It might look like a shed, but it's a greenhouse built for N.L. winters

St John's has a new greenhouse for plant enthusiasts and aspiring gardeners, and it's built differently from what people might expect.

Called the Sun Tunnel, the greenhouse islocated at the Mercy Centrefor Ecology and Justice on Mount Scio. Sitting on windy and exposed hillside, the greenhouse is the third in the area.

But the Sun Tunnel stands out from the others. Instead of glass, it's made mostly out of wood.

The building isn't heated, but its tunnel-like design traps sunlight inside the structure, rather than allowing it to bounce away through wallsof glass panes.

That, says garden educator Dan Rubin, is ideal for leafy greens that thrive in winter weather.

"How most people build their greenhouses in and around this placemakes no sense," saidRubin, who helped design the structure.

Instead of beingsquare or domed, it'sshaped like a pentagon, and only the roof is transparent.It's insulated at the bottom of the structure, andthe sun comes in only through the top.

"In an unheated greenhouse like this, you can grow all those crops.The leafy greens that really like cold weather,you only need a little tiny bit of protection from the weather to grow year-round," Rubin said.

"Ofcourse in the summer you can grow your tomato, cucumber, basil, pepper."

WATCH | Dan Rubin explains how the Sun Tunnel can help grow vegetables in cold weather:

Here comes the sun tunnel: How a wooden greenhouse can help in colder climates

11 months ago

Duration 2:22

Dan Rubin explains what makes the Sun Tunnel on Mount Scio Road in St. Johns different from conventional greenhouses, and how the structure can help grow fresh veggies in cold weather.

The construction of the greenhouse was built by aBuild your Future class through a program administered by theAssociation of New Canadians. The class takes up to 30 newcomers for training in carpentry and the construction industry, making sure they have the skills for placementin quality-paying jobs.

According to instructorJohn Sheppard, the biggest challenge in the construction industry is the shortage of availability in skilled trades.

"We need an investment in this program, and really an expansion in this program, in order to solve the challenges with the housing shortage. We can't build all the apartments that are needed in this city without skilled trades," Sheppard said.

The greenhouse will serve as an educational site and a food production site forfuture ANC programs. Visitors will be welcomed in the spring.

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