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TheLavMotelInThePas,Manitoba •Restaurant •Internet WecatertoworkCrews Ph.(204)623-3431 thelavmotel@live.com Highway10NorthOpaskwayak,MB Highway10NorthOpaskwayak,MB p.204-627-7230f.204-623-2770 p.204-627-7230f.204-623-2770 www.otinekamall.ca www.otinekamall.ca Twoanchortenants: • ThePasIGAandthe AtawawenMart 13retailstores • 30machineVideoLotto 30machineVideoLotto • Centre Administrationofficesonthe Administrationofficesonthe • 3rdlevel. otinekamall otinekamall The largest mall in the North The largest mall in the North ThreeLevels,225,000sq.ft.indoorshopping ThreeLevels,225,000sq.ft.indoorshopping mall&recreation&officecomplex mall&recreation&officecomplex McDONALDLAWOFFICE PLEASEVISITOURWEBSITE www.mcdonaldlaw.ca FAMILYLAW PERSONALINJURYLAW FREEINITIALCONSULTATION 204-927-3900 TOLLFREE:1-800-393-1110 EMAIL:mcdonaldlaw@shaw.ca 258TacheAvenue,Wpg,MBR2H1Z9 Lumber House Project Packages Building Materials Decking Home Interiors Commercial & Residential Construction www.meetah.ca accounting/auditing/training/co-managementservices Ph:(204)677-4328 POBox1103 Fax:(204)778-4628 15NelsonRoad Cell:(204)679-1077 Thompson,MB E-mail:dbarenzcga@mts.net R8N1N9 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY DECEMBER 6, 2014 3 L E A F R A P I D S I n Leaf Rapids, a project called Grow North has sprouted from the ground up and continues to cultivate interest. Don McCaskill, superintendent for the area, says the objective is to determine what kinds of plants are sustainable and growable in northern Manitoba. "In Leaf Rapids, they had so much ex- cess land and excess space in their school because the mine had closed down. There was an opportunity there. Leaf Rapids started working with kids and developing their strengths for a community-based gar- dening approach," McCaskill says. "They took over an old trailer park that the town had granted them and they start- ed developing the land over the summers. Currently, they're raising strawberries, to- matoes and a variety of beans. There are fruit trees, rhubarb, you name it. They've even got some wheat that they're experi- menting with." The initiative features an experimental learning centre with two on-site green- houses. "One's a tunnel greenhouse and one's an A-frame greenhouse that is built in mind of the northern climate. It's built a little bit differently than you would see down in Winnipeg because there's insulation," Mc- Caskill says. "The north side is covered and insulated so we can try to extend the growing sea- son as much as we can." The project is aimed at reaping the re- wards of reaching two specific goals. "One goal was to develop a youth leader- ship team that would be empowered to do some entrepreneurial work and get paid. They would gain leadership skills and be able to see something very fruitful," McCa- skill says. "The second goal is to provide support to our other schools in terms of growing. One year, we de- veloped a bunch of grow boxes de- signed to go into the classroom. Part of that pro- ject was to build enough grow boxes to distrib- ute around to the different regional schools that were interested in working with us." At the same time, this veggie venture provides food to those who need it. "There are lots of people in this northern community who don't have access to fresh food. It's very expensive, so they may not be able to afford it," McCaskill says. "The idea was to get the food into the hands of those kind of people through the children. They could do it either through gifting it or encouraging people to work in the garden and get some produce out of it as a trade-off." This year, the students hosted their own version of farmers' markets to sell fresh produce. As well, they provided training sessions at dif- ferent schools and developed a partnership with South Indian Lake, located 100 kilo- metres northeast of Leaf Rapids. "We've had kids come up from Grand Rapids, Wabowden, Nor- way House over the years to learn about growing in the area. We've held at least two conferences in Leaf Rapids in and around growing," McCaskill says. "We've had multiple communities attend with teachers and kids and community members from all over Manitoba to exam- ine growing and see the different kinds of things you could possibly do." In an offshoot of the gardening initiative, they also run a tasty strawberry-growing endeavour called the Sweet Taste of Suc- cess based out of Leaf Rapids. "The goal is to get as many kids plant- ing strawberries as possible, whether it's in raised bed gardens or in gardens on their own or in their classroom. In north- ern Manitoba, we found that strawberries grow really well as long as they're looked after. Our experience with the strawberries up in Leaf Rapids is that they bear fruit all season long and they're juicy and tasty," he says. "Each year, we've distributed over 10,000 strawberry plants. We call it a strawberry train because when we pick the strawber- ries up in Winnipeg, some staff will go to different centres in Manitoba where our schools are and basically work their way up north, dropping off strawberries like Santa Claus." The education component is key, since students complete exercises as part of their tasks. "We've created a curriculum document and workbooks to go along with the straw- berry train. It plays a role in terms of sup- porting, promoting and trying to figure out a lot of these things," McCaskill says. "It's nutritious, it's fun and it's exciting for kids." ❙ HeaLtHy Harvest Garden project is fun and educational A northern Manitoba gardening project is a fruitful way to grow awareness about the benefits of fresh food. Frontier School Division is one of the partners in a Northern Healthy Foods Initiative project to encourage gardening and growing activities in northern communities. By Jennifer McFee For the Free Press the InItIatIve features an experImental learnIng centre wIth two on-sIte greenhouses. one's a tunnel greenhouse and one's an a-frame greenhouse that Is BuIlt In mInd of the northern clImate. It's BuIlt a lIttle BIt dIfferently than you would see down In wInnIpeg Because there's InsulatIon, - mccaskIll says. " "

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