City receives grant for youth food security program
August 8, 2023
The City of Fort St. John received a $5,000 grant from the Government of BC, through BC Healthy Communities and the PlanH program, to support the creation of healthier communities through resources, practices and learning opportunities focussed on people, society and the environment.
This grant funding will be used to support a program designed by Catherine Ruddell of Creatively Sustained to bring youth together to connect the community to their neighbours, neighbourhoods, and the local environment, called “We Grow Rainbows.”
The program aims to address and change the narrative around what food sustainability looks like in our Northern remote area. Through this interactive experience, youth participants will complete monthly activities where they will plan, develop, plant, grow, maintain gardens, harvest, and prepare meals. The program structure will introduce participants to a rhythm aligned with nature’s life cycles and allow them to observe and connect with broader concepts of food sustainability.
We Grow Rainbows symbolizes a safe and generative space for diverse community members to gather and learn with and from one another, beginning with a youth participant focus. Catherine Ruddell conceived of this garden programming as a way to adapt and deliver a decolonial framework called Cultivating Safe Space (CSS). The project also encourages collaboration across multiple sectors and creates collaborative approaches with local Health Care, First Nations Communities, BC Education, and other local groups.
Additional details will be announced with the release of the Fall 2023 Recreation and Leisure Guide on September 1. If groups would like to be involved in this program or would like to receive learning outcomes and community planning information, please reach out to the City’s Arts and Culture team at arts-culture@fortstjohn.ca.
To learn more about BC Health Communities, visit www.planh.ca.
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