Nunavut Parks Learn To… events expand with new offerings
Starting June 18, participants can learn traditional skills such as how to pluck a goose
Ashley Cooper, acting manager for heritage appreciation at Nunavut Parks, stands by Iqaluit Kuunga Park, also known as Sylvia Grinnell Park. She said her staff have put together a great schedule of summer events in Iqaluit, such as making the traditional dessert aluk. (Photo by David Lochead)
People in Iqaluit who want to learn how to pluck a goose or make a dessert out of animal fat are in luck.
Nunavut Parks is bringing in these two events for the first time this year as part of its Learn To… series. The event runs all summer with workshops intended to encourage people to get outside and learn new traditional skills. It’s aimed to attract both locals and visitors to Nunavut.
“I’m optimistic,” said Ashley Cooper, acting manager for heritage appreciation with Nunavut Parks.
Rhoda Ungalaq, centre, leads a group of people on an educational Arctic plant walk through sunny Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park in Iqaluit in September 2023. The plant walk was one of the park’s Learn To… events, a series of cultural activities hosted at Nunavut’s territorial parks in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Kugluktuk throughout the summer. (Photo by Madalyn Howitt)
“We have a great team [and] I’m really excited for the schedule they put together.”
The first workshop is scheduled for June 18. From there, they are held every Tuesday and Thursday until Aug. 29.
Participants have the opportunity to get introductions to a variety of skills, including how to make soap; how to throat sing and drum dance; how to make pitsi, or dried fish; and how to operate a dog team, among many others.
“It’s important to get people out to our parks to learn something new that’s related to nature, our culture and our heritage,” Cooper said.
The workshops are held in the Sylvia Grinnell Park pavilion or Unikkaarvik Visitors Centre.
Cooper said one of her favourite workshops will be the first one, on June 18, which teaches how to pluck and prepare a goose.
“It’s the perfect [time in the] season because everyone’s out hunting for geese,” she said.
There are also Learn To… events scheduled in Rankin Inlet and Kugluktuk, where people will be invited to take part in activities like beading and making embroidered slippers.
The full calendar of events is available on the Nunavut Parks website, along with information about how to register.
Some workshops, such as how to run a dog team or how to clean a sealskin, are appropriate for participants aged 16 or older and have limited spaces.
The events are free.
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