Nonie Jackson's Story

Hello, my name is Nonie Jackson, and I am a very enthusiastic supporter for Wheels For Change.

From a very young age, I was very passionate about nature. My earliest and happiest recollections were playing outside, in a garden, wood or field, investigating anything that had life--bugs, birds, flowers and trees. I would walk or cycle off for miles into the countryside searching for birds nests etc. and would challenge myself to climb up to the highest branch of a tree and hang upside down!!

After training as an elementary teacher in England, my (then) husband and I bought a 130 acre farm in Hereford England, and built up to 90 pedigree Guernsey cows which we milked---and I built up my flock of sheep, from a few baby pet lambs, to a flock of 200 ewes, over 15 years. I must say, that I was a dab hand at being a sheep midwife!! Our three children were fortunate to have the opportunity to grow up in such a beautiful environment, and to be shown the values and lifestyle of a family run farm. We were virtually self-sufficient, and produced most of our own food, grown organically on the farm. During my farming days i was often torn and dismayed by the impact that the chemical corporations were having, and changing many of the old traditional organic ways of farming. Chemical sprays, pesticides and herbicides, polluting the countryside and poisoning the rivers ,and drugs and hormones administered to cows, etc.

We sold our farm in 1988 and emmigrated to Vernon. B.C. where we bought an old established orchard, which we decided to run as certified organic. After five years of helping to run the orchard and building a new house, my husband and I separated. Since then I have become very involved in the local community, volunteering at my local school, the St John Ambulance Therapy Dog programme, Komasket Music Festival, Children's summer camps and now the Wheels for Change campaign.

I feel that it is imperative for us all to wake up and become accountable for our actions and effects upon global warming. We all need to think about the choices we make--to grow our own food organically or support the local farmers markets and buy locally!!!

AND TO REFUSE, REDUCE AND REUSE !!!

As my mentor David Suzuki says---

'WE SHOULD LIVE SIMPLY, SO OTHERS CAN SIMPLY LIVE'