Deep Dive Community Discussion
Eva Durance
came to the Okanagan in 1990.
"She worked on several contracts for agriculture and environment agencies, she and several friends developed the Penticton Farmers’ Market, she joined and volunteered with the South Okanagan Naturalists Club to support their work and she set about learning landscape design, eventually securing her diploma from a distinguished school in the United Kingdom.
Durance used that knowledge to further local understanding of the importance of xeriscape design, which uses native plants that need less water to thrive in the dry, hot Okanagan conditions. She developed a native-plant nursery and she wrote the definitive book on the subject: Cultivating the Wild: Gardening with Native Plants of British Columbia's Southern Interior and Eastern Washington.
In the ensuing years, Durance saw a dedication among government and non-government representatives that was collaborative and inclusive. It was about working together to envision a future that values nature and wildlife and the wild spaces where we see beauty.
“Here in the valley, working in conservation, the people, the forestry and environment staff and ordinary citizens working together, there’s a collaborative atmosphere and just so much dedication.”
It was a cooperative approach, a little arm twisting, determination and calling in favours that helped Eva muster the forces to replace the hugely popular Vaseux Lake bird blind at the end of the delightful, winding boardwalk on the shores of Vaseux Lake.
READ MORE Penticton Herald
Deep Dive Discussion #30
Cultivating the Wild:
Adapting Gardens to a Warming Climate and Indigenous Plants
with Eva Durance
Thurs, April 18 7PM ONLINE
Eva’s slide show will outline the main principles of creating low-input gardens and landscapes as well as watering, mulches, and plant choice with an emphasis on indigenous species.
Eva is author of the book Cultivating the Wild: Gardening with Native Plants of BC's Southern Interior and Eastern Washington.
She is a life-long gardener and landscape designer specializing in native plants.
"She’s been called a force of nature; nature gives force to Eva Durance."
to get the Zoom link.
FTFO's Deep Dive DISCUSSIONS take place monthly.
Topics: transportation, economic recovery, buildings, public engagement, agriculture, food security, and more.
Sign up for the e-newsletter to get notifications of upcoming Deep Dives.
Recordings on YouTube.