Co-op Community Champion: Chantal Nielsen

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Chantal Nielsen is being recognized as December’s Co-op Community Champion for being one of the driving forces behind the Charlie Lake Community Garden.

The individual who nominated Chantal described her as someone who “truly serves others.”

“After years at the school district as an educational assistant, she currently works as an interventionist for those with neurodiversities,” read the nomination.

In 2022, Chantal sent out a bunch of emails to gauge interest in the garden.

“I felt compelled to provide a space for people to come and learn how to garden. We were starting to see some of those food shortages and just a bit of that scarcity mindset kind of sinking in,” said Chantal.

“ I know for myself, it alleviates a lot of anxiety being able to [garden]. I wanted to be able to share those skills with others in the community.”

Six people showed up to the first meeting, and after putting it out to the community, almost 100 people attended the next meeting at the Charlie Lake Community Hall.

“I have been working with a group of other community members since then to establish a community garden across from the community hall.”

The Charlie Lake Community Club has allowed residents to utilize almost 10 acres of land near the hall.

“Our dreams are pretty huge for that space. And it seems like anything is really possible at this point.”

The gardeners are aiming to meet the community’s needs, but Chantal said if they do have extra, it will be donated.

“I think there were about 25 of us this past year, who all were able to take home what they needed at our Fall Harvest party. The extras were donated to the Salvation Army’s food bank.”

The garden is not only being utilized as a resource but as a training ground as well.

Chantal says there are eight women laying the foundation down for people to have somewhere to start if they want to contribute, and they provide mentorship to new gardeners as well.

“We’re just trying to make it as inclusive as possible. We don’t want anybody to feel like they can’t come and be a part of it,” said Chantal.

Two teachers from Charlie Lake Elementary School are also getting involved with the garden and have secured a grant for beekeeping.

“They’re going to get a beehive and some beekeeping suits so the kids can learn beekeeping. They’re also putting in some raised beds to be able to plant.”

Chantal has also applied to Northern Wildflowers, out of Ontario, to receive seeds for the kids to grow flowers.

The garden wouldn’t be possible without the support from the community and not just from those physically working on the project. Chantal said they had 55 donors in 2023.

“The overwhelming support is truly incredible.”

“To go into a project like that, like the man hours, and the time it takes to build it is pretty substantial. But every time we ran into a little bit of a hiccup along the way, we would just make a call, and it just happened, it was magical.”

Chantal was born and raised in the Peace region and has lived in Charlie Lake since 2007.

Outside of the community garden, Chantal is also a board director for the Charlie Lake Community Club.

After several years working as an educational assistant for School District 60, Chantal became a behaviour interventionist for Ascend Behaviour & Family Support Services in Fort St. John.

“We work with children who are developing skills, and we make it fun to learn. Most of my clients are very young, but we can work with children between the ages of two and 19.”

In her spare time, Chantal spends time with her husband and daughters on their acreage.

Congratulations to Chantal Nielsen for being named December’s Co-op Community Champion. Anyone looking to nominate a community-minded person needing recognition can head to Energeticcity’s website.