Bio

Van at Ouimet CanyonVan Waffle is a Canadian journalist, naturalist, poet, photographer and weaver. The Earth and its waters have exerted a strong pull ever since he grew up on the north shore of Lake Erie near Point Pelee National Park.

He graduated from University of Guelph with an Honors Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology and minor in Ecology. He obtained a Diploma in Journalism from Conestoga College. Van has remained in Guelph since 1982, drawn by the city’s strong environmental record, green space, progressive social values and artistic community.

Van has worked as a magazine writer, newspaper reporter and public relations writer. He changed careers for a few years and worked as an organ builder, helping construct the 31-stop pipe organ at St. James Anglican Church in Dundas, Ontario, and a more traditional tracker organ at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Vancuver, B.C.The passion for writing never released its hold, and in 2012 Van resumed freelance writing full-time. Recently he has written for Edible Toronto, Gluten-Free Living, BirdWatching and cottagelife.com.