It is with a heavy heart that I learned that Don Duchene, Nexus Media, passed away in late March of this year at the age of 77. Don was the inspirational influence and driving force behind the 12 half hour episode film series that created Transition Garden. Even before his days at the National Film Board of Canada, Don loved doing documentary films. I was approached by Don in 2017 about the idea of documenting what we were doing in these gardens as a means for others to learn gardening skills. Together, we managed to find just enough funding to pull it off, and produced the series during the 2018 growing season. The series aired on Bell Fibe TV1 during the 2019 season.
Don taught me the jargon of the film trade. Every time he would use some film jargon (‘looking at the rushes’, ‘b-roll’, ‘logging’, ‘speed,’ etc.), I would stop him and say ‘wait a minute, what does that mean.’ He was a patient, encouraging and a flexible mentor. Through this work, Don caused countless folks to be inspired enough to learn to produce some of their own food through gardening.
Don’s energy and enthusiasm will be missed.
Bob Cervelli