Today was another interesting day at work. It started this morning with a drive to work accompanied by the northern lights. It was 8am and I was watching the Aurora Borealis dance above me. Too neat. This morning I got to take part in a Working Group meeting, it is a group that is helping to write the Integrated Oceans Management Plan for the Beaufort. It was really interesting, I learned a ton, and I am going to be helping to write about the biophysical conservation objectives for the plan. Sounds important! I'm quite excited about learning so much every day.

Another exciting point of my day was getting my self installation kit for the internet. I am writing from my apartment today! So that means pictures! Apparently I can't have a slide show on my blog unless I subscribe to some other service, sooo I'll just post a picture every time I write instead of that. And maybe post some more on facebook. Anyway, enough of that...look at the picture above! It's the shrimpy Inuvik trees weighed completely down with the snow. It really is amazing how the snow sticks to everything here. It is also quite amazing how I have no clue just how much snow is on the ground. The snow here is so different then the Ontario snow. I mean, its just crispy and so they don't really clear it away. It just gets compacted and you can walk a top it. So really I don't know just how much is on the ground. But considering it is always snowing here, I think it is safe to assume alot.

My office is in a PRIME location. I see the sun the entire time it is up! That does depend though on whether it is cloudy or not. Today, it was gorgeous. I can already tell that it stays up for a longer period of time judging by how far it moves horizontally across the horizon. It really is kinda strange just seeing it as a "sunset" for the entire time it is up, because that is exactly what it looks like.

One silly thing about Inuvik that I have yet to tell you is that the air is SO dry. This means that EVERY time i switch on or off a light, I get a big shock. I have started getting scared to switch lights on and off!

Enjoy your nights everyone, whatever town, province, territory, or country you may be in.

Psychedelic Green

Yesterday was great. It started with some errands with my supervisor to pick up a couple carrot cakes to take with us to Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok, then proceeded with me getting geared up for a little plane ride! We left Inuvik at 1130am, and an hour later we were in Paulatuk: a community made up of about 40 buildings, really in the middle of nowhere. When we eventually moved on toward Ulukhaktok, it was much the same, a cluster of lights on the ground, with no connection to any other communities except by plane, or a really long snow machine ride. (by the way, they call skidoos snow machines up here!). After a one hour flight that was entirely smooth, we (as in myself and 3 other DFO employees and one Inuvialuit Fisheries Joint Management Committee, oh and the two pilots) landed in Paulatuk, an entirely flat and white town that is stationed on the Beaufort sea coast. A gentleman from town picked us up from the airport, it was daylight but because there was so much blowing snow, you really couldn't see much. It was mostly like a wall of white no matter which direction you stared in. We met with 6 people from the Paulatuk Hunter and Trapper Committee. Most of them were elder Inuvialuit people. They had few teeth, and were generally hard to understand (and as the minute taker...it was tricky). But boy, they really knew their stuff. During our discussions we asked them to talk about places that were of importance to them, locations that they would be interested in protecting with a potential Marine Protected Area. It was really interesting to hear them talk about their hunting and fishing. They knew exactly where the arctic charr were, where the polar bears were, where the caribou were. They located them on maps, and they matched up with scientific areas of importance. They really demonstrated Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and it was readily visible from former scientific data, that the areas they mentioned matched with these areas. So neat to see TEK in real life, instead of just hearing an ERS prof preach about its accuracy. So the Inuvialuit in both communities that I visited were quite friendly and made an effort to introduce themselves to me. When we were done our meeting, and established the Inuvialuit's interest, we wrangled our pilots from the lone hotel (they were sleeping, not drinking thankfully!) and got a ride back to the airport. After the pilots had fired up the plane, we headed onward toward Ulukhaktok. Too bad it was dark by the time we got there at 5pm, because it looks like there is some neat topography to the area. If you are wondering where these two communities are in relation to Inuvik, I posted a map a couple posts ago, and Ulukhaktok is on the map in it's English name, Holman. Again we got a ride into town, and met in the board room of their communities HTC office, and the Inuvialuit in this community were much the same: friendly and knowledgeable about the land and wildlife. Interesting conversation occurred about sovereignty issues and climate change. They had interest in protecting their marine waters because of these reasons and the effect they might have on their traditional hunting and fishing activities. I have been told by others at DFO that the Ulukhaktok craft shop (all with hand made slippers and mukluks) is fantastic, but it was closed when we got there (and so was their lone restaurant). But, I think I may be back there in March, so I might have to check it out then. When this second meeting was done and my hand was tired from recording all of the notes, we again got our pilots out of the hotel and moseyed on back to the airport. On the way we had to stop at Max's friends house (I swear no matter what outlying community an Inuvialuit is from, they all know one another). Max scored two huge Arctic charr from his friend who had caught it the day before. When I asked Max how he prepares it, he said the best way and only way he eats it is frozen! Then it was back on the plane! It was very cold on the way up, but warmed up after we had been in the air for a while. Okay, so then as we were on our way back to Inuvik, upon looking out my window...because it was finally a clear night, I saw the Aurora Borealis for the first time since I have been up here. Clear as anything, there was a Green flowing patterned that formed across the entire sky. It was stunning, actually mostly wild...I mean, it just seems so 'far out' like in the psychedelic sense, ya know? This crazy green wispy formation dividing the eternal sky in half. Amazing. So after landing, I had an interesting encounter with one of the pilots....ask me if you'd like to hear more! Then, it was off to the Mackenzie hotel lounge in town to have a drink and celebrate a successful day. The pilots invited themselves as well and showed up just after we had settled in. A drink or two was had by all, and at midnight Joclyn and I headed homeward (her to her hotel, shes from the Winnipeg office, and I to my apt). And again, because it was so clear last night, the Northern Lights were dancing across the entire sky so bright and quiet. I stood outside my apartment for a few minutes (in the -38 chill) and just watched. The aurora moves so fluidly and smoothly, it really is neat to watch. Then, after a long day seeing and doing lots, I hit the sack. I was back up again at 7am this morning...oh the working life. The communities were all alone it seemed, it was strange, like they were this little blip of a place, 30 or 40 buildings in the middle of nowhere, with winter temperatures that are almost inhospitable. I was amazing to see just how hospitable the people were. All in all, my experiences in the outlying Beaufort Sea Inuvialuit communities was very positive and interesting, I'm so glad I got the opportunity to go. And I can't wait to go again.

