Welcome!Today I talk to Alex, who ran Kitchen Bees this summer, a program at the Church of the Apostles focused on providing meals to members of the Guelph community. Talking to people like Alex is one of my favourite parts of running a podcast like this. I love to hear about the amount of good that can come from one or two community members, and how that goodness becomes infectious and spreads. A single, spontaneous day of trying to save some food from going bad turned into a summer long program that supplied hundreds of meals. And it’s not even done yet! The idea of Kitchen Bees sprang into existence when COVID hit, and suddenly every restaurant in town had food to spare and nothing to do with it. What seemed like, and could have definitely been, literally tonnes of food was slowly going bad in a warehouse and somebody had to do something about it. Many somebody’s did. We were not the only organization frantically picking up as much corn as we could carry that first week of quarantine. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, so reinforcements were called in, and a new program was created through the partnership of a handful of community organizations and some good samaritans who can make a mean sandwich.To learn more about Kitchen Bees, click here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecrowsnest.substack.com

Welcome!Today’s episode is upbeat and has been a ton of fun to record and relisten to. Em and Jane of Camp Lovesick were a joy to talk to, and a big inspiration of mine!Camp Lovesick was introduced to me last summer when I started working for the GTL. My boss told me of these two members we had that were renovating a bus. Which is already pretty cool by anyone’s standards. But to me, the coolest part was that they had never done it before. It blew my mind. There were people out there with little to no building experience, like me? Who were out following their dreams anyways? Not rationalizing the lack of skill or resources as a glaring rain storm out to ruin some parade, but as just an average hurdle to get over.I was floored. If you’ve ever watched bus renovation videos, you’ll notice a trend in them. It’s very often a straight couple and their dog, looking for a freer way of life. Which is totally fine. But when I’m looking for a build that looks doable to inspire me, it doesn’t always help to see a very strong looking grown man with years of contracting experience almost singlehandedly design and build a bus. Sometimes it does, since usually they know what they’re doing. But sometimes, they know a little too much, or they’re a little too experienced, and it can be alienating. For me, it started to feel like maybe people like me didn’t do things like this. So when I heard about Camp Lovesick, it started to feel like the playing field was a little more level, and I wasn’t as crazy as I thought.And they’ve gone even farther! It’s one thing to roll up your sleeves and build a bus because that’s what needs to be done. It’s completely different to not only build the bus, but build it in 20 days, and enjoy it so much that they started a new camper building business with their new skills. That is incredibly impressive, and you should tune in and listen to them talk about it.If you’re interested in learning more about living in a bus, renovating a camper (or anything), or if you want to get to know Camp Lovesick a little better, check out their website here, their youtube here, or their instagram @camplovesickAnd if you’re in the market for a camper, check out theirs! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecrowsnest.substack.com

Hi!Thanks for tuning in. :) Today I talk to Brandon Kidd, a youth services librarian at Idea Exchange. Brandon has a voice for radio— this is a good episode to listen to before bed. I found listening to him to be very calming!Like mentioned in the episode, this was recorded June 2nd. During our accidental hiatus (which has been solved with the addition of a real editor, Isaac!) a few episodes got lost in production standby. They’ll be on their way out in the next few weeks, so stay tuned! All the info in this episode though, is relevant to today. You can find Brandon’s recordings of Meditation with Snoopy here, and Idea Exchange’s event calendar here.After this episode, I looked into Idea Exchange more, and I specifically love that their membership includes a membership to the Ontario Association of Art Galleries, which has over 100 galleries in it. Incredible!! And it’s available to those outside of Cambridge. If you live in a reciprocal community, or work/go to school in Cambridge, you can also get an Idea Exchange library card. Opinions expressed here are my own. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecrowsnest.substack.com

