Resilience Grows Here - Farming Through Climate Shifts

What does it take to keep food growing when the climate refuses to play by the old rules?

In this episode of Resilient by Nature, we travel to British Columbia’s Pemberton Valley, where just six family farms quietly uphold a responsibility far bigger than their footprint. These farmers produce virus-free seed potatoes—the genetic starting point of a significant proportion of North America’s potato crop. To grow a potato plant, you need a potato, and when the climate shifts, that fragile beginning is put to the test.

Here, resilience is practiced in fields shaped by snowmelt and floodwaters, in labs built for sterility and precision, and in farming philosophies that treat the soil as a living system. We meet Anna Helmer, a biodynamic farmer rooted in seasonal rhythms, and Kevin Clark, a data-driven flood forecaster tracking rivers, snowpack, and probability curves that stretch back decades. Together, their work reveals what climate adaptation really looks like on the ground: blending tradition with technology, intuition with data, and care with preparedness.

As warming temperatures reshape snowfall, flooding, and growing seasons, the Pemberton Valley stands at the cutting edge of climate change—and climate adaptation. This is a story about food security, collaboration, and the quiet, determined work of communities learning not just how to survive a changing climate, but how to grow through it.

 

Notes

Biodynamic farming refers to a holistic, ecological farming method that goes beyond typical certified organic farming standards. This system of farming views the farm as a living organism, integrates cosmic rhythms (moon, stars) with soil health, uses natural preparations, and fosters self-contained systems (no synthetic or imported fertilizers).

What is cover cropping for? Cover cropping is used to improve soil health, prevent erosion, manage soil nutrients, control weeds, and enhance biodiversity by growing non-harvested plants (e.g. clover, alfalfa, or grasses) between cash crops or during fallow periods, which protects soil, adds organic matter, retains moisture, and creates healthier systems resilient to drought and heavy rain

 

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Anna Helmer of Helmer's Organic Farm and Kevin Clark, Manager of the Pemberton Valley Dyking District, for contributing to this episode.

Music provided by Epidemic Sound, featuring:

• Lek Alhoob by Ebo Krdum
• Early Morning Rain by Sunfish Grove
• Unbroke Spirit by Sunfish Grove
• New Ambitions by Trevor Kowalski
• Semi-Professional Spy by Rachel Sandy