About Me

Hi, my name is Brian Mclellan-Tuck. I identify as a naturalist, forager, healthnut, climber, backcountry enthusiast and a skateboarder!  I grew up in a fairly large city in south Ontario, disconnected from nature. Without access to nature I found myself bored, overweight, unmotivated and sitting in front of a TV to keep myself entertained. Luckily the small amount of exposure to nature I got as a kid was enough to spark that interest and I found myself wanting to be in nature more and more as I grew older. I would say the biggest change in my life came in my early 20’s when I couldn’t handle living and working the 9-5 grind and found the most relief from societies pressures by getting out into nature so I would leave the city any chance I had until I discovered and left the city to take an outdoor adventure college program that opened my world to all the possibilities of the outdoor adventure industry which I had not even known was such a thing! 

During my time while in this program I had the deep desire to learn everything nature and reconnect to the land. It came so naturally to me to want to move more into natures rhythms. I had become especially interested in primitive skills, homesteading and foraging. Through this program I ended up a canoe/kayak guide for Free Spirit Tours and got the chance to live in the country and have access to garden space and lots of nature. I felt blessed! My interests became more food focused the next few years as I learned more about sustainability, permaculture and wild edibles. This led me to travel the world working on organic farms (WWOOFing) and begin viewing food as more than something we put in our mouths when our stomach rumbles.

Over these years my passions for food, nature, sustainability and always learning I have gained certifications in permaculture, herbalism and most recently, my IIN health coach certification. 

It was nature that has guided my path to life, healing and ultimately to where I am now. I hope to be able to inspire you to find your connection to nature and live a healthy, more fulfilling life.

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better"
-Albert Einstein

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My Formal Training

 I am a student of nature at the university of Earth. My greatest lessons have come from nature though here is some of my greater formal training experiences.

Outdoor Adventure Naturalist Program at Algonquin College -2013

This program gave me fundamental skills to work in the outdoor adventure industry and was a stepping stone into discovering my passions for wildfood and health. As a graduate with honors I spent approximately 600 hours completing field study and practical skills training in outdoor settings/classrooms in areas such as:

  • river touring (kayak touring and gentle rafting)
  • no-trace camping and wilderness travel skills
  • cross-country cycle touring
  • flatwater canoeing
  • astronomy
  • winter camping and travel skills
  • tracking
  • orienteering
  • photography
  • wild edible and small plant identification
  • birding
  • ecology
  • risk management

I obtained such certifications as:

  • Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) Wild Educator Facilitator
  • Assistant Cycle Tour Guide
  • Paddle Canada Waterfront Canoe Instructor and Camping Program
  • Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
  • Swiftwater Rescue Technician 1
  • Heritage Interpreter Certification
  • Leave No Trace (LNT) Master Educator

Four-Season Permaculture Certification (PDC) at The Living Centre-2018

This course is an internationally recognized, 72-hour training in the ethics, principles, methods and practices of Permaculture Design, plus 24 extra hands-on hours, and 24 hours of group/independent work. This course ran in 5 sessions, one each season and the final presentation session. Each season offered different teachings and a chance to view the permaculture systems and property throughout the seasonal changes in a year. Following is the general outline of what we covered during the course:

Winter

  • Foundations of Permaculture 
  • The History of Permaculture 
  • Permaculture Principles & Design Science 
  • Principles & Ethics of Permaculture
  • Mapping & Design exercises 
  • Pattern Thinking in design & strategy 
  • Landscape analysis 
  • Introduction to Edible Food Forests
  • Why plant-based Permaculture
  • Nature as guide & teacher
  • Deep Ecology & Living Systems theory
  • Bioregionalism & Re-localization
  • Earth Connection processes
  • Building Community & Teamwork

Spring

  • Forest Gardening principles
  • Food Forests, Polycultures & Ecosystems
  • Pattern Recognition & Site Analysis
  • Reading the Landscape & Climatic Factors
  • Designing Edible Forest Gardens
  • Understanding the Soil Food Web
  • Growing Organic Soil Fertility
  • Enhancing Nutrient Flow
  • Bioremediation: healing soil and water with beneficial bacteria, compost teas, fungi, & plants
  • Creating Microclimates of Peace
  • Alternative Energy Systems – from small to large
  • Appropriate Technologies that support these changing times
  • Cold Climate Energy Conservation
  • Earth Connection processes

Summer

  • Natural Building – Earthship, Cob, Cordwood, Strawbale
  • Solar Hot Water Collector Installation
  • Building Design using Local, Natural and Recycled Materials
  • Edible Landscape Management
  • Thinking Like a Watershed
  • Swales & Contours
  • Water Ecology & Preservation
  • Roof Water Harvesting
  • Earth Connection Processes

Autumn

  • Sustainable Energy Systems
  • Inner Permaculture
  • Deep Ecology & Eco-philosophy
  • The Transition Culture
  • Eco-villages, Community & Thinking Globally
  • Wild Edible Foraging Practices
  • Nutrition: Food Choices & Sustainability
  • Food Harvesting & Storage
  • Earth Connection processes

Community Herbalist Certificate Program at Pacific Rim College-2019

After years of foraging for food and trying to learn medicinal herbs on my own I decided to enroll in this program to get some formal training. I found learning about the energetic patterns of the herbs to be what i was missing in my attempt to learn the uses of herbs.

This is a unique 4-month program that introduces students to the incredible world of plants and their medicinal uses according to various cultures. This program explores the history of plant-based therapies and how to identify and cultivate herbs, use plant-based foods to maintain health, and make and apply herbal remedies to restore health. 

The courses are as follows:

  • Herbal Workshops
  • Natural Emergency Medicine
  • Practical Herbal Pharmacy
  • Backyard Gardening
  • Herbal Walk/Identification
  • Materia Medica for Community Herbalists
  • Energetics of Herbal Medicine
  • Introduction to Herbal Medicine
  • Herbal Therapeutics
  • Business Development
  • Introduction to Nutrition

Institute of Integrative Nutrition– 2021

I graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition’s online program where I learned innovative coaching methods, practical lifestyle management techniques, and over 100 dietary theories – Ayurveda, gluten-free, paleo, raw, vegan, ketogenic, macrobiotics, and everything in between.