About the Cultivation Network of Canada
A national platform dedicated to evidence-based gardening knowledge: independent, accessible, and built for every region of Canada.
Our Mission
Canada is a country of wildly different growing conditions — and yet most gardening advice treats it as one place. Information is fragmented across provincial extension services, university research departments, and commercial sources with their own interests. There is no national institution dedicated to interpreting and communicating horticultural evidence for Canadian gardeners.
The Cultivation Network of Canada exists to fill that gap. We are building a permanent, independent, non-commercial platform that connects researchers, communicators, and gardeners across every region of the country — translating evidence into accessible, regionally relevant guidance.
Our Approach
Evidence-based
Every resource we produce is grounded in peer-reviewed horticultural research. We cite our sources and update our content as knowledge evolves.
Regionally relevant
Canada spans seven plant hardiness zones and dozens of distinct growing regions. Our guidance reflects where you actually garden, not a generic North American average.
Fully independent
Our editorial decisions are made independently of our funders and sponsors. Who pays the bills never determines what we publish — our only editorial obligation is to the evidence and to gardeners.
Governance and Accountability
The Cultivation Network of Canada will be federally incorporated under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act. It will be governed by a board of three to five directors drawn from the horticultural research, journalism, and nonprofit sectors.
Financial oversight will be provided by an external accounting professional. Annual reports will be made available to all members and funders.
The organization is currently in its founding phase. Incorporation and board formation will be completed with founding investment in place.
About the Founder
Shauna Dobbie is the founder of the Cultivation Network of Canada and has been writing about gardening for more than 20 years. She is the editor and publisher of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, host of a garden-related podcast, and author of the weekly newsletter 10 Neat Things.
A longtime volunteer and community builder, Shauna has served on the boards of Communities in Bloom and Plant a Row/Grow a Row. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto and a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University.
After 25 years in Toronto, Shauna and her husband returned to their hometown of Winnipeg — where the short growing season has only deepened her conviction that Canadian gardeners deserve better, more regionally relevant advice.
