INUVIK
A successful first year with the new roof only has the Inuvik Greenhouse Society looking toward the next goal: self-sustainability.

Sheena Adams, regional energy project coordinator with Arctic Energy Alliance, was impressed with the response for her lightbulb trade-in program at the greenhouse. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

"The greenhouse has to find a way to be self-sustaining," said Ray Solotki, executive director of the society and currently its only employee.

"Right now, we are not."

She was speaking during the greenhouse's annual fall fair on Sept. 11 in which community members had a chance to check out what's been growing and engage in a few demonstrations and tutorials.

The greenhouse's new roof proved a smashing success this summer, possibly even too much of a success in some cases.

"This was our first year in about six or seven years that there weren't holes in the roof," said Solotki.

"This new roof has really helped with our season."

Evidence of that, she said, is in all the red tomatoes seen around the greenhouse. Last year, the society held a green tomato competition to compensate.

"Just looking at the difference in our tomato crop you can tell that this year was a lot better than last year," said Solotki.

"In some cases, it was actually a problem the roof was so much better. People didn't realize how quickly things were growing. You'd put your spinach seeds in the ground and two weeks later they bolted and you couldn't eat them because they grew so fast."

An entire cilantro crop died because it got too hot in the greenhouse, upwards of 45 C and more than 50 C in the upstairs commercial greenhouse portion, said Solotki.

"It was insane."

Next year, the society is considering opening earlier, potentially in the middle of April instead of the start of May, allowing members to start working on their soil earlier.

The society also hopes to expand its community agriculture boxes and introduce chickens to the greenhouse to help with production of manure.

"We're an organic greenhouse, so we can't use any kinds of chemicals," said Solotki.

"We need to use what's natural, so next year we hope to see chickens."

Most of all, the greenhouse needs to find a way to pay for itself, she

said.

"If we had absolutely no staff and it was just volunteer based, member driven, it would cost about $50,000 to keep this building running," said Solotki.

With staff and programs that number jumps closer to $250,000.

A recent study found that about $75,000 worth of produce comes out of the greenhouse each year, and Solotki would like to increase that and get a better handle on exactly how much members are producing.

Sheena Adams, regional energy project co-ordinator with Arctic Energy Alliance, was impressed with the good growing season under the new roof too.

"This year I think all of us can say our crops grew better because of that new roof," she said.

Adams was at the greenhouse on the weekend as part of Arctic Energy Alliance's lightbulb campaign, in which community members could swap out low-efficiency lightbulbs with electricity-saving LEDs.

All residents in communities where energy is created by diesel generators will be visited by the Arctic Energy Alliance this fall.

"We've had an amazing response," said Adams.

Inuvik was the first community to get a visit, and halfway through the weekend Adams estimated 500 lightbulbs had already been exchanged.

Adams, who used to be a co-ordinator at the greenhouse, said it's what first brought her to Inuvik.

"Now I'm a member and this is my garden plot," she smiled and pointed.

She's pleased with the apparent growth in membership.

"I am a big fan of this greenhouse," said Adams.

"It's been a lot more active and the new roof has been a real improvement. It's one of the things that keeps me in Inuvik. I just love the greenhouse."

The season will officially end on Sept. 24.

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