By Derek Cornet

Boreal Heartland looking forward to busy 2021 growing season

May 4, 2021 | 3:13 PM

LA RONGE, Sask. – Online sustainable harvester training begins next week as the growing season starts in northern Saskatchewan.

The training is being offered through a partnership between Northlands College and Boreal Heartland Herbal Products. According to Keewatin Community Development Association CEO Randy Johns, the training is crucial for harvesters as it instructs on sustainability, plant identification, bush safety and more. It’s a four hour course and can be completed from May 10 to Sept. 30.

“We had about 100 people who went into the training and about 50 or 60 of them completed it,” he said about the 2020 intake. “Anybody from northern Saskatchewan can take it.”

Johns explained Boreal Heartland missed some of its targets last year on certain products due to poor growing conditions. He said last spring was rather cool and then the intense heat that followed burnt many of the green plants. The COVID-19 pandemic also had an impact.

In 2020, Johns mentioned Boreal Heartland purchased chanterelle mushrooms from nearly 200 harvesters. He’s currently determining which products will be needed in 2021.

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“We’ll be putting out a list pretty quick, but it’s the usual things that we look for every year,” Johns said. “Some fireweed, although not as much as previous years.”

Boreal Heartland will also be pursuing a partnership with the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB). Johns noted there’s will be face-to-face training in June and he hopes to travel to some LLRIB communities as well.

“There’s a lot of support out there,” he said. “People are interested in getting out into the forest and doing some harvesting. A big thing for us is we want to make sure that its sustainable. That’s why we do the training and we want to make sure if we harvest that the plants are available and come back.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno