Breaking Ground with Hope Blooms and Build Right Nova Scotia
HALIFAX, NS – September 3, 2014 – Members of the North End Halifax community gathered at Murray Warrington Park on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the start of construction on the new Hope Blooms Greenhouse donated by Build Right Nova Scotia. Build Right NS—a partnership between unionized contractors and tradespeople—and youth-run social enterprise Hope Blooms were joined by local politicians and community supporters for the official groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of the greenhouse.
“After months of prep work and anticipation, we are excited to move into the construction phase of the project,” said Build Right Nova Scotia Director Jon Mullin. “We are lucky to be involved in such a great initiative. Hope Blooms plays an important role in our community by teaching young people skills that they will carry with them into their future careers – and that is invaluable.”
Build Right Nova Scotia announced earlier this year that they would construct a state-of-the-art greenhouse for Hope Blooms – free of charge. The new facility will allow Hope Blooms to continue their salad dressing business year-round and grow food for the community. The greenhouse will be built next to the current Hope Blooms Gardens located on the corner of Brunswick and Gerrish Street. Construction is anticipated to begin on September 8.
Build Right commissioned architectural firm Fowler Bauld & Mitchell to collaborate with Hope Blooms on the design of the 12-metre-long, 1000-square-foot building. The design includes unique features that will allow Hope Blooms to take advantage of alternative resources to maintain their gardens. They plan to use energy generated by compost from the garden and organic materials donated by local businesses to run the greenhouse off the grid and use rainwater catch-alls for water supply.
“Having our new greenhouse is going to help us grow more food for our community and make salad dressings year round,” explained Tiffany Calvin, Hope Blooms’ 13-year-old spokesperson. “It will help more kids be able to go to college by growing our scholarship fund.”
In 2013, the community garden and salad dressing business run by inner city youth received a $40,000 donation from CBC’s Dragons’ Den to build a greenhouse. Build Right Nova Scotia is covering the entire cost of the project, allowing Hope Blooms to put the Dragon’s money into their education fund.
Build Right Nova Scotia is a partnership of unionized contractors and tradespeople whose goal is to promoting the benefits of union-built industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings in Nova Scotia. Build Right NS promotes the contributions that many of their highly trained workers and employers make to the community. The 350 employers and 11,000 unionized professional tradespeople in Nova Scotia, including 2,700 apprentices, will continue to improve the wellbeing of Nova Scotians.
-30-
For more information contact:
Trent Soholt, Executive Director
Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council
Project Manager, Build Right Nova Scotia
902-832-4761
Jessie Jollymore, Founder
Hope Blooms
902-225-9729
