Pictured above: Umiujaq youth learn how to grow vegetables in the NutriTower (left). The NutriTower a few weeks later shows the growth of the seedlings.

Community members in Inukjuak, QC harvested fresh food in their homes and outside as part of a program called the Pirursiivik Project, thanks to a Greener Tomorrow grant.

A Greener Tomorrow grant of $5,337 was presented this year to the Makivik Corporation in Inukjuak for the Pirurssiivik Project’s gardening and growing projects. Funds were used to purchase supplies for a home-growing plant contest, to repair cold frames (raised boxes with plastic covers that help extend the gardening season) at different organizations, and to purchase a NutriTower for a classroom in Umiujaq where young students learned to grow their own vegetables and cook with them. 

The Pirursiivik Project is a four-year initiative in Inukjuaq that began in 2017 between Makivi Corporation and the One Drop Foundation. Pirursiivik means “a place to grow stuff” in Inuktitut. Since then, multiple programs and collaborations have been developed through the project to address food insecurity and promote healthy habits and creativity in Nunavik.

Pictured above: The SIPPE House cold frame where community members grow some plants (left). Supplies were handed over to community members for the Plant Contest (middle). Mini peppers harvest from the Plant Contest (right). 

“Many thanks to the Greener Tomorrow campaign from the Northern Store in 2021. It’s been a tough year with the pandemic, but with the funds we received we were able to do several things,” said Karin Kettler, Inukjuak Pirursiivik Project Manager.

Northern/NorthMart runs the Greener Tomorrow program year-round, intending to eliminate the use of plastic grocery bags. To encourage the use of environmentally friendly alternatives, customers are charged a fee for plastic bags, then all funds collected throughout the year are reinvested back into the community to support environmental and social programs.