Member

Renée Nadeau

Toronto, Ontario

I was born and raised in Montreal, traditional Mohawk land and currently work, live and play in Toronto, Dish with One Spoon Territory, shared Indigenous land of the Mississauga, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe. For me, understanding my connection to a land where I reside as a guest is important in understanding the role I can play in helping to create a brighter future for further generations. Understanding the colonial history of dry stone walls in Canada, and reimagining how we can preserve, rebuild and maintain them, while also building new ones, in harmony with the land, the people and a de-colonising approach is the beauty of doing this work in the present.

I fell in love with dry stone walling after attending a workshop at Ferris Provincial Park in Ontario, invited by Bill and Jacqui Jeffers with whom I was taking a garden design course. I then went on to attend as many workshops and festivals I could, obtaining my level 1 dry stone certification through the Stone Trust, in New Hampshire, USA. I’m currently the secretary on the board of Dry Stone Canada. I work for a landscaping company doing mostly hardscaping, including dry stone work, carpentry and welding.

I really love sharing my passion for dry stone walls with others and learning about the history of walls in different parts of the world. I am currently completing a trip through Crete, Sicily, Mediterranean coastal Spain and Ireland, learning about these stories and constantly amazed! In my spare time, I am learning to rebuild a motorcycle and tending to a little farm plot where I grow herbal medicine, veggies & keep bees.