Elemental Earth Gardens is a family farm run by Geert Hemelings, Aimée-Mihkokwaniy McGillis, and their two children. The farm sits on 5 acres of land in Treaty 1 territory, 30 mins west of Winnipeg.
Currently 1 acre of land is cultivated for 80 CSA members, a farmers market, and wholesale markets. In 2021 we donated CSAs to several families and elders in need, as well as to three organizations that support communities with limited access to fresh local produce. We hope to expand this kinship practice in the coming years.
On our farm, we focus on naturally building soil health and exclusively use all natural, spray free, no/low till methods. All seeds used are GMO free, and we have started to prioritize heirloom varieties that can be used for seed saving. This practice is important as saving seeds helps the plants to develop intergenerational relationships with the land and the ecosystem, which improves the quality of growth and the health of the plants.
During our time here we have left just over an acre of land to grow wild. While it seems like a tiny drop in the bucket in such a vaste expanse of a prairie, we have noticed alot more wildlife on our property as a result. Our intention was to support pollinators, but the diversity of wild life that now visits and inhabits the land has grown exponentially since allowing more wildspace to just *be*.
We want to do our part to create a healthy future for our planet, our family and our community. Growing food that sustains and creates health on all levels is a passion for our family.
If you want to follow more of our journey, please find us on FB and Instagram @elementalearthgardens
Read on below for individual Bio's on Geert and Aimée.
Geert Hemelings was born and raised in Belgium. He immigrated to Canada in 2013 to start a life with Aimée. His ancestors farmed and cultivated their lands with plows and horses in the same area where he was born and raised for countless generations. He learned to grow vegetables from his grandparents, and parents who had their own gardens, and raised their own livestock.
In his life he has explored many different paths; it was not until he started to grow plants that he felt as though he had found his purpose. Geert feels passionately that shifting agricultural practices is imperative to the health of the earth.
It is important to him, that the farming practices he uses to cultivate the land mimick nature, working with the elements in a way that is symbiotic, supportive and enriching.
In his life he has explored many different paths; it was not until he started to grow plants that he felt as though he had found his purpose. Geert feels passionately that shifting agricultural practices is imperative to the health of the earth.
It is important to him, that the farming practices he uses to cultivate the land mimick nature, working with the elements in a way that is symbiotic, supportive and enriching.
Aimée-Mihkokwaniy McGillis is an Indigenous, neurodivergent, interdisciplinary artist, seed keeper, farmer, and student. She is committed to intergenerational healing, decolonization, community, kinship and cultivating a reciprocal relationship with the land.
In her life as an artist her practices involve, drawing, digital art, beadwork, and metalsmithing. She is also working on her honours undergraduate degree in Psychology. You can check out her body of work (mostly jewelry) on instagram @aimee.mcgillis and in person in the handmade village at the winnipeg folk festival in july 2022.
**For transparency because of the ongoing issue with false claims to Indigeniety within our Indigenous communities, i would like to share some of my geneology publicly. The first Indigenous ancestor to marry a settler in both my Grandmothers and Grandfathers bloodlines were in the 1700s. Since then my Ancestors married Michif (Métis) or First Nations exclusively, until my dads generation when he and some of his siblings and 1st cousins also married settlers. My family have continued to be language keepers(Michif/Nehiyawewin/Anishnaabemowin/Lakota) and traditional knowledge keepers. My Nohkom(grandmother), Moshom(Grandfather), and Notawiy(dad) were all born and raised in the historic Michif communities of Willowbunch/St. Victor in southern Saskatchewan. My Notawiy is Cecil McGillis, and my Moshom is Hyacinth McGillis, who has roots from Rocky Boy, MT, Turtle Mountain, ND, and St-Francois Xavier, MB (Red River Settlement). My Nohkom Virginie McGillis (nee Gaudry) has roots in Rocky Boy, MT, Wood Mountain, SK and the Red River Settlement of MB. I am/have been a registered citizen of the Manitoba Métis Nation through the Manitoba Metis Federation for over 25 years. My mother, Gisele Toupin, is of french settler descent.**
In her life as an artist her practices involve, drawing, digital art, beadwork, and metalsmithing. She is also working on her honours undergraduate degree in Psychology. You can check out her body of work (mostly jewelry) on instagram @aimee.mcgillis and in person in the handmade village at the winnipeg folk festival in july 2022.
**For transparency because of the ongoing issue with false claims to Indigeniety within our Indigenous communities, i would like to share some of my geneology publicly. The first Indigenous ancestor to marry a settler in both my Grandmothers and Grandfathers bloodlines were in the 1700s. Since then my Ancestors married Michif (Métis) or First Nations exclusively, until my dads generation when he and some of his siblings and 1st cousins also married settlers. My family have continued to be language keepers(Michif/Nehiyawewin/Anishnaabemowin/Lakota) and traditional knowledge keepers. My Nohkom(grandmother), Moshom(Grandfather), and Notawiy(dad) were all born and raised in the historic Michif communities of Willowbunch/St. Victor in southern Saskatchewan. My Notawiy is Cecil McGillis, and my Moshom is Hyacinth McGillis, who has roots from Rocky Boy, MT, Turtle Mountain, ND, and St-Francois Xavier, MB (Red River Settlement). My Nohkom Virginie McGillis (nee Gaudry) has roots in Rocky Boy, MT, Wood Mountain, SK and the Red River Settlement of MB. I am/have been a registered citizen of the Manitoba Métis Nation through the Manitoba Metis Federation for over 25 years. My mother, Gisele Toupin, is of french settler descent.**
