Online link produces local food
Meagan Leonard
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
In connecting teacher and student, a mutually beneficial relationship centered on gardening is forged under one unique name: WWOOF.
From left, Jessica West, Lone Sorensen and Allison Taylor at Kalemi Dene School in N'dilo. - Meagan Leonard/NNSL photo |
It actually stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms and it is an initiative connecting people around the world who are passionate about growing local food. Through a website, hosts are connected with individuals and in exchange for volunteer work, the individual gets room and board.
Lone Sorensen, the founder of gardening company Northern Roots, has been a program host for nearly three years and has had visitors from France, the United Kingdom and Japan. She said they have helped with gardens on her property or sometimes, they just want to cut the grass - the schedule is very fluid. Currently, visiting WWOOFers assist at the gardening program at K'alemi Dene School - on a gardening project that brings together students, elders and community members.
"I knew about WWOOF for many years," she said. "Once these gardening programs had really started and I was getting very busy I thought it would be really cool to have people coming in, seeing and helping out with what we're doing up here."
Typically four to six hours of labour is exchanged for meals and accommodation with visits lasting anywhere from a few days to a few months.
Allison Taylor is Sorensen's current WWOOFer who came up to the territory from Mississauga, Ont. The experience in Yellowknife is a little different from her last WWOOFing placement in New Zealand, she said, but she's really enjoyed working with the Ndilo community, teaching students how to prepare and care for different kinds of vegetables.
Taylor said there is no such thing as an average day when it comes to WWOOFing - it's always something new.
"A morning or afternoon or sometimes a full day is spent trying to get the gardens ready. I help Lone out with her gardens doing planting and assisting with any other daily things she needs done," she explained. "It's been really fun."
The projects in Ndilo are really about getting the whole community involved, said Sorensen. She has developed special initiatives for children, youth and elders - with each group responsible for its own garden - along with a community space everyone works on.
All of the seeds they use are carefully selected, Sorensen explained, as they have to be more resilient during the short growing season. However, the soil is the most important. She said if you get that right, the long hours of sunlight will allow vegetables to grow to incredible sizes with more flavour than their southern counterparts.
"Because we have all the light here, some plants can grow and grow but not only in size but also in nutrients ... but we have to make sure we have good soil to begin with," she said. "Then that carrot is going to be much more flavourful."
This knowledge is what she hopes to impart to the youth.
"It's not just seeing it, but being part of it and doing the work - getting dirty, getting away from the screens they're so addicted to," she said. "I really want to find ways to teach people the planning and timing of things."
Like many who are unfamiliar with subarctic gardening, Taylor said she was shocked to discover the North's potential.
"I've actually been able to really learn from Lone and really become part of this," she said. "I definitely didn't know how rich the vegetables were ... and just realizing how much soil is really the base of getting things to grow."
Taylor said she has not yet decided when she'll return to Ontario, but has enjoyed her stay in the North and intends to participate in more WWOOFing opportunities in the future. She said it's a great way to connect with like-minded people around the world.
"It's how we all should live in society - really trying to find people who have the same vision and the same ideas and connecting with them," said Taylor.
There are seven different opportunities for prospective WWOOFers in the NWT - each offering a variety of learning experiences that include gardening, forestry, baking and caring for livestock.
Originally called "working weekends on organic farms," WWOOFing got its start in England in the 1970s when a secretary working in London wanted the opportunity to see the countryside and participate in the organic movement.
