Hinterland Who’s Who heads to Iqaluit

The Hinterland Who’s Who series plans to produce a public service announcement highlighting the tundra and its ecological diversity. Here, Arctic avens, known as malikat in Inuktitut, bloom on the tundra near Iqaluit last month. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Arctic wildlife and vegetation: these are the focus of the “Hinterland Who’s Who” latest television vignettes.

A film crew for the made-in-Canada nature series arrives in Iqaluit next week to shoot two new public service announcements, highlighting the narwhal and the tundra landscape.

“Very few of us have the chance of observing the complexity and richness of the tundra or the mysterious narwhal from up close,” said Wade Luzny, chief executive officer of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, the non-profit conservation group behind the Hinterland vignettes. “Creating awareness about the Arctic and the fascinating species that live there will build a greater understanding with Canadians about the importance of conserving it.”

The Hinterland Who’s Who public service announcements first ran in the 1960s on black and white television, accompanied by a now-iconic flute soundtrack.

The announcements, which use film footage and narration to educate the public about Canada’s different natural environments, were re-launched in 2003.

In the past, the Hinterland Who’s Who has featured the Arctic fox, snowy owl, and polar bear.

But this is the first time the series has travelled to the Arctic with a full crew, including hosts Jody Gienow and Louis-René Sénéchal.

The crew will shoot in Iqaluit from Aug. 8 to 12, capturing the “ecology of this magnificent landscape, its biodiversity and the adaptations of its inhabitants, which include species at risk.”

Vignettes on both the tundra and the narwhal will be accompanied by fact sheets.

Both public service announcements will be released in 2012.