Two Prince Rupert Groups find funding success from Northern Development Initiative Trust

Some welcome news for curling fans in Prince Rupert as a grant request with the Northern Development Trust has been successful, with the Prince Rupert Curling Club set to received $250,000 towards their upgrades at the Seal Cove facility.

In an information release Wednesday, NDIT outlined the scope of the work that will be moving forward with the funding, the most important element that of a full replacement of the ice making plant, which will allow it to comply with Work Safe regulations. 

Curlers have been off the ice this year after the Club was forced to cancel its 2019-20 season after the old ice plant was deemed unsafe and outdated.

The renovation plan will begin with the replacement of the existing ammonia plane, using a freon based cooling system. The Club will also work on renovations of the existing hall, rebuilding both the kitchen and washroom areas adjacent to the rental hall.

Those upgrades will serve to help the Curling Club attract more rentals to the facility to assist with revenue streams from the Seal Cove facility.

The Curling Club celebrated their success on Facebook on Wednesday, making note of their upcoming AGM of April 23rd when they will share more details on the plans ahead.

Also finding success this week from NDIT was the Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society, which will now be moving forward with a commercial hydroponics greenhouse system at the facility in the Seal Cove area.

The Society will be working with $175,000 in grant  funding towards their ambitious program.

They outlined their plans in October of 2019, highlighting how the hydroponics unit will provide for food security for society members and bring a return on investment through the retail sale of greens and herbs. 

With the ability to now move the project forward, the Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society will be able to develop more partnerships with member communities and assist with food security goals on the North Coast.

The news was greeted with gratitude by Blair Mirau, the CEO of the Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society who noted how it will effect change for the region.

"We are incredibly grateful for this transformative investment by Northern Development; this project would simply not be successful without their partnership. This hydroponics unit means Prince Rupert will finally will have a local source for fresh vegetables and herbs. Furthermore, the hydroponics greenhouse will integrate perfectly with our portfolio of small businesses, create good quality jobs, and feed families. This Northern Development grant is supporting an investment in a state-of-the-art Canadian technology which will help us grow locally for years to come.”

The organization shared the good new with its members yesterday and immediately got to work in recruiting someone to become a Hydroponic Greenhouse Assistant.

The $425,000 now destined for the North Coast was just part of the 1.4 million dollar in grant funding approved by NDIT for eight projects across Northern British Columbia

You can review the full roll out of the funding from the NDIT website here.

More items of note on Community projects and events can be found from our archive page here.