photo courtesy of Ecology North
Ecology North has a rich history of active programming to support local food production. Our popular Northern Backyard Farming series, developed in collaboration with the GNWT Department of Industry, Tourism, and Investment, is a set of illustrated guides perfect for
Northerners interested in local food.
We have four guides currently in the series: Raising Chickens, Preserving Food, Composting and Soil Health. Stop by our office at 5016 Franklin Avenue anytime for a free copy.
While it might not be apparent to the casual observer, there is a thriving culture of backyard agriculture in Yellowknife and beyond in the Northwest Territories. Case in point, February’s Northern Bee Health Symposium in Yellowknife attracted over a hundred participants from across the territory, including professional, amateur and aspiring beekeepers. Thank you to everyone who made it out.
This weekend-long event was the result of a collaboration between Ecology North and the GNWT Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The symposium brought together regional and national beekeeping experts and local producers from the NWT. Two days of learning and storytelling left everyone in attendance inspired and proud of the resilience and ingenuity of our local growers, producers, and beekeepers.
Inspired by the overwhelming support from symposium attendees, we have been working on creating a set of resources unique to beekeeping in the North, including a new backyard farming guide on northern beekeeping.
We are excited to begin sharing this and more with you in the coming months. Keep an eye out for the NWT Backyard Beekeeping short video series which we will be sharing via our Facebook, Twitter, and website. And look for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Best Management Practices guide for northern beekeeping which will be published later this year.
Our commitment to supporting local growers and producers, including our resilient beekeepers, is part of our larger vision of environmental stewardship.
Sourcing food from local greenhouses, apiaries, gardens, farms, and wild harvesting means less emissions and cost spent transporting food from the south.
It also increases food security and independence, an important consideration for many northern communities. The NWT beekeeping community is a burgeoning part of the northern agriculture movement and we look forward to seeing it continue to grow and thrive.