Fresh herbs and fresh ideas in Winnipeg

For the past few years, an amazing project has been gaining momentum in Winnipeg. The name of this project is Growing Prospects, Inc. and we were lucky enough to pull the project’s General Manager, Rebecca Boyar, away from her busy schedule long enough to answer a few questions.

MY – For people unfamiliar with Growing Prospects, how would you describe your business?

GP – Growing Prospects is a non-profit, urban, horticultural training program with charitable status. Our organization is a sustainable development initiative; we use hydroponics equipment donated to our project by the Seized Property Management of Canada (RCMP). Presently, we grow, harvest, package and distribute fresh culinary herbs to the local market. All the proceeds from the sale of our fresh herbs help continue to support our program and any profit is donated to CHOICES – Youth Gang Prevention.

MY - I have to say…the first time I heard of your enterprise was from an internet search and I was impressed immediately. It seems like the perfect marriage of innovation and social conscience. How did the program actually originate?

GP – Our program actually originated from a local elementary school. Dave Taylor, our voluntary board President, was a teacher at Dufferin Elementary (located in our core area of the city) where he saw the need for a nutritional program in the lunchroom for his student. However, available funds for such a program and food purchase was limited, so Dave became creative and decided to attempt growing fresh food with his students. In an old, abandoned dental lab on the main floor of the school Dave began developing a growth chamber or indoor greenhouse. Once the space had been secured with the school, he then appealed to the Winnipeg Vice Police Department and Chief of Police Gary Walker (he is no longer chief, this occurred in the mid 90s) for confiscated hydroponics equipment. This was a long and arduous task, after nearly three years of correspondence and negotiation Mr. Walker and the Vice department finally agreed to donate a couple of lights, hoods, ballasts, a few connectors and some odds and ends for systems. Dave quickly began growing fresh; nutritious vegetables for the lunchroom program and also found the kids had a keen interest in growing the plants. Probably the most interesting portion of Dave’s story is he is not a grower. This was the first time Dave had ever used hydroponics and he rarely grew vegetable gardens but he was a complete success, which in my opinion is a huge testament to the wonders of hydroponics.

MY – The profit the program makes in its production of herbs for the culinary market in Manitoba are then allocated to certain social programs to help youth in the community. Specifically, who does the program hope to benefit and how?

GP – As I mentioned earlier, as a non-profit, sustainable development initiative much of our funds help support our program, but any excess profit is donated to CHOICES – Youth Gang Prevention, which is a Winnipeg School Division project. For those that do not understand the concept of Sustainable Development basically it means that although we are partially government funded, our project is committed to achieving eventual financial self-sufficiency. Presently I am very proud to announce that we are the largest contributors to our own budget. Although we are currently only supporting CHOICES through financial donation, we feel the funds that we are producing to support our own program is an enormous benefit to our community and the youth we service.

MY – Is Growing Prospects still a work in progress, or has it already fully evolved? Are there other businesses and Government agencies coming on board to help the program succeed?

GP – Oh no, no we are definitely a work in progress. I mean let’s face it; it took us five long, painful years to become even partially sustainable. However, keep in mind the first lesson of business Ed.; it takes any business three to five years to reach transition (to break even or turn a profit). We are finally on the edge of expansion, we have out grown our tiny little greenhouse and we are beginning to explore many other horticultural opportunities. Winnipeg suffers from a lack of downtown business. Many buildings (many are heritage and risk abandonment, arson and demolition) sit empty as urban sprawl is taking over. As more people leave the core area and move into the suburbs, our downtown is slowly decaying. We hope to locate another facility in the downtown area so we can continue providing the community urban agriculture. We are presently working on a hydroponics project in rural Manitoba (where fresh, healthy, inexpensive food is needed most) so we are aggressively pursuing consulting opportunities. We have established strong partnerships with local corporate sponsors and several government agencies. We are always researching and testing new products like Stevia (herbal sugar substitute) that we can produce and market. We recently completed a brand new wheat grass expansion project. The Winnipeg Housing and Homelessness Initiative provided us with grant funds to construct a new wheat grass growth chamber. Growing Prospects is the only local producer of fresh, live, organic wheat grass. All the grass is grown in 10 by 20 flats sitting in Ebb and Flow tables. The expansion has enabled us to increase our sales by as much as 36%, which has allowed us the financial resources to hire a part-time wheat grass production person. As you are probably already aware, Growing Prospects hires graduates of our own horticultural training program. Presently we have five graduates working for us in a variety of positions.

