INUVIK - After watching her friend Melinda Gillis produce batch after batch of fresh vegetables at the community greenhouse, Melissa Lennie decided this year she would try her luck.

She and her son Jacob spent hours on Monday tending to their four-by-eight-foot garden plot where over the past week they planted a host of vegetables, from cucumbers and carrots to lettuce and zucchini. Close by Gillis and her daughter Mataya worked on their own garden.

Melissa Lennie spent a few hours Monday gardening at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse with her son Jacob and their friends Mataya Gillis, left, and Kiersten Rogers. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

Though it's Melissa's first year as a member of the greenhouse, she said she had been thinking about joining for a few years.

"It's like it's an oasis in Inuvik," she said. "It's a beautiful, positive environment."

Jacob's more interested in productivity than anything else.

"I can't wait for the carrots to grow," he said. "They taste good when they're fresh."

The 74-plot facility on Gwich'in Road has been a beehive of activity since opening in early May. There are still some empty lots available.

The rental fee per four-by-16-foot plot is $100; it's $50 for a half plot. Each member pays a $25 membership that lasts until mid-September. Because that doesn't add up to anywhere near the operating cost of the building, members are asked to volunteer 15 hours a season to help out with day-to-day operations of the building.

Janet Boxwell, chair of the greenhouse, said because the facility is voluntarily run it's a much more social environment.

"We work together," she said."I love that it's usually such a relaxed, warm environment and you can learn so much from your neighbour."

The 24 hour sunshine, which makes everything grow that much faster, doesn't hurt either, said Boxwell.

"I'll be eating my first salad in three weeks," she said with a laugh.

A club is being planned for children interested in gardening.

On top of holding Saturday markets and regular guided tours, the greenhouse is also planning a wine and cheese event this summer to coincide with the Great Northern Arts Festival.