Wild People: Shannon Duncan and Christopher McCurry
When this couple isn't busy in their market garden near Fort Steele, or preparing their own brand of herbal teas, you'll often find them in the mountains near Kimberley. Newlyweds Shannon Duncan and Christopher McCurry share a love of the Purcells.
"The Purcells are an amazing mountain range," says Shannon. "Their beauty is humble and ancient."
Shannon, a dancer and herbalist, comes from Kimberley and has been exploring the Purcells on foot since she was a girl. Chris, a specialist in marketing and business, was raised on a Manitoba farm and came to his love of the Purcells by way of whitewater kayaking. His favourite kayaking run is the Skookumchuck River, just north of Kimberley. Shannon loves spending time anywhere in the St. Mary River Valley, especially near the river and up sunflower hill. Both Shannon and Chris spend lots of time in the Purcells looking for herbs for their wildcrafted teas.
"We only harvest from healthy populations of happy plants," Shannon says. "We make sure we aren’t damaging the population--and we don't harvest by the roadside." The couple even harvests nettles, those stinging plants that herbalists love but no one else wants to touch--until the stings have been removed by drying and steeping.
"We love it here," she says. "Both Chris and I value the work that Wildsight does to help a lot of the wild places in the area and we appreciate the healthy part that Wildsight plays in the community."
Chris and Shannon own Purcell Organics in Kimberley. Their tea blends--with Purcell-honouring names like St. Mary's Feast, Dewar Creek and Meachen Falls--are available year round at local businesses.