We recently purchased a computerized fertigation system through a grant provided to us by The Winnipeg Foundation and SDIF (Sustainable Development Initiative Fund). The fertigation system we are installing will fully automate production. Right now, we do all our fertilizing manually, which is relatively inefficient. Once installed the fertigation system will take water samples to test the pH and EC every 10 minutes. The system automatically replenishes our reservoirs with fertilizer solution, making the necessary nutrient adjustments after testing. As there is no other system or facility similar to this one in Manitoba, our local Red River College has demonstrated an interested in our project. We are now providing hydro and aeroponics instruction to their students. During a conversation with one of the horticultural instructors, it was determined that many of the students in the Green Space Management program have expressed discontentment with the industries seasonal labour. We are trying to provide the students with a positive introduction to hydroponics as a potential career opportunity that can provide year-round employment. We have also been working in elementary schools and community centers teaching the basic concept of hydroponics. Personally, I strongly feel Growing Prospects represents and addresses a variety of concepts, missions and ideologies. We demonstrate environmental and financial sustainability; we provide education and training in transferable work related skills to the public; we offer economic growth and community development; we make available urban agriculture and healthy foods to our community; we encourage the development of hydroponics as an industry here in Manitoba.

MY – You have secured your hydroponic equipment through the Winnipeg Police Service and seizures they have made. It is great to see merchandise that would otherwise be destroyed, be put to such a noble purpose. Since Growing Prospects is run as a non-profit business, have other areas of government helped out with greenhouse space, power or any other expenses the program incurs?

GP – We have been fortunate to receive ample funding through the years. However, as a charitable, non-profit “ample” is a relative word. What I actually mean is we have received wonderful support from all levels of government since 1998 when we first opened the greenhouse. People have always applauded the program for its progressive and creative concept. We have received funding from the following sources (1999 – 2003):

· HRDC – Youth

· Manitoba Education and Training – Youth Now & CPP Grants

· CAHRD (Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development)

· The Winnipeg Foundation

· Assiniboine Credit Union

· SDIF (Sustainable Development Initiative Fund

· WED (Western Economic Diversification)

· The Winnipeg Homelessness and Housing Initiative SCPI Grant Fund

MY – Hydroponics has been around for a lot longer than people think, with the first recorded instance of a working hydroponic garden being the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Many areas of the world with limited arable land, such as Mexico and Hawaii, are using hydroponics for much of their vegetable production. As a science and agricultural hobby, it has definitely entered the mainstream. However, many people can’t see past the negative stigma attached to hydroponics by those few people that use it for illegal purposes. Has the program faced any criticism due to this negative association, or can people easily see the benefits?

GP – Thank you for asking this question. I can’t tell you how many people comment (negative or otherwise) when I tell them I operate a hydroponics horticultural training program. Most people simply ask me “Where I keep the pot?” My response is always a polite, “If I grew pot I wouldn’t be driving a Ford station wagon.” Sometimes people are concerned that we are training our participants to grown marijuana once they graduate, however even if some of my students might come into the program with illegal intent, I always manage to convince them that they can actually make more money mastering vegetable crops in our cold climate (last night it was –50 degrees Celsius with the wind chill). Growing Prospects has been working very hard to educate the public about hydroponics, considering our extremely cold and harsh climate. Otherwise we really haven’t faced too much discrimination or opposition.

MY – What crops does Growing Prospects currently make available, and are there any plans in the future to diversify? What volume do you produce per year? Is the demand for your produce still growing?