Blue Sky

So today was the first day that I actually saw the sun. It was spectacular! I think since I have been in Inuvik, it has been overcast, and so although it gets bright, I haven't actually seen the big round bright thing in the sky. But today at about 1130 am and until about 4ish, it was like a permanent sunset. My office has two nice big windows (I'm spoiled, apparently others in the office are up in arms that the student gets the nice office!! but somehow, I lucked out!). Anyway so out the window that I sit beside, I could see the sun for the entire time that it was up (I think my window looks south). I could see the horizon and the sun basically rose on the left side of the sky, hung out just above the horizon as it moved to the right, and then eventually disappeared. It was really colourful, and of course, today was the first day I didn't bring my camera to work. Jeeez. I'm sure there will be more clear days though. Today was really my first day that I felt nervous about work. I had to charter a plane for the trip that 5 of us are going on tomorrow, and organize meetings with people from each of the two communities we are going to. Yes, I'm hopping on a 5 seater plane, that is chartered. John, if you are reading this, I'm sure you will appreciate the little-ness of this plane I will be on! I have been told by others at work that it will be cold, and very loud, so I'm gonna gear up well and bring some ear plugs. I was also told that because winter weather is somewhat unpredictible, it is very likely that we might get stuck overnight in one of the communities, so I'm packing some clothes, and food. These Inuvialuit communities are so little one of them has no restaurant, and no 'real' grocery store. I have also been warned to keep my eyes peeled while in the plane because it is likely I might see some wildlife of some sort on the ground. Mind you, it will probably be dark when we fly. Darn it! Anyways so two people came to the office today who work with DFO out of Inuvik, so I learned a bunch about what we will be talking to the communities about tomorrow. Basically we will be establishing whether or not they have interest in having thier area designated as a Marine Protected Area, and what areas are of significance to them based on Traditional Knowledge. So, tomorrow will be a looong adventure. I will go into work at 8am, and then we fly out at 1130, and don't arrive back in Inuvik until 11 pm! It's so funny, every time I go outside here I feel like I'm going on a day long snow mission in the Arctic, and then I realize that ha, you have to dress that way even if you are venturing out for 10 minutes, and ha, I am in the Arctic! Today it was -32.6 degrees celcius! Good luck goes out to my two Laura friends who are leaving tomorrow for England and South America! You both have big adventures to come! Hope everyone is doing well at home, and Jessica Sit, if you are reading this, how do I make spaces in between my paragraphs? I think you are the only other blogger I know...haha thanks man (p.s. how are the new roomies?). Peace!

Baby it's cold outside.