Hi! Welcome!If you’re reading this, thanks for poppin’ by. It’s been a few weeks since I released an episode. I’m still figuring out the ropes here, pretty much every aspect of this podcast is new to me, and I can be a slow learner. Thank you for your patience.A lot has happened since our last episode. George Floyd was murdered by police, and every day since then, cities in the United States and all over the world have been holding protests in his name. Shortly before this episode was recorded (on June 10th) my own city of Guelph held a solidarity march for Black Lives Matter. Unfortunately, I don’t see my city engaging openly in the process of reconciliation. Though we’ve made our desires known, called for defunding at a local level, for officers on the force with strikes on their records to step down, for our city to host an open town hall so we can speak formally on our beliefs. None of those things have happened yet.I know this podcast is listened to mostly at a local level. We don’t talk about what’s going on in Guelph, but my hope is that my Guelph listeners will listen to this and be maybe a little inspired to become more involved in reconciliation, education and sustainability on a local, national and international scale. No matter how light or heavy the weight, it’s easier to lift with more hands.If you’re wondering what this has to do with the Russian mafia, please listen in.Like always, the views expressed here are my own and do not reflect the values of the Guelph Tool Library.Donate to your local BLACKLIVESMATTER chapter, or organization supporting black CanadiansThe Rainforest AllianceThe International Ecotourism Society This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecrowsnest.substack.com

Buckle up folks, it’s story time!Today we’re talking about power.Lukewarm take: universities have a power dynamic that’s upheld at the expense of their students. During my time in university, it seemed like the student body was constantly fighting for something. Fighting cuts to funding, fighting for divestment, fighting for mental health services, fighting for support for one on campus injustice or another. You couldn’t walk from the Mackinnon building to the University Centre without being asked to participate in rectifying one injustice or another. It always made me wonder, Why are there so many injustices happening on a university campus? Then I actually attended university for a few years and realized why: everybody here is directly profiting off the lunch money of a bunch of children who don’t know how to cook. And by that I mean, universities are very much businesses and they very much act like it. Plus, not only are they businesses, they’re businesses that manufacture one of the most expensive and sought after luxury items in the world right now: A higher education. Unless you’re lucky, or you know somebody, or you were smart when you were 17 and you went into the trades, odds are that you probably need a degree of some kind for your career goals. University administrators know this. University boards know this. University investors know this! That’s why they come to your high schools and give seminars on why their school is the best. And you know what they say! The best is expensive. So please come to our school and give us your $50,000 tuition money so we can create an entire economy off of your desire for knowledge, success, wealth and community.I know that most things are power dynamics and this isn’t exactly new or particularly insidious information. I’m not exactly trying to slander the education system here. I’m just trying to paint the picture of how universities have an incredible amount of power and a history of wielding it, at times, to the outcry of the students over which they hold power. Such is the nature of power.This particular instance of injustice revolves around the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming (or the Guelph Urban Organic Farm for short, or the GCUOF for shorter. We mostly just call it the farm). The farm sits unassuming on a hectare of land, once run by a lovely team of volunteers focused on providing food for the community, sound and respectful practices for the earth, and knowledge and education for anyone who followed the carrot arrows though campus to find them. That is, until that fertile, undeveloped land started looking less like a farm and more like an investment. This is the part where we come to the injustices. U of G flexed its muscles and the farm is under new, very uncertain management. And unfortunately for all involved, this particular power struggle led to an incident that’s shocked the organic agriculture community of Guelph. And although we can’t talk about that incident in question, as there are ongoing investigations, we can tell you about what led up to the alleged assault of a volunteer at the farm. And we’re going to! Because it’s an important story to tell.Support the Friends of the Farm here.Want to help with direct action? Email Maeve: [email protected] The opinions expressed in this podcast, and all episodes of The Crow's Nest, are those of the author, Thirza Armstrong, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Guelph Tool Library, their Board of Directors, or the Coordinator Team. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecrowsnest.substack.com

