Production underway at Boreal Heartland Forest Products
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Boreal Heartland Forest Products in Air Ronge is currently producing thousands of pounds of dried plant grounds to be sold to companies in western Canada.
That’s according to Keewatin Community Development Association CEO Randy Johns who said he plans on collecting up to 40,000 pounds of fireweed before the end of the year. So far, he’s collected 23,000 pounds of the product, but he’s also been accepting morels, golden rod, Labrador tea and birch leaves. In the next week or so, Johns said he’ll also begin purchasing chanterelles.
“The morel season is pretty much done and we purchased a whole lot of morels from Pelican Narrows,” he said. “After the fire in Pelican, they grew abundantly.”
That’s also the case with fireweed in the La Ronge area as Johns noted the plant was the first to grow after the wildfire in 2015. He said fireweed will likely continue to grow well in the burn region for some time, but he noted eventually the company will need to look elsewhere for it. The fireweed will be sold to a business in Saskatoon, which plans on making an extract to be used in shampoos, skin creams and other products.
