Edible British Columbia Almanac is a seasonal harvest journal published by Pacific Larder Publishing Ltd. Since 2015, our purpose has been to help curious readers notice the relationships behind a meal: the orchard soil, the working dairy, the tide and the forest. We cover intertidal seaweeds, wild mushrooms, farmhouse cider and the people who make food on a small scale across British Columbia.
Meet the editor
Maren Alistair, our Editor & Coastal Field Forager, approaches a field note as an invitation to look more carefully. A good day may begin on a windy beach and end with a conversation at a farm gate. Her editorial compass is simple: identify a place honestly, make room for the people who know it, and leave readers with a reason to care for it. The almanac is written for local cooks, thoughtful travellers and anyone who has wondered what a season tastes like.
Our home is at 532 Fisgard St, Chinatown, Victoria, BC V8W 1R4, Canada. From there, our attention travels across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, the Okanagan and Similkameen, the Fraser Valley, Haida Gwaii and the North Coast, and the Kootenay Columbia region. No single visit can capture a whole bioregion. We treat our pages as a starting point for further learning, not a complete inventory of the province.
How we work
The almanac combines seasonal context, practical questions for producers and field observations. Crop timing and access change with weather and local conditions. We encourage readers to confirm opening hours, product details, land access and current harvesting rules directly with the relevant source. Our producer features are editorial introductions; inclusion does not guarantee that a particular product is in stock or that a business is open on the day you travel.
Foraging carries responsibilities that a short article cannot teach in full. We recommend learning identification in person with qualified local experts, checking current rules for the exact place, and leaving an uncertain find untouched. Shellfish closures and marine biotoxin advisories require particular care. Indigenous Nations have enduring relationships with the lands and waters covered here; visitors should respect local protocols and restrictions.
Share a note
Have a correction, a seasonal observation or a story about a small BC producer? Write to [email protected]. For general larder correspondence, reach us at [email protected]. Tell us the place and date of your observation, and let us know how we can reach you if a detail needs checking.
Our coverage follows ingredients through the year rather than ranking destinations. We are interested in the choices behind a cheese wheel, the work of tending an orchard and the conditions that make a shoreline flourish. Those stories are connected to communities, livelihoods and living ecosystems; listening to the people closest to them is part of our editorial practice.
We welcome careful corrections because weather, businesses and regulations move faster than any printed calendar. The most useful almanac is one that is read with curiosity and updated through conversation. Thank you for bringing your own attention to these places.