In February, the Listuguj First Nations Regional Adult Education Centre began to grow food in their growing dome. They started harvesting in March and have been providing adult learners and community members with fresh kale and lettuce each week since then!
Take a look at their pictures and read about the course and how the learners are involved from their teacher, Josh Dedam.
February 1st – starting to grow! 
February 5 – trays are already germinating! 
March 10 – busy week of planting! 
February 24 – adding potatoes to our growth. 
Growing in the dome 
Growing in pots 
March 22 – so much kale! 
March 24 – harvesting the greens. 
Harvesting Greens 
March 24 – Kale and lettuce harvested and ready to give out! 
The Grow Dome
What course is this?
The name of the course is Horticulture/Hydroponics. It is an introduction to growing plants using traditional style methods and new methods with the hydroponics system. In this course students will receive hands on experience in growing plants using both methods.
The idea is to give them the basic knowledge of what it takes to grow and maintain plants and run a fully successful hydroponics system. Things we have covered include biology of seeds, germination process, photosynthesise, pest control, fertilization values, and hydroponics systems.
What do the adult learners do?
They help plant all the seeds in the ground and the ones in the hydroponic towers. Every week we have 2, 3-hour classes on Monday and Wednesday, which is used for maintaining the plants, harvesting of any plants, and system check and maintenance.
They are assigned different tasks that they are responsible for each week. To date they have planted and harvested kale and lettuce. We also have potatoes, beans and peas, which will be our next harvest at the end of the month. We will be running the hydroponic system till mid May. After this we will start the process of closing the system down. System shutdown will require a major clean up of all hydroponic equipment and then preparation for next growing season. Each adult learner will have an assigned roll during the clean up process.
So far they have been enjoying working in the growing dome. It is a nice break from the books and has promoted a time for adult learners to unwind from the stresses of life.
Thank you to Josh and the First Nations Regional Adult Education Centre in Listuguj for sharing their story!