Ahoy hoy,Glad to see you here for episode three! Today I’m talking to Jules and Dee from Pressed for Time Panini. Have you ever had a panini? Really, it’s just a thin, grilled sandwich. But somehow it’s nothing like a sandwich. Probably because it’s thin and grilled. If you haven’t had a panini, you’re missing out on something tasty. And if you haven’t had a Pressed for Time panini, not only are you NOT holding a thin and convenient chicken and avocado sandwich, you’re also not experiencing one of the greatest examples of a person-first business model that I’ve ever seen. Jules and Dee are here for their patrons. Not only will they repost you every time you shout them out on social media, they’ll also make sure you’re staying comfortable and not at all worried about what you’ll be eating today. Breakfast? They have breakfast panini’s! Lunch? How about a panini, of course. Or some soup? Maybe chips or a snack. Dinner? Don’t worry, even though they’re only open until 3 pm, they’ve got supper served with mac and cheese, shepard’s pie, and lasagna. All homemade and ready to be warmed up and devoured. They even have beer deals with the local breweries. But if you’re not in the mood for take out, P4TP will support you with produce boxes, available every Friday for pickup.Check them out here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecrowsnest.substack.com

Welcome!Thanks for checking out episode two. This round, listen to me chat with Jenny Mitchell, creative extraordinaire. She’s an incredibly interesting, intelligent and genuine podcast guest and was fantastic to interview. This episode, despite being the second, is the first that I recorded. Jenny turned my okay questions into insightful answers and took our conversations in directions I hadn’t even thought of yet. I learned what feels like a lifetime worth of hosting tips within 40 or so minutes of talking. But more than that, the biggest reason that interviewing Jenny was so rewarding was that she kind of embodies the lifestyle that I’m trying to live. While we were talking about our collecting habits and numerous hobbies, I was internally marveling that an adult, a real adult, with a career and children and years of experience at being an adult (most of my life I’ve been quite young and small), was still collecting. I had grown up in a “you have too many things, starting getting rid of stuff or I’ll be coming around with a garbage bag” kind of household. My mom and my sister chat about their latest purges and books on minimalism, and fight about having the exact same taste in Ikea furniture (literally. My sister will go to Ikea for a new shelf and two weeks later, my mom has it too). I had thought, for a long time, that being an adult meant it was time to stop collecting. Of course, I had no actual intentions of ceasing my en massing of material items to a level just short of reality TV hoarding, but I was disappointed anyways that I seemed to be the only one who enjoyed having every possible artistic media, odd vintage furniture piece, or non-fiction book on obsolete subjects like Astrology’s unseen role in WWII. But talking to Jenny, I realized I’m not as unique as I thought I was. In a good way. It was comforting to know that even though I was walking the slightly cluttered path of maximalism, I wasn’t travelling alone. Folks like Jenny are paving the way.Jenny's musicBridging the Social Distance This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecrowsnest.substack.com

Hello!Welcome to the first episode of The Crow’s Nest. It’s finally here! I’m not going to lie; it was not easy. I never really thought I’d be seriously making a podcast. I’ve joked about it with friends, and thought about how fun it would be to have someone at my auditory mercy for 40 minutes, but I never thought I’d actually do it.Even after it became part of my contract for the Guelph Tool Library to design and start this podcast, I didn’t think I’d actually do it. When I was learning all the essentials of interviewing and recording and editing and publishing and advertising and invoicing and procedure writing that’s required when beginning a project like this for a non-profit, and crying the entire time because I had no idea what I was doing, I definitely didn’t think I’d actually do it. But I did, and here it is.I thought it would be important to start at home. Not everyone knows what a tool library is. In fact, except those really involved in them, most people outside the membership circle tend not to know what a tool library is. And honestly? That’s an incredible shame for them. I can’t imagine going through my life without the support and resources that the GTL (Guelph Tool Library, for those not in the know) has provided me with. I take out thousands and thousands of dollars worth in tools and equipment every year for $40. I attend workshops on building spice racks, foraging, mending my clothes, making sourdough bread, and beeswax wraps. The GTL has been a source of knowledge, entertainment and inspiration for me. I hope I can pass that on to you through The Crow’s Nest. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecrowsnest.substack.com