Youth Climate Corps BC digs deeper at Steller Raven Ecological Farm to learn how gardening and environmental action can intersect
As a part of an increased focus on environmental issues, the City of Courtenay brought Youth Climate Corps BC to the Comox Valley for the summer of 2025.
Youth Climate Corps BC is an organization that comes to communities to work on climate action projects while providing job opportunities for youth and paying them a living wage. The Courtenay team at YCCBC has been able to work with some incredible community members and partners this summer, whose impact it wants to give a brighter spotlight to. One such organization is the Steller Raven Ecological Farm.
Run by Royann Petrell and her husband, Sylvain Alie, Steller Raven Ecological Farm is host to expansive food and native plant gardens. I had the chance to meet Royann at the Cumberland Home and Garden Tour run by the Cumberland Community Forest Society, and have met up with her since to chat and learn more about her gardens. For Petrell and Alie, gardening has always been an important aspect of their lives.
"I remember very fondly the taste of fresh chard and green beans from my grandfather's garden," Petrell said.
Wanting to weave sustainability into their food system, Petrell and Alie do so by ensuring that they use farming practices that encourage regeneration and avoid greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transport and storage of food coming from farther away. In addition to being more sustainable, they grow food that prioritizes taste over shelf life in a way that a supermarket can't afford to.
While her gardening roots started setting in childhood, Petrell's garden began in the mid-1990s with the purchase of her current property. Explaining how her garden has gotten to where it is today, Petrell shared that much of the impetus behind expanding from growing food to native plants results from a desire to support declining bird populations. Because native bird populations are better suited to native plants, habitats where native plant species are plentiful are ideal for supporting the needs of local bird species. As a result of planting more native species, specifically flowering forbs and grasses, has come a noticeable increase in native bee populations. Planting native grasses doesn't just boost biodiversity, but provides mulch for Petrell's food garden. The advantage that native grasses have over the non-native varieties is that they are adapted to local climatic conditions and are thus more drought and pest-resistant.
Revelling in her success, Petrell shared that "this August, the native grasses are still green despite our drought, and are ready for a second cutting."
While planting native, site-adapted plants is a great way to skirt around the issue of changing climates, mitigating the impacts of climate-related issues doesn't always address the root of the problem.
"Our vegetable yields have fallen over the years, as the summers have become increasingly hotter," Petrell said. "There comes a point where the plants can no longer take up enough water."
More needs to be done to fight back against climate change. There is a silver lining here, however, in that a native plant garden of this size sequesters more carbon than a conventional grass lawn of equal size. Petrell and Alie even mow their grass with a scythe to avoid further emissions.
Last year, a B.C. Nature-funded literature review relating to carbon sequestration of native plants was conducted. Petrell and Alie opened their farm to over 100 people and several organizations who learned about growing native plants. Visitors saw five different native plant gardens and posters that highlighted how native plant gardens sequester carbon, with deeper root systems allowing them to be more effective at doing so than conventional grass lawns.
"One acre of long-lived and rooted native plants can sequester one ton of carbon ... soon our farm will have one acre of such plants," Petrell said. "We feel that if we can do it, others can too. We must do what we can to fight climate change."
While one lawn transformation isn't going to change the world on its own, and other pieces of the climate solution such as a global energy transition have more potential in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, widespread replacement of conventional grass lawns with native plant gardens is a step in the right direction.
After visiting Steller Raven Ecological Farm, I felt inspired. Learning more about the people in your community who are doing good work for the climate is such a positive feeling. Complex problems like climate change can feel incredibly overwhelming at the individual level, but when you can share success stories and struggles with a larger community, it's a problem that becomes a bit easier to manage. Alternatively, Petrell noted that for most people who visit her farm the main takeaway is not related to carbon sequestered, or the pollinators supported, but is that the gardens are beautiful and peaceful. This serves as a reminder that climate action can be a source of beauty, and working in a garden is a fun and rewarding activity.
If landowners are interested in starting their own native plant gardens, it's important to start small. Visiting the gardens at MARS wildlife rescue centre or Steller Raven Ecological Farm is a great way to get some direction. They might even be able to help you source some native plants for your yard, which can be a big barrier when getting started. To talk to the wonderful people at Steller Raven Ecological Farm, you can visit the Courtenay and Cumberland farmers' markets. Just be sure to first check the Comox Valley Farmer's Market website to see when Petrell and Alie will pop up next.