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Community gardens springing up across the Deh Cho Territorial government supports region's initiatives
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, July 4, 2013
DEH CHO
Community gardens are beginning to grow across the Deh Cho.
The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is providing support for the gardens that are planned for Fort Liard, Jean Marie River, Wrigley and Nahanni Butte. In each case, community members or the First Nations have been the driving force behind wanting a community garden, said Mike Mageean, the department's regional superintendent.
The department is providing a variety of support to the gardening initiatives, including advice on how to develop a community garden, gardening equipment, seeds and plants and soil testing to make sure good locations are chosen.
"Anything and everything that we can do to help the communities, we are trying to do," Mageean said.
The department is primarily using its Growing Forward 2 Program to provide the support. Through the program, the department is using up to $1.2 million per year for the next five years to support the NWT agriculture sector. Mageean was unable to say how much of the funding is being used in the Deh Cho this year.
The department also hired an agriculturalist, Caroline Lafontaine, this spring to work in the Deh Cho region. The goal is to have gardening and agricultural expertise in the Deh Cho, said Mageean. Staff in the area, such as Lafontaine and the two summer students who are working with her, will be better able to connect with residents, he said.
In Jean Marie River, Margaret Ireland, Jean Marie River First Nation's resource co-ordinator, is hoping to start a resurgence in gardening.
Many years ago, the community used to have a large shared garden, but the practice was gradually stopped, she said.
Currently, only about two families in the communities have their own gardens.
"I'm trying to get people interested in doing a community garden again," she said.
A site along the Jean Marie River has already been chosen for the new community garden. Ireland hopes to plant potatoes this year and to have raised beds built for residents to plant other vegetables.
For elders with mobility problems, Ireland plans to have raised boxes built close to their homes so they can easily sit and weed them. The First Nation plans to hire someone to work with their summer students to look after the community garden and make sure it is watered and weeded.
In Fort Liard, similar plans are underway.
In addition to a community garden, six requests have been made for raised beds that will be built beside elders' homes. Some just want to plant flowers while others want to grow vegetables, said Genevieve Cockenpot, who is helping organize the community garden.
The raised beds will be built once elders have identified how large they want theirs to be, she said. A suitable space for the community garden still has to be identified. A number of residents have already said they are interested in joining, Cockenpot said.
Developing a community garden was one of the ideas identified as part of Fort Liard's community wellness plan.
Mageean said he's very excited by the number of people across the region who are interested in gardening. Gardening reduces costs of living and also promotes healthy lifestyles, he said.
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