Getty Stewart

Topic

Fruit Share examined backyard fruit and discovered people would rather drive to big box stores to buy sprayed, waxed, over-packaged, transported fruit grown for storability and looks than to pick fresh, free, flavourful fruit growing in our own backyards. Our backyard fruit is left to rot or to be dumped in our landfill. Meanwhile 867,000 Canadians use food banks every month. It doesn’t make sense. So, Fruit Share adopted a new formula.

Bio

Five quick questions

Getty Stewart is a mom, gardener, writer, professional home economist, educator, speaker, entrepreneur, and volunteer. She believes in taking action to build the kind of world we want to live in. She’s an energetic learner, educator and go-getter who is always involved in some sort of endeavour to appreciate and strengthen family, community or nature. TEDxManitoba cannot be more pleased that she will speak at our event in February 2012.

What motivates you?

I’m motivated by actions, ideas, and opportunities that enable me to be actively involved in strengthening, understanding, educating, and appreciating the things I love most—family, community, and nature.

What do you do for a living and why?

I am a mom, gardener, writer, professional home economist, educator, speaker, entrepreneur, and volunteer. I’m an initiator who loves getting new ideas and systems up and running. I spend my time raising two great kids, launching Fruit Share, writing a book on Prairie Fruit, writing a gardening blog, leading nature hikes at Camp Wasaga, and supporting the amazing people and culture of IBEX Payroll. I do these things because they’re what I believe in and while the paycheque is small, the payback is huge.

Which TED talk do you think everyone should watch?

Ken Robsinson’s Bring on the learning revolution!

Why are you excited to speak at TEDxManitoba?

I’m inspired, challenged, and moved by the passion, people, and ideas that converge at TEDx Manitoba. Exploring new ideas and interacting with an audience made up of talented, inquisitive, creative, and passionate people is my idea of a good time.

What is your idea worth spreading?

Let’s rethink what’s happening in our backyards and apply a new formula—X(Share). Fruit Share examined backyard fruit and discovered people would rather drive to big box stores to buy sprayed, waxed, over-packaged, transported fruit grown for storability and looks than to pick fresh, free, flavourful fruit growing in our own backyards. Our backyard fruit is left to rot or to be dumped in our landfill. Meanwhile 867,000 Canadians use food banks every month. It doesn’t make sense. So, Fruit Share adopted a new formula X(Share) to reconfigure the status quo. Can the X(Share) formula, where X is anything we have in abundance, be applied elsewhere?