Our Team

Éric is the founder and the heart of the nursery. He is also something like a walking encyclopedia; the person to whom we direct all our technical questions and problems. Self-taught, he has learned greatly from observation of nature. For him, testing new cultivars is an unwavering passion, and increasing the northern limit of fruiting species is a serious mission. He excels in practically all manual trades, whether it is mechanics, carpentry, welding, plumbing, gardening and even cooking!

After several travels to provide humanitarian aid,  Véronique realised that changing the world must start with oneself. And she certainly has a talent for changing things for the better! Her investigative and innovative mind is largely what has pushed the nursery to constantly progress over the years, in terms of growing practices and our way of working in general. She is particularly conscious of the importance of a ‘living soil’ and is constantly searching for solutions to reduce the amount of tillage that is done at the nursery. She is also our dedicated manager, taking charge of all the administration and logistics in the office.

A special education teacher by training, Élisabeth arrived as a volunteer at the nursery in 2014, after some travels during which she had started to question her direction in life. It was her desire to make a better world that motivated her to stay as a part of the community. In the nursery, her concern to make people happy and to offer high-quality trees, makes her of key importance in the selection, classification and preparation of the trees. She also takes charge of the conservation of all the food that we produce, so we often find her in the kitchen; making preserves, or dehydrating and freezing food. She is without doubt an outstanding cook, so thanks to her, we have something to savor every day! 

Matthew, originally from Ontario, arrived as a volunteer in 2015. He is passionate about self-sufficiency, gardening, trees and lacto-fermentation. He is a perfectionist, which makes him an excellent grafter. He is also our chief gardener, in charge of growing vegetables for the whole team throughout the year, a task that occupies almost all of his time. Matthew is an indisputable fan of all bitter green vegetables, and loves to base our food on these.

Born in Switzerland, Natalie has a thirst to learn  in every domain, and a sense of responsibility that makes her an excellent team leader. From the organization of schedules to record-keeping, to operating machinery, she ensures that every operation is done well, in order to guarantee quality trees. Her interest in learning, but especially her desire to share, help and support each and everyone makes her into something of the honey-bee of the nursery; caring as much for the wellbeing of the group as she does for her own.

Semi-retired with a career in project management behind her, Sylvie was looking for a job closer to nature and far from the city when we met her in 2018. It is she who now replies to emails and calls, and it is her delight to be in contact with all of you. It is a real source of satisfaction to her to have guided a customer in the selection and care of their trees. She cheerfully shares everything that she learns here and never tires of repeating it as often as is needed, so that everyone can understand what they need to know to succeed in growing their trees. Sylvie is also a photography enthusiast, and a great deal of the photography on our website is her work! 

Since 2018 Honorato has come to our aid at our busiest periods of the season. He is Mexican and spends several months each year working in Quebec. At the nursery, he is appreciated for his good attitude, his concern that each task should be done well, and his reliability. His favourite task is grafting, but he is always ready to help regardless of the work that has to be done. Despite his preference for the hottest periods of the summer, he courageously braves the chills of spring and fall with us. We enjoy teasing him when he arrives on a 20-degree spring day in his heavy overalls and woollen sweater!

A psychomotrician by profession, Camille arrived as a volunteer from France in the spring of 2019. The activities and learning opportunities at the nursery, as well as the community lifestyle, attracted her interest and she decided to stay and prolong her experience. What makes her a peerless team member is her boundless energy and her desire to help and lighten the load of others in their tasks. She is in charge of taking notes and organising taste tests of the fruit in our experimental orchard.

Thierry joined the team in 2021. In his past life, he was an illustrator! More recently, he has decided to turn towards working in agriculture in order to be closer to nature. He is a great lover of plants and has an indefatigable passion for sea buckthorn! At the nursery, he works mainly in the preparation of orders and the maintenance of young trees, but it is also thanks to him that our website is full of magnificent illustrations!

Each year, we receive several dozens of volunteers who wish to experience a different lifestyle and contribute to a project of changing the world one tree at a time. It is with these volunteers that the nursery has evolved, and each one that has passed has helped us to realise an incalculable number of projects! Without them, our beautiful place would not be what it is today: each one has left their trace in their own way. They come from all over the world, and form an integral part of our life and of the nursery. 

Dali arrived at the nursery in the fall of 2019. Originating in Rawdon, she was at first uncontrollable with a passion for moving cars. After much training, time, effort, treats and love, she has now become clever and dependable, and protects the occupants of the lands: humans, chickens and trees, from all possible dangers. She has become the essential mascot of the nursery.