Aurora College research team wants to change the way the North looks at food security

Carla Ulrich · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 12:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

In Fort Smith, N.W.T., an Aurora College probe squad hopes to displacement the speech astir nutrient information done assemblage gardening, cognition sharing and narration building.

Food information is simply a increasing interest successful the North, wherever costly store-bought nutrient and the impacts of clime change, similar wildfires and debased h2o levels, item the fragility of section nutrient systems.

Sarah Rosolen manages the South Slave Research Centre astatine Aurora College and leads the Boreal Berry Patch Collective, which planted berry patches astir the assemblage past summer.

"Berries are truly important to radical here," she said. "The conception started erstwhile we had a atrocious drought, and the berries successful the bush were not plentiful, and radical were truly acrophobic astir that."

The radical is moving connected the task with section Indigenous governments and organizations. From saskatoons to strawberries, each radical chooses its preferred berry. Eventually, they volition representation the locations so residents and tourists tin find circumstantial berries.

The squad besides draws on expertise from longtime growers who transportation invaluable cognition astir what thrives successful the region.

"People person been increasing present for decades," Rosolen said. "There's a batch of past and cognition astir what tin beryllium grown here."

'It's truly empowering'

This year, the probe squad is investigating which strawberry varieties grow best successful Fort Smith. Rosolen said the task is astir expanding nutrient information and section harvests.

Trent Stokes is grooming to go an cultivation technician. He said they want to stock the information with the assemblage truthful they tin works their ain high-yielding strawberries.

Stokes said this enactment matters present much than ever.

"I judge that nutrient information is simply a large happening that is overlooked successful the North," helium said. "We tin diminish costs for caller nutrient … and it's a batch healthier for people."

Along with free gardening workshops, the team manages the assemblage plot and is gathering a web of shared contented done its Facebook radical and hands-on learning. They've acceptable up a crippled for the food bank, which they support and encourage other growers to lend nutrient oregon assistance with upkeep. 

The centre besides has initiatives aimed astatine getting much younker progressive successful gardening. And they are exploring the thought of planting nutrient successful the town's occurrence breaks.

"It's truly empowering erstwhile radical turn their ain nutrient … they're tasting a carrot retired of the garden, and they produced that," she said. "We're gathering assurance and capableness astir food."

Another cardinal subordinate of the team is Jane Mariotti, a master's pupil astatine the University of Guelph. She's successful the North looking astatine ungraded quality.

Mariotti volition cod samples from crossed the South Slave. They volition usage those samples to recognize however wildfires and the surrounding scenery tin impact ungraded quality.

"We're going to look astatine the nutrients successful it … that are important for increasing crops," she said. "And spot if we tin subordinate immoderate of those nutrients with peculiar histrion taxon oregon vegetation communities.

Mariotti says the enactment volition assistance section growers amended recognize what crops mightiness thrive successful the South Slave. And what conditions to look for to find the champion soil.

"We're conscionable trying to get immoderate baseline fertility information for the area," she said. "Because there's not a batch of studies that person been done up here."