News and Updates

Winter camp season has come to an end and the camps were a great success! Two groups of 11-14 year olds gathered in Hay River this week to participate in the Hay River Fish Camps – two over night camps with Shawn Buckley, owner of Great Slave Lake Tours.

Shawn is a third generation commercial fisherman who shared his expertise about winter net fishing. The youth got to try each step of the fishing process and many got their hands dirty pulling the fish off the nets. We also had a chance to learn from Rose, Ecology North Education Program Manager, about the watershed in the NWT and how it affects the fish in Great Slave Lake as well as the climate in Canada. We had many great discussions about the environment and how youth can work to protect the environment in their Territory. It is such an inspiration to hear such young people discuss their environment.

The youth made awesome fish print tshirts to take home with them and had fun getting creative with different colours and patterns. Despite the cold temperatures and little shelter out on the lake, there were few complaints – what great Northern Youth!

Many thanks to all the youth who participated and to Shawn and Rose for sharing their expertise! Stay tuned for a recap of the Inuvik Camp and information about our summer programs! And a special thanks to all of our supporters who made this camp possible, especially Dominion Diamonds and MACA for their continued support!

If you’d like to see more pictures, check out our full albums on the Facebook page!

Learning about the watershed with Rose from Ecology North

Holding a fish that weighs about half his weight – strong Shaheed!

30 lbs inconnue!

Professional needle bar handler

Everyone loves the jigger board!

Getting the hole opened up for fishing.

Fish camp art

Pucker up

Group shot with the fish from camp #1

Fish kiss!

Getting ready to pull the net!

Testing the depth

Northern Youth is moving offices! Starting on Monday, March 3rd, our office will now be situated at 3601 Franklin Avenue in the Nadji Architects building on the second floor. We are very excited about this move!

In addition to the new address, we will no longer be using our landline – so from now on, please call 867-445-4558 if you have any questions or want to learn about our camps! Our fax number will stay the same – 867-873-2000. And of course the website and email addresses are the same!

The Northern Youth Leadership Society (formerly Taiga Camp) is gearing up for their winter camp programming. In March, three camps will take place, two overnight fish camps near Hay River and one, week long cultural camp near Inuvik.

The two South Slave camps will take place on Great Slave Lake near Hay River and are in conjunction with local commercial fisherman Shawn Buckley. Youth will learn about winter fishing as well as traditional food preparation techniques and winter survival skills. These camps are for youth ages 11-14 and both camps are open to boys and girls. The two options are March 24^th-25^th and March 26^th-27^th.

The cultural camp near Inuvik will take place at Yaya Lake in collaboration with Up North Tours. This camp, targeting ages 14-17 will include fishing, trapping, snowshoeing, bow shooting and winter shelter building. The youth will also be given the chance to overnight in the shelters that they build. This camp is also open to boys and girls and will take place March 16^th-21^st.

The cost for all Northern Youth camps is $100, which includes travel to the camp, food, accommodation, staff and equipment. In order to keep Northern Camps open to all youth from across the Northwest Territories, camps are supported by government grants and private business donations. Northern Youth is incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of all of our donors.

Registration is now open and the camps are filling up fast! If you or someone you know is interested in attending, please visit www.northernyouth.ca, call Northern Youth executive director Jill Gilday at 867-873-4891 or email [email protected] to learn more.

This week, Northern Youth got a big boost from two Yellowknifers who share our adventurous spirit. Last summer Leanne Robinson and Dwayne Wohlgemuth embarked on a three month journey by canoe and foot that took them from Rae all the way to Paulatuk. They shared their story with members of the public through a slide show and story telling on Tuesday night at the Library. And in support of Northern Youth, Leanne and Dwayne held a raffle, raffling framed photographs of their adventure, with all proceeds going to Northern Youth!

The event was a big hit with Yellowknife outdoor enthusiasts. The photos depicted the three month journey, from a bear encounter, to a herd of migrating caribou, to surviving multiple blizzards near the Arctic Ocean. Photos were overlaid by excerpts from Leanne and Dwayne’s trip journals, a format that was both entertaining and inspiring.

Through the raffle, Leanne and Dwayne raised $300, which will go to paying the entry fee for three future campers. A big thank you to Leanne and Dwayne and everyone who came out and supported Northern Youth!

Check out these photos from their big trip!