On the 12th of July after a spectacular road trip across middle America and up through the Rockies and Alberta, Pat left me in Hay River, Northwest Territories to WWOOF (world wide opportunities /willing workers on organic farms) at the Northern Farm Training Institute (NFTI). I will be starting a Masters program in Family and Community Medicine in September, and was able to tack these two months onto a year-long sabbatical from teaching. Although I adore being outside, dirty and weary from hard work, I chose this particular location because of its alignment with both personal and professional goals and interests.
I used to plant trees in Kapuskasing, Ontario; Pat’s sister and family live in St. John’s, NFLD; I have visited Stockholm - but I’ve never been above the 60th parallel. I’ve spent time in every province - but never the Territories. That was a huge draw. I was also impressed by NFTI’s vision - to explore strategies of self-sustaining food security in the north. To reduce waste and energy use. To increase biodiversity and land regeneration. To maximize quality of life of its staff, volunteers and folks it serves. (not all these statements are quoted from NFTI directly, but it’s what I saw when I applied to volunteer, and it’s certainly what I’ve seen since I’ve been here.) Over my career I’ve become more and more passionate about promoting sustainable community health, and NFTI is playing such a huge role in that mission up here. By flying out to remote communities and hosting students and courses on-site, NFTI is empowering communities in the north to be food secure and more connected to the land. I feel conflicted about the gas we used to travel to and from NWT; however, the incredible commitment NFTI is demonstrating to reducing waste, and innovating energy-efficient and sustainable strategies makes it worthwhile. I’m excited to share my particular knowledge, experience and attitudes with NFTI. My adventures in the Davisville Garden and Works-in-Progress are informing suggestions I’m making here, and projects I’m tackling. My expertise as a naturopathic doctor provides a unique point of view with respect to health and nutrition that I’m eager to share. And I’m equally excited to learn everything I can, a) to bring back to my paid/volunteer work, and my Masters studies, and b) store away for my 15-year plan to create my own little off-the-grid, self-sustaining homestead. I plqn to blog weekly while I’m here. This place is doing so many terrific things worth sharing. This first post is a welcome to NFTI - through my eyes! NFTI currently has five staff members. Jackie is the president and visionary for this project. It seems she tumbled into this rabbit hole after finding herself healed from a lupus-like illness through gardening. She slowly built up her gardening prowess to the point that neighbours took note and began asking her for tips and advice. She started holding workshops and running courses, and eventually applied for funding to start NFTI. The property is 260 acres of beautifully workable land along the shores of the Hay River, about 20km south of the townsite. It is owned by the town and leased by NFTI. It was an old industrial pig farm, so lots of labour and love went into cleaning up the property and creating a hub of goodness. Jackie’s husband Graham, a machinist in town, provides immense amounts of knowledge and skill and willingness with the heavy lifting needed around the farm. Kim, Mary and Helane are core staff members. Beautiful Mary, her husband Patrick and their two children (11 and 6) spent nine months WWOOFing around western Canada a couple of years ago, including at NFTI. They were enamoured, and when Patrick was offered a job by the neighbouring reservation, K’atlodeeche First Nation (KFN), they settled in Hay River, and Mary took on work at NFTI (Patrick also is a professional butcher, and contributes immense value to NFTI with that training). Kim has had a lifelong pull to the north, and now has put down roots in Hay River with her partner Mike. I’ve seen her develop grant applications, coordinate courses both on and off the NFTI campus, and throw on safety glasses to build a deck. Her dad Paul is also in Hay River at the moment; as a master carpenter, we are all sucking as much knowledge as we can from him - he’s a lovely teacher, and hungry student (he participated in my weed walk and enjoyed trying kale chips for the first time!). Helane is a general farm assistant; she has managed the garden and greenhouse in the past, and is currently leading/learning the animal husbandry side of the farm. All are humble and generous humans who are honest about the gaps in their knowledge, and open to ideas, experimentation and innovation. It’s incredibly beautiful what this team of four women and their partners bring to NFTI. I’ve appreciated the flexibility and openness they all have to hard work and moving seamlessly from office work (writing grant applications, meeting with the local Rotary