Iqaluit greenhouse is open and seeking volunteers

The Iqaluit Community Greenhouse Society is gearing up for another growing season.

The society held a grand opening for its greenhouse on Saturday, when about two dozen kids, parents and volunteers showed up to prepare soil. This year, the greenhouse will concentrate on growing edible plants to distribute to Iqalummiut.

“We’re really focusing on making sure that the community has ample access to fresh vegetables for free,” society president Stephen Branston said in an interview. “We’re seeing a sharp uptick in the cost of living, so any amount of food that we can provide goes a long way.”

Being a non-profit with limited resources, the greenhouse relies on volunteers. The first adult volunteer gathering of the year is Wednesday evening at the greenhouse, located behind the Nunavut Research Institute on Nunavut Drive.

“[We’re] providing a unique opportunity to the community, the experience of growing these plants,” Branston said. “We have people who don’t even eat the food that they’re growing. They just want to help the community.”

Nubiya Enuaraq is an Iqaluit mother who has involved her daughter, Sianna, in the greenhouse youth program for six years. After seeing the work that the society does, Enuaraq attended the annual general meeting and joined the board of directors in April, after which she took on a communications role.

“Seeing how much my daughter enjoyed the youth program at the greenhouse, I wanted to bring that sense of joy and belonging to the community,” Enuaraq said.

Branston is a Grade 5 teacher at Nakasuk School, where he also runs the eco club. Sianna found herself in Branston’s class this year and happily joined the eco club and greenhouse youth program again.

“I didn’t need any convincing to join the board,” Enuaraq said. “I presented [at the AGM] with my daughter. It was very important for me to bring her because she’s so active, she’s pretty much part of the board too.”

Enthusiasm from community members is vital to the greenhouse society’s growth, Branston said. And as a teacher, he knows that the best time to get people excited and involved with any program is to reach them when they are young.

“I’ve been growing beans with the eco club at Nakasuk [elementary school],” Branston said Monday, while repairing a pump for the greenhouse’s hydroponics system. “The enthusiasm from the kids is brought right over here. I’ve got so many regulars from previous school years who are coming back.”

The Iqaluit Community Greenhouse Society adult volunteer nights run from 6 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday during the growing season.