LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Jackie Milne sees vulnerability in food supply as the single greatest issue facing the territory.

Newmoon Buggins, left, and Jordanna Snider plant onion seeds during the food gardening workshop in Fort Simpson. The two girls were among the approximately 50 students who attended the session. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Milne, the president of the Territorial Farmers Association, is dedicated to addressing this issue by recreating local food security and local food systems in the Northwest Territories. Taking a lesson from the territory's aboriginal heritage, communities can become secure by restoring local food production, she said.

"In all the world people are becoming more concerned with their food security," Milne said.

People in the North are particularly aware of food security issues, she said. The attendance at two food gardening workshops sponsored by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment that Milne led in Fort Simpson on March 17 supports that statement.

Approximately 50 students from Bompas Elementary School and a few from Thomas Simpson School participated in the morning workshop. About 33 people attended the afternoon public session.

During the adult session Milne discussed how to create healthy organic soils and how to reuse items like cardboard for mulching. Milne also answered questions on which crops are the most beneficial for self-sufficiency, how early to plant and which foods keep best through canning, freezing and storing.

People become interested in food production for a number of different reasons including health, environment and cost, said Milne.

A family in the NWT can easily spend $15,000 to $20,000 a year on food, she said. Rising prices can deprive people of food. NWT residents also realize that, although our country is very stable, a lot of fruits and vegetables we eat come from unstable countries. As a result, many different factors could affect our access to food, Milne said.

In every Northern community Milne would like to see a group of knowledgeable people mentor other residents who want to start gardening. People need to be successful in the beginning so they know they can do it, she said.

"We actually have an unusually good combination for growing food, more so than people realize," said Milne.

Betty Hardisty, one of the participants in the afternoon workshop, said she was interested in the information Milne provided because it was based on Northern gardening experience.

Hardisty, who helped with the Fort Simpson community garden last year, said she learned a lot about how to recycle items for gardening including using single-use coffee cups to start seeds in.

"You literally can save anything," Hardisty said.

Milne also imparted a lot of knowledge during the student session including how to handle soil and seeds, how to make compost and recycle paper and how to store the produce they grow. Members of the brassica family - such as cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi and turnip - are among Milne's suggested plants for new gardeners because they grow well in the North.

Now that she's captured some local interest in gardening, Milne plans, with the help of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, to return in the spring to give follow up workshops. The next topics will include making different types of garden beds, seed spacing and transplanting how to deal with the first appearance of weeds.

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