One of the things we’re most proud of at Churchill Wild Polar Bear Lodges is our produce – which might sound weird coming from a company that specializes in polar bear safaris.
Prairie Wild is a sustainable orchard and produce farm located in southern Manitoba and owned and operated by Churchill Wild’s own Riley and Karli Friesen. Founded on the principle of holistic small-scale agriculture, this exciting farm, orchard and greenhouses enhance the culinary experience at Churchill Wild’s lodges and bring a new level of innovation and freshness to our tables.
We believe everyone should have access to high quality produce grown without pesticides and that’s why we’re so excited to include these farm fresh ingredients as part of your stay with Churchill Wild.
Spring storm damage to Prairie Wild’s hoop house
But growing this fresh produce doesn’t come without its own set of unique circumstances.
Early this season a spring storm blew through with 100km/hr winds and a deluge of rain that swept through the community. Our newly constructed greenhouse and hoop houses (moveable greenhouses) took a beating, with one of the hoop houses completely collapsing. Despite this, the crops remained largely unscathed and thanks to the amazing community surrounding us, both hoop houses were back in working order in under two weeks.
Community support made for a quick cleanup.
We are proud to be a part of the local community and it’s moments like this, when the community comes together to support its own, that we feel truly grateful.
Many months ago, one of our suppliers sent us a gift of a homemade sign that read ‘Grow food, elevate your mood.’ Through adventures such as this we’ve found it really is true, growing vegetables really does change your attitude.
Working in the wild comes with many unseen challenges – whether it’s in polar bear country or in the south of Manitoba where we raise our fruit and vegetables. Wild southern storms and nighttime hoop house rescues remind us that growing veggies is anything but tame.
Find out more about what you can experience with Churchill Wild here.
