Darlene Thompson, treasurer of the Iqaluit Community Greenhouse Society, stands tall beside a pea plant Aug. 8 in Iqaluit.
nunatsiaqonline.ca, By DAVID MURPHY: If you want to smell the tangy smell of fresh tomato plants, look no further than the Iqaluit greenhouse.
The Iqaluit Community Greenhouse Society’s gardening season is in full swing, tells Darlene Thompson, treasurer of the society.
That’s although it’s still facing the same financial challenges as last year.
Thompson scurries around the 20-by-50 foot structure, picking at plants and examining them in the steaming hot greenhouse, which feels like a tropical rainforest inside with dense sticky moisture lingering in the air.
Everything is growing well, but the greenhouse society can’t find any government money to help it flourish.
“We really tried to get grant funding, but all the grants we came across were very project specific. So if you wanted to run a day for kids or do an education thing, or expand the greenhouse, then you could [get one],” Thompson said.
The greenhouse does, however, help out the community when it can — even though they still have not received a grant.
“We’ve tried to do community plots for the soup kitchen and the elders home,” she said. “So it’s not just individuals reaping the benefits, we also try to benefit the community and invite school kids in here so they can see what is possible in a greenhouse in Nunavut.”
Greenhouse society board member Michael Chappel also works on invasive plants and studies species of plants making their way up north — in the greenhouse.
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