Attention Nunavut students: NWMB scholarships now available

Planning to study wildlife management? The deadline for applying for two Jim Noble NWMB Scholarships is coming up fast, on Sept. 4. (FILE PHOTO)

If you’re interested in studying wildlife management, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board has some good news for you.

The board will award the first-ever Jim Noble NWMB Scholarship, worth $5,000 each, to two Nunavut students who are currently studying, or about to start studying, wildlife management.

That’s according to an announcement the board posted on Facebook Aug. 26.

But if you are interested, you better hurry, because the deadline to apply is Sept. 4.

“We’re always trying to promote wildlife management, and more and more beneficiaries are becoming involved in that,” Jason Akeearok, the NWMB’s executive director, told Nunatsiaq News Sept. 1.

Non-beneficiaries are also eligible to apply, Akeearok added, but preference will be given to beneficiaries.

The award, named after Akeearok’s long-time predecessor, Jim Noble who retired in March after more than 10 years at the helm, is open to post-secondary students entering or continuing studies in a wildlife management program, the board’s announcement says.

That includes programs that teach the application of Inuit societal values to wildlife management.

Applicants must be current residents of Nunavut, and have been residents for the past two years.

But Nunavut students who are currently studying out-of-territory will still be considered residents, Akeearok explained.

Applicants must keep an overall academic average of at least 65 per cent, the announcement says, and plan to apply their studies to future work in Nunavut.

“We encourage all Nunavummiut to apply. It’s a great opportunity for post-secondary funding,” Akeearok said.

For more information, or for an application form, those in Iqaluit can visit the board’s office on the third floor of building 1106.

Those outside Iqaluit can call 867-975-7300 or email (receptionist@nwmb.com) the NWMB.