Its 246 pm right now, and i think the sun is on its way down. It was quite strange to wake up on a saturday morning at 1030 and have it be pitch black outside! anyway once it did get bright (at about noon) outside, I went out on a walk, my feet and body were really hot with all my gear on, only my fingers were chilly...I had to walk back to my place after a half hour becuase my eyelashes were so built up with frost. I was scared they might fall off! ha. I walked up a few hiking trails, they were gorgeous. Took lots of photos that I am looking forward to showing you all. Then I did some shopping in town: checked out a gift shop, and stopped at the "produce man's" trailor...This guy apparently comes to town once every few weeks with a tractor trailor filled with produce, and its fresher then any of the other stuff you can get in town, so I was encouraged by coworkers to check it out. I got some fruit and potatoes. Last night I went out to a restaurant in town with some of my co workers to celebrate Michelle's last day. It was a really new restaurant, and although the menu was normal, it was quite expensive. I expected it. anyway, on the walk to the restaurant (it was probably a 10 min walk in total) Erica, one of the girls I work with who drives me every day, mentioned that my nose looked funny. It didn't feel funny, but when I got to the restaurant I went straight to the bathroom to check it out. I had a wierd white blotch on the end of my nose: maybe frostbite?? eek...but I was only out for 10 minutes!! anyway, so it turned redish and tingly. eventually the tingly feeling went away, but the pinkness still remains. Oh how I love the -30 degree weather that it was last night. Now I know I have to keep my face covered, so my balaclava will become my bestest friend. It was amazing to see at the restaurant last night how small this town really is. A few of the people that I work with were constantly waving at everyone who came in. It was neat! I really hope everyone is doing well at home. I'll write again soon. P.S. Have I told you about the snowmobiles? They really are everywhere around town, its crazy. Young and old ride em'!

Sorry I haven't wrote in the past couple days, I haven't gotten to the Library until now. But here I am. I have sooo much to tell you all!

So let me tell you some more about Inuvik. I walked around a bit yesterday after work, visited a few of the store that they have. Alot of the stores are convenience-type stores, often with strange things to find. I went into the last of Inuvik's three grocery stores last night, they had no milk, and almost no fresh fruits and veggies. Apparently milk and fresh stuff goes like hotcakes up here. They must get shipments not all that regularly. Someone at work said the Ice roads are opening up now though, so that means deliveries will be more regular, and that prices will largely drop. In the in-between seasons, everything that is sold in grocery stores has to be brought in by plane, making everything very expensive. Last night I also paid a visit to the rec complex, and it's awesome! A nice lifeguard dude with a huge beard showed me around, they have a skating rink, beautiful pool, and a work out room with really new looking equipment. I get a free membership for the gym and rink from work, so I will certainly make use of that, and the pool, which really doesn't cost much at all. Next week sometime I hope to have Internet at my apartment, it will be easier for me to write then.

I think it NEVER stops snowing here in Inuvik. Even though it is -27 degrees outside, there is a constant sprinkling of snow. Every street is consistently covered and they really never seem to clear it, somehow it gets compacted and not slippery like it would get in southern Ontario. Because of the sensitive permafrost all of the infrastructure is above ground...including all of the utility piping. So all around town you can see these "utilidors" which house the water systems. Its kinda neat. Because of the really cold temperatures, everyone here has to plug in their car, otherwise it will not start. Also, everyone heats up their vehicles, or again, they won't drive! Its funny, everyone turns on their car and lets it run for 10 minutes while they go back inside to do whatever. Kinda an idle shame...but its necessary if you want to drive up here!

I get one TV station at home, its CBC and has the same show programming as you guys, only at 6 I see 'Northbeat' its all northern news, kinda cool and interesting to watch.

Today at lunchtime I took a walk, and saw the famous Mackenzie River for the first time. Of course it was totally frozen, and so was I by that point, but the river is the beginning of the Ice Roads that lead south, and further north. It was wild seeing stakes and speed limit signs on the middle of a frozen river. Work is out of town a bit, and so I get a ride with a girl who lives in my building. Because it is out of town a bit, you can see downtown Inuvik from where I was standing, it was like a weird blip in between the every scrawny trees. So far each person that I have met in Inuvik is slightly odd, I guess you have to be to live up here. I fit in well. Ha.

Oh! another thing. Today at work one of the girls was talking about how power outages are really common in Inuvik. Then today after work while I was making dinner...the power went OUT! I couldn't believe it. Luckily I had a light. But it was only out for about 10 min, otherwise it woulda been one COLD night.

I have been taking lots of photos, but will post them once I have my computer online.

