IQALUIT - After a years-long struggle, the Iqaluit Community Greenhouse Society (ICGS) opened its greenhouse this month.

Inside the warm, humid building, a full slate of kitchen vegetables and herbs are already sprouting, and a steady stream of green thumbs drop in throughout the day to check on their efforts.

Frank Skoda tends to his plot in the Iqaluit Community Greenhouse. - Karen Mackenzie/NNSL photo

"It's thrilling to see it," said John Lamb, president of ICGS. "Not everyone knows each other, and it's pretty satisfying to see it all coming together, even if it's more modest that we previously hoped."

Aside from the obvious benefits of providing fresh produce to a remote town, he said he hopes this pilot project will be the first step towards a greater "community wellness" initiative.

"This isn't intended to be a hobby farm for amateur horticulturists," he said. "This is a community in rapid transition going through lots of difficulties, and it needs healthy recreational opportunities. We wanted to create a place that people could come to."

A greater greenhouse project could provide future economic opportunities for the community as well, he said, and the group will likely measure what it produces throughout the summer.

The seeds of the project were sown in 2001, when a group of Iqaluit residents were inspired by the success of a greenhouse in Inuvik.

The original concept was much bigger, according to Lamb.

"It all came to something in the area of $12 million, using residual heat, combined with a climate change centre, and a lot of co-location with other groups," he said.

After the 2006 federal election, however, the group saw many of their hoped-for sources of funding wither on the vine.

"So in the spring of 2006 we regrouped, and said 'what are we going to do?'" Lamb said.

The result is a 20- by 50-foot building across from the federal building. The project thus far has cost around $150,000, according to Lamb.

After extensive fundraising last summer, the pre-fabricated shell arrived via sealift in September.

Group members erected it in late October and it remained locked and shuttered until late April.

Space is divided into about 20 plots, with 18 reserved for community members.

Other space has been set aside for research purposes, and for produce to be donated to community services like the women's shelter and soup kitchen.

Four people are assigned to each plot, to ensure that the garden is cared for consistently throughout the summer.

"Work is shared, fun is shared, responsibility is shared," Lamb said.

Members are permitted to grow "anything legal," he said.

A passive solar system - water buckets which absorb heat throughout the day - helps stabilize the temperature at night. Vents release the heat throughout the day, which has already reached upwards of 30 C.

There are still a few spaces available for the cost of $60, according to Lamb.

"As people see it works, more people will want to be involved, and maybe we can begin the serious fundraising to expand next year," said Alison Lee, another of the group's founders.