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.
Latest episodes
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1 h 08
Episode 163: Durham College’s Living Lab For Sustainable Food
A college campus isn’t where most people picture the future of farming, but that’s exactly why this conversation surprised us. We’re joined by Kelly O’Brien, Associate Dean at Durh…
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1 h 09
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,…
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57 min
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…
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42 min
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 u…
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49 min
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 in…
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58 min
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…
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33 min
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 unglamorou…
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24 min
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, abo…
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1 h 20
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 forc…
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41 min
Episode 154: Why Spruce Trees Turn Rusty Red
Your spruce trees look fine one week, then the needles fade to rusty red and the worry sets in. We’ve been seeing the same thing around cottage country, so we called someone who li…
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33 min
Episode 153: Bees Under The Canopy
A bear can erase an entire beekeeping season overnight. A single plant choice can change how many butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees show up in your yard for months. We follow tho…
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1 h 01
Episode 152: New Baby Joy, Tick Safety, And A Fresh Chaga Summer Brew
A tiny newborn can turn the strongest routine into a brand-new adventure, and that’s exactly where we start. I sit down with my son Garrett to celebrate the arrival of baby Gritten…
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36 min
Episode 151: New Chaga Tea Blends Plus Practical Gardening Answers
Boiling water for chaga tea sounds simple, but it sparks a surprisingly big question: are we helping extraction, or hurting the good stuff? We dig into why we put “boiling” on the…
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1 h 17
Episode 150: How Ontario Manages Forests And Herbicide Use
A spray plane over a cutover can spark instant outrage, but the real story sits in the details: what’s being sprayed, why it’s used, what gets protected, and what trade-offs we’re…
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1 h 11
Episode 149: Stone, Sand, And Gravel Explained For Everyday Life
The modern world feels like steel and glass, but it actually starts with something far less glamorous: stone, sand, and gravel. We sit down with Sharon Armstrong, Executive Directo…
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53 min
Episode 148: A Forest Classroom For Curious Kids
A kid points at a tree and says, “What is that?” and suddenly you’re talking about pollination, fungi, water, carbon, and how a forest quietly runs like a living system. We head to…
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42 min
Episode 147: How Raised Garden Beds Boost Early Harvests And Save Your Knees
A good garden doesn’t start with a miracle fertilizer. It starts with smarter structure, better soil, and a few hard-earned lessons from people who grow things for real.We’re recor…
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42 min
Episode 146: Bring Back The Salmon
Lake Ontario used to hold one of the largest freshwater Atlantic salmon populations anywhere on Earth and then, within a single century, it was gone. That disappearance wasn’t a my…
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1 h 24
Episode 145: What Ticks And Parasites Are Doing To Moose
Your dog is your best buddy, so tick season hits differently when the prices jump and the risks feel real. We start with a listener-driven problem: how to protect our dogs from tic…
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57 min
Episode 144: You Can Help Save Black Ash By Collecting Seeds
We talk with Vince from the Invasive Species Centre about how emerald ash borer is driving black ash toward endangered status in Ontario and what it means for wetlands, forests, an…