So now a little about work. Although this week I really have strictly been getting myself acquainted with things and reading lots, there is some really interesting stuff coming up for me. On Tuesday of next week, along with 3 other coworkers, I will be travelling (by a smmmmmall aircraft) to Ulukhaktok and Paulatuk. Both of these two communities have completely Inuvialuit populations, and one has 270 people while the other has 400. I have added a map of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, which falls with in the Beaufort Sean Integrated Management Planning Initiative area, which is the area of study for my section of Fisheries and Oceans. If you can properly make out the map above, you can see where Inuvik is and where Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok (Ulukhaktok is known in English as Holman, and is on the above map as so) are, and I'm going there next week! We will be talking to people in the communities about the possibility of their areas being turned into MPAs...Marine Protected Areas. I have packed alot of info into my head this week about all that the DFO does up here, and MPAs is just one of the things they are doing under the Oceans Act. So I'm not sure exactly what to expect with these community visits, but it will be an experience! The main office that the oceans sector of the Inuvik office deals with is the Winnipeg office, and they have requested my help with a couple things during these upcoming months. One of these is to help with a conference on Ecosystem Based Management in Winnipeg. So come Feburary I may pay Manitoba a visit! Neat huh? I'm also helping with a few working group meetings that are occurring next week. One is a TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) and one is a Biophysical working group. Both of them are working toward integrated management for the Beaufort Sea. I'm still trying to get all this jazz straight in my head, so hopefully I'm telling it correctly to you guys!

Anyway, if you have read this far, your the best...I hope each and every one of you is doing well enjoying the crazy warm weather in Ontario and Tasmania (dad and kris!) I'll try to post more often. There is so many times during the day when I think of one of you guys, think 'Oh I'd love to tell so-and-so about this neat thing or that'.

Until next time...

brace yourself...

...this may be a long and interesting one. So I'm here, I'm in my new home for the next four months. Well, actually right now I'm at the library...has a fairly good book selection, but is jammed with kids right now, i guess they all come here after school. My first impression of Inuvik was made on me by the trees: the scrawny scraggly trees. They are totally funny looking, short and weighed down with snow. Michelle, who I thought was going to be my supervisor, picked me up from the airport yesterday. She will no longer be my supervisor because she is leaving for a new job with the MNR in Ontario, this week is her last one here. I'm sad about this, mostly because it reminds me an awful lot of the way my other coop term started out. I have yet to meet my new supervisor, she will be back from holidays tomorrow. Anyway so after Michelle picked me up, she took me on a little driving tour, and then on to one of the three grocery stores to pick up a few things. They had no milk. The cheese was $13. Although the prices were as expensive as I expected, the selection amazed me. they have alot more then i thought they would. So, i got a few groceries, and Michelle dropped me off at my new apartment. It's super, has all the furnishings and such. I cleaned it up a bit, unpacked my stuff, and settled in a bit. Last night was the sunrise festival, Michelle offered to pick me up for the fireworks display so i took her up on it, and got my first taste of the arctic cold and culture. We stood outside for the display, it lasted almost a half hour, and even though i was wearing my new gear, i got cold! Oh yeah, my new gear...Canada goose parka $550, Snow pants $200, boots $100, muskrat fur hat $75, Canada goose mitts $80 (they left all the price tags on!). Thanks for the new gear all you tax paying readers! ha. no but seriously, its necessary up here. I went out at lunch to take some photos around the office, and was really cold after those 5 min. It's about negative 25 today without the windchill. But I absolutely love the way the snow crunches under your boots. Today was the first day of sunrise, not that i actually saw the sun, mostly because it was overcast, and too low on the horizon. Though between the hours of 1130am and 430pm, the sky is not black: rather, it is similar to the southern Ontario sky at 430 in the winter i suppose. you know, dim, blue, not black. Oh yeah, a little about work: everyone is kind, the office is small, i think i will get to do some neat shit. I better finish up, this feels a little distracted and rushed, but it is because the library is closing, and there are loud children all around me! I am looking into getting Internet in my apartment today, so maybe I will be more comfortable soon. I'll close with one last comment. My hopes have turned into knowledge: I know I will have a good coop term in Inuvik NWT.

Paris, Waterloo, Edmonton

So here i am in the hotel "business room" at the Edmonton Holiday Inn. I'm about half way to Inuvik, and man, this is already tuckering me out. So I sat beside a very nice dude on the plane. He is a philosophy professor from the University of Alberta, he was in Paris participating in a conference. He spoke very uniquely of academia, and frankly, made me think twice about wanting to pursue further education after my degree. He also had some insights into how humans are essentially destroying the environment, but as a race, humans cannot totally disregard ourselves as being all bad...otherwise what/who are we left with to 'fix' the environment? He said it much more succinctly then I can write it, I mean, come on, he's a philosopher, and knows a bit about human existence. But, it made sense to me, hopefully it does to you too. Aside from some interesting conversation, he was very helpful in guiding me around the Edmonton Airport, and enjoyed the fact that I was going to see and experience a place that really, very few Canadians ever get to experience. One more neat encounter that I had on the plane-as I told my new french friend that I am a UW student, a dude across the aisle piped up saying "i go to Waterloo too!" figures. He was an engineer on his way to work in Edmonton for four months. Too neat. So step one of my journey complete. Can't wait to report back again when I'm settled in my new home. Special kudos goes out to my mom and auntie bonnie for preparing me, driving me, and being with me in my last Toronto moments for 4 months! Thanks guys.