'Expanding the program as much as we can'
Farm school gears up to expand into new campus
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Published Monday, May 5, 2014
HAY RIVER
The Northern Farm Training Institute is heading full-steam into its second year in Hay River, and branching out to create a more entrenched and sustainable farming community in the area.
The institute's proponents have been working on a plan for a campus within municipal boundaries for months, with the final proposal anticipated to be tabled in June. The campus would provide a space for gardens and even some livestock but would also be a place for people to learn about agriculture in the North before committing themselves to building their own greenhouse.
"We want to make living in the North that much more appealing," said Jackie Milne, the founder of the group. "Hopefully, it would also mean more people living in Hay River too."
While Milne looks ahead to a more permanent setup, she said the summer workshops offered by the institute last year will remain a staple moving forward. This year, they will include a session in Fort Smith in May and one in Fort Simpson in the fall. The remaining three classes will be held in Hay River.
"The workshops will never go away because they're so accessible," said Milne. "We have so many people applying, we're looking at expanding the program as much as we can."
Milne said the classes were capped at 15 last year and the group is looking at increasing that number to 20 participants in the coming season.
The Northern Farm Training Institute is only one of the local efforts to get residents more in touch with their food. Francois Lamy, one of the organizers of the Hay River Commons Co-operative, said many are devoted to the same goal.
"When you look at the big picture, there are a lot of links," he said. "From farming, to the community kitchen teaching people how to cook ... even the (winter) market where people can sell what they produce. It's all about food."
Lamy noted that the number of people liking the community kitchen on Facebook was encouraging, even if not everyone shows up for every session.
The Northern Farm Training Institute and its various sprouting offshoots are also garnering attention at a national level.
Milne recently attended a conference in Ottawa with the authors of a report on aboriginal food security in Northern Canada commissioned by former health minister turned environment minister Leona Aglukkaq.
The institute was recognized as a model that could be adopted to improve food security elsewhere in the North.
"That's a very powerful confirmation that what we're doing here is a good strategy," said Milne.
