Ben Canning grew up on a farm in Southern Ontario where he took fresh fruit and vegetables for granted. So when he found out that some kids in Canada, especially in the North, didn't have the same access he was heartbroken. So, he co-founded Growing North, with a mission to grow fresh food in the Arctic.
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Ben Canning holds up a bag of kale, part of the first harvest produced in the igloo-shaped greenhouse he helped build. (Havard Gould/CBC News)
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Ben Canning grew up on a farm in Southern Ontario where he took fresh fruit and vegetables for granted. So when he found out that some kids in Canada, especially in the North, didn't have the same access he was heartbroken.
Aa an undergrad at Ryerson University he met fellow student Stefany Nieto and together they started Growing North. The organization's mission is to grow fresh food in the Arctic.
Ryerson University student Ben Canning founded a group called Growing North, which created a cutting edge greenhouse on the Arctic Circle in Naujaat, Nunavut. (Havard Gould/CBC News)Last summer they had their first major breakthrough: a greenhouse in Naujaat, Nunavut. In Naujaat, as in many northern communities, fresh produce is either unavailable or really, really expensive.
The greenhouse is part of an effort to change that. Grown vertically to maximize growing space, the greenhouse brings potatoes, carrots, beets and a range of other vegetables to locals.
Tulimaak Ualiyak Angotialuk is a student volunteer at the greenhouse. He said his favourite food from the greenhouse is kale, with the kale chips he can make being a personal favourite.
Canning's team did extensive outreach and surveys with the community of Naujaat and had a 98 per cent approval rating for the greenhouse initiative going in.
Tasting kale at the greenhouse. (Havard Gould/CBC News)Since getting the project off the ground, they've handed over the running of the greenhouse to locals. For six months of the year it produces food, but they're trying to get it to be productive year-round.
They're also currently in the planning stages for their second greenhouse, in another Arctic community.
Growing North is in the running for the Google Impact Challenge — a competition that supports Canadian non-profits that tackle the world's biggest challenges.
