INUVIK
"The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow," according to Geoff Johnson, the new co-ordinator of the Inuvik Community Greenhouse.
Geoff Johnson, the new co-ordinator at the Inuvik Greenhouse, is introduced by Janet Boxwell, a spokesperson for the greenhouse committee. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
|
"That's an old saying from England," said Johnson. "If you're tuned in to what's happening in your garden, you'll be thinking about it and realizing in the middle of night that you have to water your stuff. The more into it people are, the more they're observing what's going on – then you'll notice some little sign the plant's about to get sick."
The native of Vancouver and former Victoria resident is ready to plant some roots in Inuvik with his new position.
While he might be new to town, he's not quite new to the Arctic. Johnson spent some time a few years ago in Arviat, Nunavut, becoming acquainted with the Northern lifestyle.
"I did a cultural exchange to Arviat when I was 16," he explained. "It was just a huge eye-opener for me. One of those ways was seeing the cost of food up there. There was just something not right about the situation.
"At the same time I was introduced to some traditional land use, like hunting and I was really fascinated. So I got a bit of a flavour of the North at an early age and an awareness of some of the food issues," he said. "It always stuck in my mind."
His interest in community gardening had its seeds in volunteer work in East Vancouver's Strathcona/Cottonwoods Community Garden. Later he worked with LifeCycles and Compost Education Centre in Victoria.
He arrived in town at the end of March and began working the first week of April. It's been a bit of a whirlwind for him.
"I was really inspired when I found out about this project," Johnson said. "I actually found out about it (the community greenhouse) through a friend who was taking an online course with one of the local teachers."
"At the same time there's been a lot of noise in the media about Northern food prices, and food prices all over have gone up a lot," he continued. "This seemed like the perfect kind of crazy adventure to see if I could get involved. I'm really excited for the season."
Johnson said he was "quite surprised" at the scale of the greenhouse project here. While it's now trendy and mainstream in the south, he noted the community greenhouse here has been in operation since 1998.
"Obviously people here were very aware of these issues very early in the game. I guess partly out of necessity," Johnson said. "It was very surprising that a small community could get something together on such a scale that we in the south might have a lot to learn from. Everybody I've told about it is just blown away."
Johnson then said something that could only be described as profound.
"I find that usually the threshold where real change starts happening is where idealism meets necessity. Then you start to see impressive things."
