Hay River (Aug 18/03) - As president of the Hay River Horticultural Society, June Eirikson leads a group interested in more than just gardening. It's main goal is to beautify the South Slave community.

June Eirikson, the president of the Hay River Horticultural Society, checks some of the flowers in her yard at Paradise Gardens. While she likes her flowers, the 71-year-old mostly enjoys growing cucumbers in greenhouses. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

News/North: How long have you been president of the Hay River Horticultural Society?

June Eirikson: So many years I can't remember. I've been president three different times. We started the horticultural society in 1977. I was at the first public meeting along with three other people who lived here in Hay River and who are still here. The rest of them have all left.

N/N: What's the purpose of the horticultural society?

JE: Right now, our main objective is to beautify Hay River. What we would really like is to get rid of some of the litter that's around town, and to have businesses, especially in the industrial area, to clean up their yards. I don't mean to plant flowers or put up expensive fences. I just mean straighten it out, cut the weeds or whatever, and make the yards neat looking. That's our main objective right now.

N/N: When did the society re-organize after being dormant for a while?

JE: That was approximately 1996. It just went from there. We got a real good active group and now we basically organize for the town. We don't go out and plant flowers and stuff like that. We organize and get other people and get businesses to help to do this, like the chamber of commerce, to have prizes for Business in Bloom. The town sponsors 18 prizes for yards for Hay River in Bloom.

N/N: What other activities are the society involved in?

JE: We have a newsletter that goes out to different businesses and people can just pick it up. It's what we're doing and talking about litter. We've also got signs up asking people to please not litter. Litter is a real bugaboo with us. We're trying to get people to realize that it's for their own benefit that they not litter.

N/N: Is such a beautification campaign normal for a horticultural society?

JE: Not really. But we didn't start out as that. We started out and our name came originally from the fall fair and getting people interested in gardening, and putting on seminars for composting. We did that a few years ago. That's how the horticultural came into it. Right now, we've been donated two small boats and the town is going to move them to the wharf and we're going to plant them with flowers. They're boats that aren't seaworthy.

N/N: So the society is still into some traditional horticultural activities?

JE: It's sort of. But it's not like down in Kelowna or some place like that. It's altogether different up here.

That's why we left Communities in Bloom, because it was international. We got a lot of good ideas and a lot of help from them in the five years we were in it.

But it was costing the town an awful lot of money and we figured we had got out what we could from them, and that they couldn't help us any more.

N/N: In the two years since the society left Communities in Bloom, has Hay River in Bloom been a success?

JE: I think that every year it's improving. You can see the difference.

N/N: Do you see the society moving on to some other project?

JE: I think that at least for the next few years it will be beautification. There's still a lot to be done, such as in the industrial area. But every year I've really noticed a difference in the Old Town and 553. There's been a great, great difference in those two areas. By Old Town, I mean Vale Island and West Channel, too.

N/N: When does Hay River in Bloom start this year?

JE: It begins on Aug. 20, and the banquet is in the first week of September.

N/N: Do you think Hay River has a reputation as an industrial type town with not that many gardens and trees here? Is that a fair assessment?

JE: I think it's a fact. I don't know whether it's fair or not. I think it was a fact that there were too many company houses and the tenants didn't care. There's not that many now.... In low cost housing, I would sure like to see the tenants do more. Housing does as much as they can, but the tenants could help out because it is their home whether it's rented or it's free or whatever. It's still their home and they should take pride in it.

N/N: Are their any accomplishments by the society over the years that you are particularly proud of?

JE: I've very proud of the mural on the arena. That was one of our first projects.

It took a lot of volunteers and three very dedicated artists and a bunch of helpers to do it.

N/N: How many members does the society have now?

JE: I'd say about 10 to 12.

N/N: How long have you been gardening?

JE: Basically since I came up here. I grew up on a farm. We came here in 1970.

N/N: What do you like about gardening?

JE: Being outside. I like working with my husband, two of us together because we both like gardening.

N/N: Are you one of those people who are a little obsessed with their gardens?

JE: No. I am a bit with my cucumbers. I honestly am independent and I don't like to be tied down to anything.

N/N: What's the attraction of gardening for people?

JE: Just being outside mostly. And the nice feeling of seeing their flowers blooming and hating to see them die in the fall. You can plant this little tiny seed and it grows into a beautiful flower.