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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1468031
M ickey McLeod cared about nature long before "sustainabil- ity" became a buzzword. As a kid, McLeod camped with his family and his Cub Scout troop, but a move from New Westmin- ster to rural Texada Island in 1966 turned the pastime into a lifelong hobby. "I just got to be outdoors, at the beach, in the woods, fishing in creeks," says the co-founder and CEO of Salt Spring Coffee. "It was a really exciting opportunity as a young 10-year-old to have that at my disposal." If you're wondering what his campsite looked like back then, picture a bivouac, a can of beans and trout cooked over a fire. McLeod may be a car camper now, but he hasn't lost that boyhood spirit. "It's not rolling up in a big RV and flick- ing on a switch and everything powers on," he says. "There are much easier ways to do it, but I like that kind of challenge—I'm incredibly practical and can figure things out." For the coffee connoisseur, such resourcefulness extends to his trusty vehicle, a 1989 Volkswagen Westfalia that he's driven through B.C. and beyond for 15 years. Along the way, McLeod has decked out the van with a bigger engine and equipped it for conve- nience; it now has two dens, a pop-up top, an awning for shade, solar panels and an outdoor shower. "I did a tre- mendous amount of work on getting it to be a good off-road vehicle," he says. "I wouldn't say it can go anywhere , but it can go a lot of places with the work I've done." There's also plenty of room for some frequent fellow trav- ellers: his wife, Salt Spring W E E K E N D WA R R IOR WARRIOR SPOTLIGHT Mickey McLeod and Rob- byn Scott launched Salt Spring Coffee in 1996 to promote sustainable and fair-trade coffee. With 42 employees at last count, the Richmond-based roastery sells its products online and at stores across the country. The company is celebrating its 26th an- niversary this year with a line of limited-edition cof- fees grown using organic regenerative agriculture, which has a relatively low environmental impact. "Both of us certainly have that passion and concern for environmental and social issues," McLeod says of himself and Scott. "We haven't swayed in our values at all." –R.R. MAN WITH A VAN McLeod keeps his morning coffee fresh by grinding it from scratch Fireside Chat Salt Spring Coffee co-founder Mickey McLeod spills the beans on his favourite camping spots around the province by Rushmila Rahman O FF T H E C LO C K ( quality time ) METTA ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY MAY/JUNE 2022 BCBUSINESS 77