New solar-powered greenhouse project aims to combat food insecurity in Shelburne County

Celina Aalders · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 04, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Work is underway connected a volunteer-run task successful Shelburne, N.S., that aims to supply thousands of kilograms worth of caller nutrient to the assemblage each year.

The Community Garden and Foodshare Association of Shelburne County was precocious awarded $142,158 from the state to conception a new solar-powered and geothermal greenhouse that volition run year-round. The backing comes from the Department of Environment and Climate Change's sustainable communities situation fund. 

Michael Kozak, the association's president, says the task volition beryllium instrumental successful combating nutrient insecurity, arsenic assorted forms of caller nutrient volition beryllium grown and distributed to radical successful need. The relation volition besides donate to the section nutrient bank, which has been struggling to support up with precocious request successful caller years.

"Everyone should person entree to healthy, nutritious food," said Kozak. "And isn't it amended to devour thing that's from 10 feet distant alternatively of 10,000 miles away?"

He said the greenhouse volition beryllium wholly heated and cooled by vigor from the prima and earth, and has the imaginable to nutrient astir 2,000 kilograms of nutrient per year. 

It volition beryllium built adjacent the section precocious schoolhouse connected a crippled of land donated by the municipality of Shelburne. Volunteers person spent months clearing the grounds and operation could statesman arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent week, according to Kozak. The task is expected to beryllium finished by the summer. 

With increasing efforts to enactment section producers, Kozak said this is simply a measurement successful the close absorption astatine a clip erstwhile radical should beryllium reasoning astir ways to make much sustainable nutrient systems astatine home.

"The lone happening I tin convey [U.S. President Donald] Trump for — the lone happening — is the existent governmental clime has made america much focused connected the value of nutrient information and having entree to caller nutrient should things hap wherein logistically, we're not capable to get caller nutrient brought to us." 

Henry Penn, who is volunteering arsenic the association's task manager, said this is particularly important for agrarian communities that are much disconnected from large market chains and organisation systems. 

"That's conscionable a portion of wide assemblage resilience," helium said. 

He added that erstwhile the relation shared its bounty from respective outdoor plot beds backmost successful the fall, everything was gone wrong 45 minutes. 

"That's, I think, a portion of demonstrating conscionable what it means to section radical successful the Shelburne country to person entree to caller produce," said Penn. 

Stanley Jacklin, politician of the Town of Shelburne, said he's definite this inaugural volition person a affirmative interaction connected the assemblage and believes Canadians trust excessively heavy connected importing nutrient from elsewhere. 

"I don't deliberation it's sustainable with what's going connected successful the existent world," said Jacklin. "We person to beryllium a small much self-sufficient." 

Once the greenhouse is up and running, Kozak said the extremity is to physique astatine slightest 3 much connected the astir one-hectare portion of land. 

The non-profit relation is presently tally by astir 30 volunteers, but they anticipation to make respective paid positions and adjacent collaborate with section farmers to marque proteins and dairy a portion of the nutrient sharing project. 

Kozak said the greenhouse volition beryllium named successful honour of John Davis, a section unpaid who founded the group but died abruptly successful 2024. 

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