GP – We presently have available the following herbs:

· Sweet, Thai, Cinnamon and Spicy Globe Basil

· Garlic Chives

· English and Chocolate Pepper Mint

· Baby Arugula

· Lemon Thyme, Thyme

· Rosemary

· Stevia

· Golden Sage

· Lemon Balm

· Live Organic Wheat Grass Sprouts

· Wheat Grass Kits

We have begun to diversify our crops, so tracking our production has been difficult. We are producing approximately 90 wheat grass flats per week and we average approximately 9,100 pounds of Sweet Basil (our primary crop) per year. As for all the other herbs, we only sell those in small quantity, changing crops often as we have limited space in our little 3000 square foot greenhouse. Many of the chefs we work with often call us and ask us to grow specialty herbs; this often dictates the crops we grow. Our unique location is another advantage for our customers, as many chefs will drop by to pick out their own herbs. The demand is definitely still growing. There are over 3,000 restaurants in Winnipeg and we presently only service around 60. There is definitely a demand; we just need more space to meet that demand.

MY – Where do you find people to work in your facility? Does your staff change often, or do many of your people stay on over the years? Have any “graduates” of the program moved on to secure themselves employment in the horticulture field?

GP – As I mentioned earlier all of the employees presently working for me are graduates of our program. Gina Nickels, Production Assistant has been working for GP since 1999 and Terry Husak, Greenhouse Manager, has been employed since 2000. Both were students in the program over four years ago. Mark Bulmer, Grower, and Tanya Martinussen are more recent employees. In fact Tanya is our administrative assistant which she has received absolutely no previous training. When Tanya came through the program I had only one vacant position, which was the administrative assistant, she had a great personality and organizational skills so she suited the job. With a little encouragement I convinced her to take the job, reluctantly she accepted. Within a couple of months Tanya was performing better than my previous administrative assistant that had received formal training. Tanya’s understanding of the horticultural industry has assisted her in her job. Tanya is responsible for ordering all supplies including greenhouse consumables such as fertilizers. She speaks with our customers instructing them in care and storage of product. Troubleshooting phone calls from frustrated hobbyist growers. All the skills she has gained in the horticultural and the greenhouse have made her an exceptional receptionist. This is a prime example of transferable work skills.

We have had many positive student outcomes. Many of our students and this year has proven exceptional at a rate of 80% employment, go on to either further their education in a variety of related industries or they secure gainful employment. Rona Revy has been exceptional hiring two of our students at two separate locations within the city. Rona Revy has an extensive hydroponics selection and to my knowledge it is the only franchise presently providing these items to the public. We purchase much of our Leca and other items from Revy. Some of our students have gone on to create self-employment opportunities. One young, single mother of three upon graduation opened her own plant retail stand and sold plants all spring with her children. She also began landscaping contracts throughout her neighborhood (she didn’t have a car to travel and fortunately she lived in a large gardening community). We have also had students further their education by attending post-secondary programs such as the Prairie Horticultural Certificate Program and Agriculture at the University of Manitoba. As you know horticulture is a diverse industry.

MY – Has the program met its founder’s expectations? And if so, have any other communities contacted you to set up their own version of your enterprise?

GP – You know I can’t really speak for Dave Taylor the founder of GP, but as the only original members of the Growing Prospects staff, and having been involved with every aspect of the organization, I can definitely say we have far exceeded expectations. The average life span of most training programs not to mention the life expectancy of most establishing businesses we have far exceeded our expectations. I believe most people felt we would not survive beyond the first two years as we had a rocky start and a shoestring budget.

MY – Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. If anyone is interested in learning more about Growing Prospects, how should they contact you?

GP – Thank you for your interest. For those interested in learning more about GP, you can check out our website at www.growingprospects.org or contact by email at growing@mts.net. Or, use the old fashioned method:

Attn: Rebecca Boyar, General Manager

Growing Prospects Inc.

89 Main Street

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

R3C 1A3

Phone: 204-957-7755

Fax: 204-957-7977