Under the Canopy

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On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, former Minister of Natural Resources, Jerry Ouellette takes you along on the journey to see the places and meet the people that will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and Under The Canopy.

23h ago

Episode 162: Ontario Stone and Gravel

You probably don’t think about gravel until a dump truck slows traffic or a new pit proposal sparks a neighbourhood fight, but the truth is bigger: your roads, sidewalks, schools, hospitals, and even the concrete under your feet all begin as stone, sand, and gravel. We connect those dots with Sharon Armstrong, executive director of the Ontario Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association, and unpack why aggregate is a “natural resource hiding in plain sight” across Ontario infrastructure. We get practical about how roads are built, why different aggregate sizes and specs matter, and what separates pits from quarries. Sharon explains why transport is often the biggest cost and a major emissions driver, and why the industry mantra “don’t make gravel travel” changes how you think about local supply versus long-haul trucking. We also dig into the real-world friction points that fuel public controversy, from truck traffic to the misunderstanding that you can just source material somewhere else. Then we walk through the licensing and approvals process: hydrogeology studies, air and noise work, traffic planning, municipal zoning, public consultation, rehabilitation plans, and what happens when decisions end up at the Ontario Land Tribunal. We also explore rehabilitation outcomes people rarely hear about, including recreation sites and emerging aquaculture uses that can speed up biodiversity in extremely clean quarry water. Plus, we answer listener gardening questions on fertilising, petunia recovery, and harvesting peppers and tomatoes. If you care about construction, land use, environmental review, or the future of Ontario building, this conversation gives you the missing context. Subscribe, share this with someone who debates local pits, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.
6d ago

Episode 161: Cheese Under The Canopy

Cheese gets called “simple food” right up until you hear what actually goes into making it. We start with a bit of real life under the canopy, from sore muscles and gravel work to staying sharp outdoors after close calls with coyotes. Then we pivot into a full-on, listener-friendly breakdown of artisan cheese, because there’s a lot more happening in that wedge than most of us realise. Haley from Ontario Cheese Union joins us to talk about Ontario farmstead cheese and the makers behind it, including cow, goat, sheep, and even water buffalo milk. We dig into what water buffalo milk changes nutritionally and practically (including protein and cholesterol questions), and we walk step-by-step through the cheese making process: starter cultures, rennet, curds and whey, draining, moulding, pressing, and the little technical choices that turn the same ingredient into mozzarella, gouda, or cheddar. We also get into the wild world of blue cheese and why it often needs its own space, how aging works as moisture reduction that intensifies flavour, and why some aged cheeses can be easier on lactose-intolerant eaters. We don’t dodge the uncomfortable stuff either: processed cheese, additives, shelf life, and what “consistent” flavour can cost. If you love food, cooking, and outdoor living, this one is packed with practical cheese tips you can use at your next farmers market. Subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation, share this with a fellow cheese lover, and leave a review with your most controversial cheese take.
Aug 31

Episode 160: When Trees Send Warnings And Humans Build For Disaster

A rebar job should be about steel, skill, and showing up on time, right? We learned it can also be about trust at a level most people never see. Garrett joins me for a real-world update on life, work, and fatherhood, then walks through what it looks like to apply for access at Darlington OPG, where nuclear power plant security screening can take months and digs into years of travel history, identity checks, and multi-stage background reviews. We also get practical about chaga mushroom use and how people actually drink it. I share what is working in the chaga tea lineup, why so many listeners ask about caffeine, and how we think about blends like matcha, black tea, and coffee alternatives. We talk cold brew chaga for summer, what customers say about recovery after a night of drinking, and why antioxidants keep coming up in chaga health and wellness conversations. Then we zoom out under the canopy to the hidden systems that keep the world running. From the “secret language of trees” and mycorrhizal networks to how plants defend themselves, the theme is simple: nature communicates, adapts, and protects itself in ways we overlook. That same systems thinking shows up in Toronto infrastructure, LRT construction details like vibration planning, and even why Ontario highways like the 401 and 407 get built and expanded the way they do. If you like outdoors storytelling, practical wellness, and the behind-the-scenes reality of big projects, hit subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What part surprised you most: nuclear screening, plant communication, or the chaga talk?
Aug 24

Episode 159: Green Tea Caffeine Depends On Farming, Processing, And How You Brew It

Tea talk gets weird fast: “orange pekoe has orange,” green tea is always low caffeine, and tea bags are loaded with microplastics. We wanted real answers, so we brought back tea industry veteran John Snell to help us separate myth from chemistry and hype from what’s actually happening in the leaf. From Sri Lanka to India, East Africa, China, and Vietnam, John explains how tea terroir works, why monsoons and elevation change flavour, and what tea “tips” really are when people talk about silver tip and gold tip teas. We dig into caffeine with the nuance it deserves. Caffeine is a natural plant defence, fertiliser choices can influence it, and processing changes how it shows up in your cup. John breaks down why green tea can deliver caffeine differently than black tea, why cold brew tea changes extraction, and how matcha stands apart because you ingest the powdered leaf in suspension, taking in the full spectrum of compounds like polyphenols and antioxidants. Then we get into the questions you keep sending us: chemical sprays, pesticide residue, organic tea, and whether the microplastics teabag scare matches the best available evidence. We also go bigger picture on sustainability and livelihoods, including John’s work helping Pakistan explore domestic tea production to reduce imports and support rural communities. We finish by dreaming about local and Indigenous ingredients like Labrador tea, and what it could take to do it right. If you like practical knowledge with real-world stories, hit subscribe, share this with a tea-curious friend, and leave us a review with your biggest tea question for a future Q&A.
Aug 17

