Residents of Hay River will have the opportunity to learn about all things gardening on June 5.
That’s when Garden Morning will be presented by the Hay River Beautification Committee on the lawn of NWT Centennial Library.
“It’s everything, all types of gardening,” said Julia Gyapay, a volunteer with the committee. “So if people are interested in flowers or if people are interested in veggies, really anything, there’ll be people there to answer their questions,” she said.
Gyapay noted the Hay River Beautification Committee is a group of volunteers passionate about improving the community’s landscape through art and gardening since 2007.
Garden Morning began in 2011 and has typically happened every two years.
Gyapay pointed out the event is free and open to everyone in the community to celebrate spring and generate excitement about gardening.
“All are welcome to attend regardless of gardening experience or knowledge,” she added. “By bringing the community together to share our local gardening knowledge, we hope to empower people to take up gardening with whatever space and supplies they have.”
Similar to previous years, Garden Morning will have workshop stations with gardening and spring-themed activities and demonstrations.
A new addition this year will be information tables showcasing local food producers and gardening organizations. The goal of the information tables is for people to learn about what is being grown and produced in Hay River from the gardeners themselves.
The event will begin at 10 a.m. on June 5 on the library lawn with birdhouse building.
At the same time at the Soup Kitchen, there will be a raised bed gardening question-and-answer session with Kim Rapati.
“That’s the only workshop that’s happening in a different location,” said Gyapay. “So during this Q-and-A, Kim will have stations demonstrating how to prepare your raised bed, manage weeds and pests, mix and fertilize soil, planting techniques and tips for building mini greenhouses.”
Back on the library lawn at 11 a.m., Andrew Cassidy will talk about beekeeping.
At 11:30 a.m. there will be a garden salad demonstration with Sandra Lester. And throughout the event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be information tables on the library lawn with representatives from Northern Farm Training Institute, Polar Egg, Riverside Growers, Greenwood Gardens, Ecology North, the Hay River Community Garden, and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
There will also be live music, along with gardening door prizes, including a hanging flower basket.
Gyapay noted the event is being presented in partnership with the library with support from the NWT Recreation and Parks Association, the Town of Hay River and Northland Utilities.
Marissa Oteiza, the program librarian at NWT Centennial Library, noted Garden Morning fits in well at the library, which has lots of information about gardening.
“There’s books about gardening,” she said. “There’s books about being green. There’s books about being environmentally friendly. There’s books about how to make a garden bed, how to build a bat house, a birdhouse. The library has lots of different resources.”
Oteiza said the library is excited to host Garden Morning.
“It’s obviously weather permitting,” she noted. “So if it’s going to be rained out we have a backup date the following Saturday on June 12.”
Oteiza will also be participating as a representative of Ecology North.
As with all public events, there will be precautions at Garden Morning because of COVID-19.
In particular, the activities will be staggered to limit the number of people on the library lawn at one time to 50.
“All of the activities will be taking place outdoors and will be physically distanced,” noted Oteiza. “And there will be a prize for the most creative mask.”