Offering green opportunities

By Heather Killen

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

The Green Revolution has sprouted up in Granville Ferry.

Carla Emin bought the old farm three years ago, with the intention to one day live and work on the property. Last winter she transformed the old pig barn into The Green Barn, a shop that specializes in selling eco-friendly products.

Clothing, jewelry, books, giftware, artwork, antiques, pet products, green cleaning supplies, and food products are on the first floor, while household and decorator items such as furniture, lighting, and frames are showcased in the loft.

The merchandise is an eclectic mix of new items made from recycled materials, and vintage items reoffered for a second chance.

Food products are organic and produced in Nova Scotia, while the art is produced by local craftspeople.

"We're trying to slow down that boat from China," she said.

Emin added that this store is an offshoot from her past career as an antique dealer specializing in vintage framing.

"I've been recycling all my life," she said. Interior decorators looking for period accents, or renovators searching for authentic fixtures to restore heritage homes will hit pay dirt on the second floor.

Emin and partner Jim Dale, an environmental biologist, hope this new green business will blossom into a vibrant community resource.

Their long-term plan includes hosting workshops, and offering yard-poor greenhorn gardeners an affordable growing space and root cellar.

"We have about an acre that we're preparing for next season," Dale said. "People can rent a row and we'll have the tools and offer support to help people get started in organic gardening."

The plan is ideal for seniors who miss planting their own vegetables. He added that an onsite root cellar is also in the works for gardeners to store what they grow.

"Community gardens are great ways to bring people together," he said. "It's an opportunity to socialize over a common interest.”

While the rising cost of transportation is pushing the prices paid at the grocery store, green thinking actually presents a rich opportunity to revive the local economy and give growers a chance to get back to their roots.

"The Valley has some of the richest agricultural land in the region," he saod. "And there's a microclimate here that makes for good growing."

Dale added that they are looking at ways of encouraging people to get back in the habit of eating what's in season, rather than depending on imported conveniences offered at grocery stores.

"In order to avoid transporting food over long distances, we need to look at ways of storing food locally." he said.

In order to punch up seasonal fare we need new ways of cooking the same old, he said.

A reference section has been tucked into the corner of the first floor to offer tips, information, recipes and resources on a range of topics.

Eventually they hope to host workshops on traditional practices of canning, preserving, and pickling. The first workshop next month will feature Helen Opie talking about decorative edible gardening.

Emin said she plans to keep the store open through October and see how things look towards Christmas. Her plan is to suspend the retail store in January and use the winter months developing a website and searching out new products.

She'll reopen the store in the spring and if all goes well next season, she may keep the business open year round.

The grand opening will take place on Sunday, September 14, from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Everyone is invited to stop by to take a look around and enjoy great food, entertainment and door prizes. For more information, call The Green Barn at 532-3066.