The Prince George Public Interest Research Group Society (PG PIRG) is launching a new program next month. The ‘Grow North’ Initiative, the result of PG PIRG’s successful application to the BC government’s Grow Local program, will run for two years, thanks to $250,000 in funding.
“We’re going to offer workshops, demonstrations and short courses on how to grow food in the north,” says Serena Black, the society’s executive director. “This will cover everything from how to transplant, how to get an early start, how to build cold frames and greenhouses to proper fertilization and soil health.”
If you’re new to gardening in the north or you just don’t feel like you’ve been having much luck lately, you might want to check out a session. Black says they plan to cover topics from seed saving to how to store your veggies properly.
“There are a lot of challenges growing up north but there are a lot of opportunities. We’re really hoping to be that resource for new gardeners so they can learn what works and what doesn’t and really partner them with experienced people like the Master Gardeners through the David Douglas Botanical Society.”
Other participating organizations include UNBC’s Green Centre, the Good Food Box Program, the Growing Community Garden.
Grow North plans to feature one to two events per month, beginning in February, with a focus on getting more people to grow their own food or increase their food production. It’s a new approach to transmitting old information.
“We will be focusing a lot on trying to get new growers, young growers. This is information that a lot of people used to get from their parents and from their grandparents and this information isn’t necessarily being transferred on like that any more.”
Even when the program ends, Black says northern gardeners will still be able to reap its rewards.
“At the end of the program, we’re going to have a great resource – a Grow North manual that,s going to be available free online. We’ll have some hard copies our alternative library here at PGPIR office. That way we can really make sure that we’re providing the resources for new growers out there whether it’s small gardens in their backyards that they’re just using themselves or people who are interested in starting to grow on a larger scale, like market gardens and those sorts of things.”
Some of the events will include tours of local farming operations and face time with professional farmers.
If you’d like more information, you can contact [email protected]. An official website is in the works.
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