EcoFriendly Action Grants have helped support two North Battleford youth groups in greening their community.
Trees in the River Valley
The John Paul II Key Club is a service club with 68 members at John Paul II Collegiate, North Battleford. Over the past eight years, they have planted almost 20,000 trees in and around the Battlefords and along the North Saskatchewan River Valley.
Thirty students joined advisors Dennis Mercer and Joey Sadlowski in planting another 1,800 new trees this spring.
“In reality,” says Joey Sadlowski, “these students are planting trees for the next generation. That makes a impressive legacy.”
With the support of Shand Greenhouse, Sask Energy, and EcoFriendly Sask, Key Club plans to continue this project for another two years, setting a goal of 25,000 trees. “In a decade or two,” muses Sadlowski, “that should make a noticeable difference.”
Crystal’s Home G.R.U.B. Garden
Crystal’s Home provides a supervised living program for female youth ages 12-17 who are unable to remain at home due to child welfare issues. They requested a grant in order to establish the G.R.U.B. Garden with raised beds, compost bins, window boxes, and vertical garden planters.
The young people helped make and paint the boxes and are now making salad with garden-grown cilantro and selling some of their produce (rhubarb, herbs, and winter onions) via their Facebook page. The funds will help the youth to buy longboards and skateboards.
EcoFriendly Sask provides small grants of approximately $500 to support local projects that will benefit the environment. Additional information is available on the Action Grants page of our website.