Northern Greenhouses: Knowledge Review and Innovation Prospects for Decarbonizing Northern Food Systems

Context

In recent years, a growing number of communities in northern Québec have built greenhouses to extend the growing season and improve access to fruits and vegetables under cold conditions. These greenhouses provide more than food: they also act as spaces for gathering, learning, and contributing to well‑being and health.

Developing greenhouse cultivation in northern regions requires advances in:

• Improving energy efficiency in existing structures and designing new ones
• Developing simple methods for producing fertile soil from locally available materials
• Experimenting with innovative cultivation systems that combine agronomic and Indigenous knowledge

It also requires social and organizational innovations to ensure the sustainability of community‑based agricultural projects that provide food production, educational, and health services.

The project also aims to:

• Support local knowledge holders in acquiring agronomic and horticultural skills
• Recognize and apply traditional and Indigenous knowledge
• Guarantee that knowledge, practices, and technologies are created with communities, with respect for their self‑determination

Project Objectives

The project aims to define, in collaboration with local communities, research priorities for greenhouse practices tailored to northern Québec realities.

Specifically, the team will:

• Produce a synthesis of scientific and technical knowledge on greenhouse energy efficiency (geometry, materials, equipment), soil production, and crop management systems in cold climates
• Catalogue and analyze social and organizational innovations that sustain agricultural projects and allow community members to acquire horticultural expertise suited to northern contexts
• Co‑construct a research framework with community members that reflects the needs of northern and Indigenous communities