The Golden Spruce Tree Nursery was an employment project developed in 1980, funded by the provincial government and operated by the new Terrace Women’s Resource Centre.
This project successfully fulfilled its goal of employing and training women in the growing of bare-root, spruce seedlings for transplanting, and later, growing and running a market garden until 1987.
The land on Graham Avenue was laid bare, the tractor and related equipment sold, and the remaining monies put in an interest-bearing Credit Union account until something else came into being.
In 1988, the Golden Spruce Committee was formed to oversee the funds remaining from the tree nursery operations. The caretakers of these remaining funds were Nancy Ross, Lori Merrill and Jane Dickson who were involved with the original Golden Spruce Tree Nursery project.
Over the years, the account grew. In 1997, the Committee gave $20,000 to the Northwest Community College endowment fund, which provides two annual bursaries of $1,000 each, called the Golden Spruce Awards, for women students who had returned to school.
In 2008, the Committee donated a further $25,000 to the endowment fund and created a third bursary of $1,750 annually, called the Terrace Women’s Resource Centre Award.
These bursaries are given every year and will continue to support female students indefinitely.
On Sunday, March 8, at the celebration of International Women’s Day at the centre, the remaining $6,843.32 from the Golden Spruce bank account was presented as a gift that the Women’s Centre can use to help women in our community; for women who find themselves in need or for additional educational purposes.
“We are so pleased that we can donate these funds to the Women’s Centre, funds which began as an employment project to employ and empower women in our community, and which are now actively providing several substantial bursaries to women at the college. It is fitting that we can give these to the centre which spearheaded the Golden Spruce Employment Project in the first place. Their vision from 35 years ago is alive and continues to support and empower women in our community.”