For everyone who has ever doubted the power of one – meet Deb Morse. This Canadian mother took a small idea – to help organic farmers and green entrepreneurs connect with the community, and turned her idea into the largest outdoor green festival in Canada.
Held each year on Vancouver Island in ten acres of conservation gardens, the Organic Islands Festival & Sustainability Expo is the hottest eco ticket in Canada. The small festival started in 2005, was put together in a mere ten weeks, attracting a modest 1600 people. Fast-forward to four years later, the festival is wildly popular and Morse has become a veritable eco-rock star in the green community.
This year’s festival held on July 4th and 5th, with a theme of Reviving the Vancouver Island Diet, features more than 150 solar powered eco- exhibitors, an extensive farmers' market, local food cooking demonstrations, a zero waste policy and even a bio-diesel shuttle bus.
We caught up with Deb to ask her a few questions about organizing the largest outdoor green festival in Canada.
How did it all begin?
Initially my idea was to start a website that would connect organic farmers with the public and green businesses. I wasn’t connected with the organic business sector at all, I was a person who ate organic and I had allergies, so I had some knowledge about how chemicals could affect the body, but that was really my only connection to organics.
Both my husband and myself had been laid off from our jobs just after we adopted our daughter. The timing sucked, but I didn’t want to go back to work full-time as I wanted to be able to enjoy having my daughter. At that moment I thought why don’t I start my own business?
My husband, through his work, connected with Carolyn Herriot from the Garden Path Nursery, she and I got talking and she had had a similar idea about a website connecting organic businesses with the community, so we stayed in touch. We kept the conversation going and a short time later the idea of the festival was born.
Off I went, never having organized a public event in my life, not really knowing what I was getting into.
What was the first year like?
I had to wait for government approval for the self-employment funding; they had lost my file so it was delayed. I had the venue already lined up and I really wanted to do it and not wait another year – I thought the time was ripe. I thought if I don’t do this then someone else will and I really want to be the person to see the festival come about.
But it all came together, the first year we had 50 exhibitors, very manageable, about 1600 attendees, and I put the festival together in ten weeks.
Every year afterwards I question — am I going to do this again?
Did you think the festival would be so successful?
When Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth came out, I could really see that this green movement was going to explode, especially due to the awareness that was being raised from the film. I thought this was a growth industry, this is what we need for the planet, there is no way we can’t go in this direction.
Tell us about the festival.
We are the largest outdoor green festival in Canada, it’s the outdoor part that makes a difference for the event, and we are located in a conservation garden with protected wetlands. We are demonstrating to people who live green that these special gardens are the types of places we want to preserve.
The event is almost entirely solar powered by EA’s mobile solar power station- where the 70 or 80 booths, 150 exhibits, and the half acre children’s village are located. You’ll find everything from Direct Fair Trade organizations, Level Ground Trading – the only one of its kind in Canada, to organic farmers to eco fashion to natural home builders to green developers to organic cooking demonstrations and alternative health practitioners to gardeners.
Last year we had 5000 visitors and we have had consistent growth of 20-25% growth rate – so we expect at least 6000 people this year.
What are some of the highlights?
The food is a highlight, we have more local food vendors, a farmers market and one of our themes is Reviving the Vancouver Island Diet. So we will be featuring local food producers, who grow, harvest and catch food on Vancouver Island.
You can buy lunch, brunch and early supper. You can also sample a lot of food.
This year we have the Home Grown, Island-Style Terasen Gas Cooking Stage with local chefs cooking up their favourite dishes and the audience gets to sample them. The chefs will use mostly locally grown, seasonal food and provide samples.
This diversity that we have in our back yard – we need to celebrate it. We can grow food all year round and we have people here who know how to grow it and harvest it. It’s amazing.
At the festival, there is a farmer’s market, eco fashion retailers, personal care products, sustainable technologies and much more –we are trying to support and build our green economy by showcasing a range of businesses offering eco-friendly choices. Know thy vendor - they are incredibly transparent and they will tell you all about their products.
Tell us about the zero waste policy?
We have a zero waste commitment, but it doesn’t mean we have reached it yet. Part of what that means is that we first aim to reduce waste and then divert it to composting or recycling. We have a policy that our exhibitors who are giving out food samples are required to use biodegradable, compostable supplies. We have volunteers who person the waste stations to help people understand what should go where. Each piece of waste is identified and put in the proper bin and then a local company makes sure it’s diverted appropriately.
And, we have the solar power station providing energy, a biodiesel shuttle bus, valet bike parking and we use eco-suppliers for signage, printing, T-shirts, etc. I’m sure we’re the greenest festival on Vancouver Island.
What makes the festival unique?
We don’t try to preach to people, we present information in a very upbeat manner; we focus on the positive and not so much the negative – that 
can be overwhelming. We create a sense of community. We see people, all of us, as being on the path to sustainability.
Some people in the general public are scratching their heads and wondering what to do and the festival provides the opportunity to learn about organics and the green movement in bite-sized pieces. I think we provide accessibility and inspiration. Some people think this is all a bit hippy dippy, so we do still have a lot of work to do to raise awareness, every year the festival does bring in more people wanting to learn, but there is still more of them to reach.
With the economic global downturn, this is what we really need, what we need to build on, a local green economy.
I feel a sense of hopefulness because of the people I am meeting all the time. Every year there are so many more new people who are getting into creating these green businesses whether it is organic farming or toxic free cleaning product companies. I see this incredible growth that more people are deciding to create a green economy – that certainly gives me hope that people want to work in the industry and help move the whole the green movement forward.
The Organic Islands Festival & Sustainability Expo is held July 4th and 5th at Glendale Gardens and Woodland on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The festival hours are from 10am to 5pm. Adult admission is CAN$10 for advance tickets and $12 at the door and $7.50 for youth and seniors’ advance tickets and $10 at the door. Shuttle bus, bike and vehicle parking. Visit: www.OrganicIslands.ca
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