Darren Moorman says giving out free produce to residents of Tulı́t'a, N.W.T., is one of the most satisfying parts of his job as the hamlet's garden manager. "I love the look on the elders' faces when you hand them something," he said. "Their eyes light up, and they're happy about it."
Moorman said the hamlet's growing space started five or six years ago as two A-frame greenhouses and a separate outdoor garden near the Mackenzie River. It's since grown to include three dome-shaped greenhouses and more outdoor garden beds too.
This year, growing started inside the warmth of the hamlet office in April. Moorman started moving flowers and vegetables outside as temperatures rose. Flowers were used to beautify hamlet buildings, while a long list of produce was grown to give residents access to free and fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. Moorman said pumpkins weren't that successful this year but everything else grew well.
"My cucumbers were just — by the time I got to harvest them, they're all 10 inches to 12 inches long," he said. "Zucchini? Some of them were like 14 inches long. People come and they help themselves to it. And, like, during the summer there I had six students help me for about a month. And we just handed stuff out to the elders almost every two weeks, sometimes every week."
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