club, organizing and planning onsite courses) to kitchen tasks (prepping meals for up to 20 staff and volunteers) to lovingly care of the living things on this property to brute labour (building a deck, moving rocks, fixing fences). Keegan and Brooklyn are paid interns that are learning the ropes of farming. Keegan looks after the gardens and greenhouse, stocking a weekly community supported agriculture (CSA) box for community members. I dig his groove and adventurous spirit, and we’ve had some fun conversations about our shared backgrounds bike tripping and tree-planting. Brooklyn is a generalist, and helps and learns where she’s needed. She is a member of KFN, so offers a fabulous connection to the Indigenous community; she left for a vacation shortly after I arrived, so I hope to get to know her more in the coming weeks. Carl, also a member of KFN, is a general labourer who has spent the summer clearing trails, moving fences and doing construction. In addition to its paid staff, NFTI hosts a rotating crew of volunteers from around the world in its yurt village and dorm rooms. In the week I’ve been here, I’ve worked with a woman from the Czech Republic, a fellow from France, and two young men from Germany. There are more to come. Reilly is Keegan’s sister (both from Nova Scotia) - she came up to visit him two months ago and hasn’t left. She is a wealth of great tips and guidance. Maddie is a university student from Seattle (originally from Boston). Having grown up on a farm, and being heavily engaged in wilderness adventures, Maddie is a blast to work with, which is a blessing because she'll be here the whole time I am! It will be hard to give a clear impression of everything that goes on at NFTI - which is why I’m hoping to write more focused posts in the coming weeks. What I’m really loving about the vibe here is how open everyone is to experimentation. As I write this, Helane (a mechanical engineer by training) is camping down in the bush where she wants to scope out an ideal spot and design for a shepherd's hut that she hopes to build and live in over the winter in a couple of years. She impresses me with her careful observations and their application to solving problems and improving systems. Keegan (with a deep knowledge - theoretical, he’ll tell you - of permaculture, and a wildfire fighter) helped the previous garden intern to redesign the greenhouse over the early spring, which has apparently resulted in a 30% increase in yield. There are enormous beets, a huge amount of kale, and a plethora of wild flowers. There are chickens, goats, sheep, cows, pigs, rabbits and two dogs. There are yurts. There is a geodome (donated by Hellman’s mayonnaise! … still doesn’t make me want to eat mayo). There is a forest and a river and pasture and gardens. There are incredible government grants that appear to be written with NFTI in mind. As a volunteer who has only been here a few days, I’ve already been enthusiastically included in the planning and delivery of a cooking class, encouraged to identify and wildcraft medicinal herbs on the property to include in the CSA, and tackle the implementation of a children’s garden on the property. There is so much space and encouragement here for individuals to utilize and contribute their skills and expertise, with equal amounts of welcome for learning and growth. To give you a flavour, check out all my adventures in only a week! I have:
I’m mindful of my energy levels and the fact that I’m more than twice the age of some of the other volunteers. This first week has been incredibly full, and I’ll have to observe how the pace affects me (although things are very laid back here … I’m the only source of my internal drive). My muscles feel wonderfully weary from doing movements that they’re not accustomed to executing … but I also felt a little tweak in my low back that feels reminiscent of a previous vertebral irritation. I suspect as I settle in to the routine, and discover what feels good and what doesn’t, I’ll find my groove. I’ve chosen to pause on my anti-depressant medication for now - an experiment to see how I do emotionally in this setting. I feel really good still. What’s notably different is my quickness to well up. This is not new for me - I’ve cried easily my entire life - but while the medication has helped me feel amazing this past year, I haven’t been as quick to cry. Crying is not something I mind and offers a terrific catharsis. In the past week I’ve teared up multiple times (all over beautiful, happy, moving conversations, and the simple joy of being here, in this space). It’s all vibrating just below the surface. Interesting and welcome. Lots there! If you’ve made it this far, congrats! I’ll be contributing to the NFTI Instagram and Facebook feeds while I’m here, so stay tuned there. And to tantalize you, some further blog topic considerations for the coming weeks; anything you want to know about? Leave me a comment!
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