Traditional food: Eating a lynx

During the recent muskrat camp outside Burwash Landing (at Lake Creek territorial campground) students got to meet trappers.

Ryan Sealy of Environment Yukon’s Trapper Education program obtained a lynx from a trapper in Pelly Crossing Yukon. Students saw how the fur is used and also the meat. It turns out lynx is edible — Sealy even calls it a “family favorite.”

The meat was cut into little cubes so that everyone would have a piece. I would describe it as tasting just like chicken if slightly chewier.

Students at ‘muskrat camp’ learn trapping

The Kluane Lake School in Destruction Bay hosts a Muskrat Camp every year, where local students spend a few days with trappers and elders.

The students visited a trapline and learned how to trap muskrat. They then were guided through scraping the hides as well as sewing and other workshops.

These kinds of land skills are increasingly being recognized and incorporated into Yukon schools.

Read more here:
http://tinyurl.com/ya2dlldj

Edible plant walk at Miles Canyon

The Yukon Conservation Society offers guided walks in Whitehorse, for people who want to learn about local plants.

Guides point out what’s edible and what to avoid.

Whitehorse community garden

Whitehorse’s community garden gets plenty of sunlight even though it’s at the foot of this bluff.

The Agridome: Prototype for Arctic agriculture

The Cold Climate Innovation Centre at Yukon College has built a prototype Agridome. Glenn Scott says he hopes the design will prove so energy-efficient as to make it cost-effective to grow produce in the Arctic.

Experimental greenhouse at Yukon College

Yukon College has some interesting projects. One of them is this experimental greenhouse which is attempting to discover ways of growing produce in the arctic. 

This all-season prototype in Whitehorse uses colourful LED lights to grow plants.

One use could be vegetables in small remote communities. The greenhouse includes a motorized shutter which opens and closes a window; sealing the cold outside in times of darkness. 

Whitehorse’s food bank fundraiser: A parking ticket becomes ‘meal ticket’

Whitehorse city council has a great holiday tradition. If you get a parking ticket during the holidays you can pay as a donation to the Food Bank.

Staff at City Hall tell me they love the policy because people paying their fines are more cheerful about it.

It’s even common for people to over-pay their tickets. You can’t say that about a regular fine.

There’s carrots in them hills

There’s some agriculture in Yukon and it’s a growing industry. Here we see a bag of carrots purchased at the local Extra Foods.

A lot of Yukon products seem to feature a bearded, Gold Rush panner on the label.

 

Chilkoot Trail: Final post. Lunch and return aboard the White Pass

When booking your return from the Chilkoot aboard the White Pass and Yukon route, you can buy a $15 meal in advance. It’s great!

All the hikers gather in a large dining room and there is coffee, stew, bread and apple pie. It’s a feast after five days on the trail.

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