GAMETI/RAE LAKES
Jean Wetrade Gameti School could offer a new agriculture-based Career and Technology Studies course in 2016, says Gameti's senior administrative officer.

"We have potential high school credits with the Gameti community garden," Judal Dominicata said.

Gameti's community garden began last year and now boasts two plots encompassing more than 43,000 square feet, corn fields, rice paddies, as well as goats and chickens. The garden is part of Gameti's five-year community development plan, which aims to make Gameti more self-sufficient while boosting employment.

Offering a course like this will help to achieve that goal, Dominicata said.

"This is just what the people need," he said.

"Farming is a business and farming is money."

So, Dominicata and the Tlicho Community Services Agency have been working together to develop the course curriculum.

Career and Technology Studies (CTS) courses in the NWT are based on the Alberta curriculum and there is a template for an agriculture course. Dominicata said much of the curriculum focuses on initiatives currently underway, such as plant propagation and learning the basics of taking care of animals.

"This is what we are doing here now on the practical side," Dominicata said.

Combining classroom learning with hands-on experience in the garden will give students a well-rounded introduction to farming, he added.

That introduction could lead to future careers in the territory, said John Stewart, director of School and Instructional Services for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE).

"There are probably not a lot of farmers at this point in the NWT, but the training, the familiarity, the learning, that helps prepare someone for a career in agriculture," he said. "These could absolutely be the starting points for those kinds of things."

In addition to being an example for other communities looking to start their own garden projects, introducing agriculture as a CTS course in Gameti is a great way for students to learn from Dominicata's experience, Stewart said.

Dominicata, who holds a PhD in agriculture, is becoming well-known throughout the territory for the garden project's success.

"I think this project in Gameti might be the leading edge of possibilities for students to learn about the kind of thing the community based co-ordinator has himself got expertise in," Stewart said.

Participative management is key to ensuring residents feel a sense of ownership when it comes to the garden project, Dominicata said.

In Gameti, that meant setting up meetings with individuals from each demographic in the community to establish Gameti's five-year community development plan.

While students might have to wait before an agriculture CTS course is offered in Gameti, Stewart said he expects other communities could follow Gameti's example.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we see more evolving in this front as you get more community gardens," he said.

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