Epiosde 158: Cold Brew Under The Canopy

Cold drinks dominate the world, but most people still treat tea like it only belongs in a mug. We go the other direction and get specific: how we make Chaga cold brew that actually tastes good, how long we steep it, and how you can do it at home without turning it into a science project. You’ll hear the two blends we’ve been sampling at events, including a green tea and matcha option, plus Ruby G, a deep ruby mix built around hibiscus, red beet, chicory, lemon extract and Chaga for a refreshing summer pour. Then we head north with Pierre for a real Northern Ontario check-in: wild blueberries going crazy, gardens pushing corn and tomatoes, and the kind of everyday surprises that come with rural living, like hornets dropping from a tree and dogs stepping on them. We also get into the food side of the outdoors, from cleaning pike properly to raising and processing meat chickens at home, including a drill-mounted feather plucker and the water temperature trick that makes it work. Finally, Pierre walks us through what mineral exploration looks like when you’re actually out there: building pads for diamond drills, how drill core is handled, why water and cuttings matter, and what “junior” mining companies do. We round out with winter preparedness, backup power, internet realities in remote towns, and a little bit of gold fever psychology when the gravel in your driveway starts looking suspiciously shiny. If you enjoy practical outdoors talk with humour and zero pretending, subscribe, share this with a friend who lives for the bush, and leave us a review with your favourite part of the conversation.
Aug 10

Episode 157: Foraging Finds And Garlic Growing Tips From A Master Gardener

You can grow a great garden and still lose a crop if you miss one invisible detail. We get into that reality with garlic, where a listener question opens the door to the unglamorous stuff that actually decides your harvest: nematodes, leek moth, and what “clean seed” really means when you plant year after year. Bev, our master gardener guest, breaks down what to watch for on garlic scapes, why regular crop walks matter, and how fall cleanup and crop rotation reduce the pests that overwinter in debris. If you’ve ever wondered why your garlic looks fine until it suddenly doesn’t, you’ll leave with a clearer plan. We also zoom out to the wider outdoor table. We talk seasonal foraging and plant ID cues you can use on a drive or a walk, including staghorn sumac, chicory along the roadside, and the difference between interesting health claims and evidence you can trust. You’ll hear how we like to sanity-check natural health and medicinal plant chatter using sources like PubMed and ScienceDirect, so curiosity stays grounded. Then we bring it back to the kitchen, because the point of growing food is eating well. We compare hardneck vs softneck garlic for cold-climate gardens, share how to cure garlic for real shelf life, and swap practical preservation ideas: freezing garlic, dehydrating it into powder, and using hot varieties for next-level dill pickles. We also talk old-school jar favorites like candied jalapenos, beet pickles, relishes, salsa, and chili sauce handed down through family recipes. If this helps you, subscribe, share it with a gardener or forager, and leave a review so more people find the show.
Aug 4

Episode 156: Mushroom Grow Kits Made Simple

Fresh mushrooms don’t have to be a grocery store gamble. We’re talking with Corey from Mushrooms of the Valley, tucked near the Madawaska River in Ontario’s Hastings Highlands, about what it really takes to grow gourmet mushrooms at home and why a simple sawdust block can turn into a legit harvest on your kitchen counter. We get specific about the mushrooms he’s growing and selling: pink oyster mushrooms, white oysters, golden oysters, and the Phoenix oyster that holds its colour in warm weather. Corey explains what a mushroom grow kit is, what “spawn” means, and why consistent hardwood fuel pellets make his substrate more predictable. If you’ve been Googling mushroom grow kits, how to grow oyster mushrooms indoors, or how long mushrooms take to fruit, we lay out the practical timeline and the conditions that matter most. We also touch lion’s mane, including why it’s more seasonal (cooler spring and fall conditions), and how Corey makes lion’s mane powder by dehydrating and processing the mushroom so people can cook with it or use it in homemade tinctures. We talk realistic yields from a five-pound block, what a “flush” is, how many flushes you might get, and what to expect in that first 1 to 2 weeks after you bring a kit home. Finally, we cover mushroom spores, when they’re just a bit of white dust, and when serious growers need to think about respirators and airflow. If you like practical outdoor skills that you can do year-round, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend who loves food and the woods, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What mushroom would you try growing first?
Jul 27

Episode 155: Wildfire Smoke And Forest Health

Smoke in the air has a way of snapping our attention back to the natural world. We start with what it feels like when wildfire haze rolls in, then zoom out to the less obvious forces that shape forest health every day, the kind you might notice first as a few “mystery” conifers turning brick red along the road or at the edge of your camp. I’m joined by David Dutkiewicz from the Ontario Invasive Species Centre, and we get practical fast. We sort out common tree ID mix-ups (spruce vs balsam fir), explain how root competition and natural thinning can make trees die off in clusters, and share simple cues for telling fir, spruce, pine, and tamarack apart. From there we move into the bigger prevention story: why the “Don’t Move Firewood” message matters, how Emerald Ash Borer can survive in cut wood for years, and what to watch for with oak wilt, a fast-moving disease that has already triggered rapid response efforts in Ontario. We also hit backyard realities: tar spot on Norway maple, what leaf cleanup actually does, which maples can be tapped for sap, and what Japanese beetles are doing when they “skeletonize” leaves. If you’ve ever wondered how to help beyond worrying, we cover easy reporting tools like invasive species hotlines, EDDMapS, iNaturalist, and CFIA resources so your photos can turn into early detection. If you care about protecting forests, camps, and communities from invasive pests and tree disease, subscribe, share this with a friend who buys firewood, and leave a review so more people find the show.

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Trailer

Welcome to Under The Canopy

On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, former Minister of Natural Resources, Jerry Ouellette takes you along on the journey to see the places and meet the people that will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and Under The Canopy.