indian Spice Blend products, opened a restaurant and now is focusing on a food production plant with Shivani’s Ready to Use Sauces! Her products are in many stores throughout Atlantic Canada and the United States.

Shivani talks about her inspirational family and also her struggles to make friends as a new immigrant in Canada and what we can all do to include new Canadians.

Shivani hails from Windsor, Nova Scotia.

Follow Shivani's Kitchen!

Website: https://shivaniskitchen.ca/ 
Twitter - @shivaniskitchen       
Facebook - @Shivani’s Kitchen
Instagram - @shivaniskitchen  

News about Shivani’s Kitchen: https://shivaniskitchen.ca/blogs/in-the-ne

Art design and audio branding provided by ImaginaDev Studios.

Podcast production by Radar Media.

Podcast supported by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.