Timiskaming First Nation is sharing the bounty from its territory through a community initiative that’s both creating a revenue stream and strengthening cultural ties between generations. Through The Wild Basket, community members harvest and cultivate foods in their territory that are then used to produce and sell value-added products like flavoured carbonated water, fresh mushrooms, forest teas, and mushroom soup. “It began in 2013 as a response to how we can better utilize non-timber forest products,” explained Annaleigh Males, the program’s coordinator, during the 2024 Northern Ontario Ag Conference in Sudbury. “We started with the forestry industry and we still work closely with the forestry industry.” The program is an initiative of Ni Dakinan, the natural resources department for the community, whose traditional territory stretches along the northeast side of Lake Timiskaming, extending into both Ontario and Quebec.