Green thumbs for a greener planet: Wolastoqey community growing sustainable future

More than 20 volunteers in Bilijk, formerly known as Kingsclear First Nation near Fredericton, worked in the hot sun this week to put up two new greenhouses and build outdoor garden beds as part of a project to increase the local supply of nutritious food. —

“A lot of people are proud of what they accomplished here,” said Clint Francis, one of the build volunteers.

It’s been great to see people in the community come together — getting outside and away from computers, being active and contributing to a worthwhile project, Francis said.

“Right now, with the high prices of food … it becomes a little hard for some people that don’t necessarily have employment available to provide like that.”

Chantal Sirois is the community volunteer heading up the greenhouse project committee. She’s also studying nutrition.

“We are in a vulnerable population here,” said Sirois. “We have a lot of heart disease, a lot of diabetes, and we’re outside of Fredericton. It’s hard for a lot of people to get into the city to get food.”

The community store does its best, but more local food is needed, she said.

“This would help our elders, it would help those on social assistance receive food that they might not get otherwise.”

It could also lead to other opportunities, said Francis.

The volunteers have been learning new skills during the build that they may be able to use for future work or gardening at home, he said.

Francis said his grandparents and some other family members were avid gardeners and preservers. He’s hoping to develop his own green thumb — a big step toward a greener future, he said.

Jenny Paul is another volunteer who was excited to hear about the project and wanted to be part of it.

It’s been a great opportunity to get out of the house, said the mother of five, who is interested in gardening and staying involved in the community even though she lives off-reserve.

Paul said she’s also happy to see something good happening on the little plot of land on Apartment Street.

About 20 years ago, a little boy died in an apartment fire on site, she said.

There’s no trace of the building anymore, just a grotto, a few benches and a sign that says Kevin Lee Memorial Park.

“Life is coming back and people are coming together. That’s very satisfying for me to see the land being used in this kind of way,” said Paul.

The goal is to grow food year-round, said Raygan Solotki, executive director of Green Iglu, a charity that has partnered with Bilijk and other communities across Canada that are interested in furthering food security and food sovereignty.

One of its research greenhouses in Red Deer, Alta., was able to harvest food last winter, she said.

Funding for the project is coming from Service Canada, she said. It was obtained by Relay Education, a charity that Green Iglu partners with to apply for grants.

Community members are taking part in a 120-hour program delivered by Green Iglu learning to run the greenhouses. At the end of that, someone will be hired for a 12-week, part-time summer internship.

Besides running the greenhouses and leading the build of a third one at the local school, the intern will also help sell potential funders on future related projects, said Solotki — like maybe a farmers’ market or helping other communities start their own greenhouse projects.

“It’s really hard to find people that know how to do exactly this and are willing to go and do it in small communities,” she said.

The Bilijk project includes a 33-foot geodesic dome with solar-powered heating and cooling systems, as well as a smaller greenhouse with a more traditional hoop-style construction.

On hot days, exhaust fans will suck heat out of the dome. There’s also a cooling system inside with a pond to keep it at a “comfortable” 28 degrees.

“As the heat comes in, there is a reflective wall that’s going to direct the sunlight into that water. It’ll hold that heat and then at night when it gets cooler, it’ll actually start to evaporate and release the heat,” said Solotki.

In cooler weather, the fans can be reversed to pump heat in. It’s about 20 degrees warmer inside the dome than outside, she said.

“We want to try to extend the season here as long as we can,” said Solotki, who has lots of experience with agriculture projects in cold climates — one of which earned her the nickname, the Arctic chicken lady.

For the first year or two, Green Iglu and Relay Education will supply the seeds and plants for the Bilijk greenhouses and gardens, she said.

They’ll focus on nutritious vegetables that will get the best yield.

Most communities they’ve worked with so far have focused on staples like potatoes, carrots and onions, she said.

“As the community is leading the project, they will be able to focus on exactly what they want to grow.”