An escape to a 49-hectare (120-acre) organic farm might sound tempting all on its own, but when you add a dash of instruction alongside foraging for delectable finds, a Foxglove Farm holiday may just be the best thing on your vacation menu. Situated on an original homestead on Salt Spring Island, one of the Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland, this picture-pretty heritage working farm beckons foodies with workshops and programs set to illuminate connections between farming, land stewardship, food, the arts, and community wellbeing. Should you, for example, have a craving for culinary bootcamps, Chef Mara Jernigan will showcase her skill with the knives — along with kinder, gentler utensils — September 20 – 25. This five-day intensive instruction includes field trips to local cheesemakers and winemakers along with hands-on tutorials that include basic butchery techniques; soups, sauces and stocks; baking and preserving; handmade pasta; and knife skills and plate presentation. Beyond the burners, Mara isn’t the only expert on the area’s natural offerings. Bill Jones, a French-trained chef and wild mushroom expert, is, literally, in the field – and you will be too, come October 16. While foraging for fungi, Bill illuminates the art and science behind the hunt — a three-hour outing that culminates with a scrumptious mushroom-laden lunch back at the farm kitchen. www.foxglovefarmbc.ca