During the COVID-19 pandemic, many communities are facing issues of food insecurity due to reduced transportation of essential goods. Isolated communities such as Bella Bella on Campbell Island in Heiltsuk territory face such challenges.
The Granny Gardens initiative by the QQS Project Society is their response to Victory Gardens, harnessing their 10+ years of food security work into a resilience movement for individuals and families in Bella Bella to grow and harvest their own food during these uncertain times.
The initiative by Qqs includes dropping off soil and seeds at homes using safe-distance protocols, providing gardening instruction through social media, Heiltsuk Radio, and FaceTime. They are also in the process of building a temporary greenhouse and planting communal garden spaces to grow food plants for additional distribution.
This initiative currently supports over 60 local families in establishing their own Granny Gardens, with more joining every day.
UBC Botanical Garden is honoured to be involved in our own small way through a donation of seeds to this critical initiative.