Agriculture training program returning Wiikwemkoong members back to their roots
In early 2020, while people were sheltering at home and pandemic-created food shortages were emptying grocery store shelves, the leadership at Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory sensed a growing interest in its backyard gardening program.
From just 30 participants in 2019, the program exploded, growing to 274 participants in 2020, and reaching its height at 403 participants in 2022. Far from just a passing fad, the gardening program has continued — and blossomed beyond its original intent. She recalled with fondness the days when “every family had a garden in their yard,” and she remembered helping to bring in the harvest, preserve or freeze everything, and put away their stores in the root cellar to use throughout the winter months.
Participants are involved with all the seasonal aspects of running a farm — how to behave around cattle, helping a cow give birth, how to raise meat chickens for sale — gaining all their hands-on experience in the community.In year one, they learn small engine repair, introductory welding, and sawmilling — skills needed to fix a tractor, make on-farm repairs, and mill logs into boards for raised garden beds, respectively.
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