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Trapper celebrates 19 years of teaching youth on the land Tuesday April 28 2015 19 NORTHERNERS TRAPPERS Fort Smith District Education Authority PICHE SCHOLARSHIP Applications for the 2015 Piche Scholarship Award will commence on April 13 2015 and close May 19 2015 at 330PM Application criteria can be picked up at the FSDEA office at JBT or call 872-2011 and criteria can be mailed. Completed applications are to be mailed to Fort Smith District Education Authority P.O. Box 131 Fort Smith NT X0E 0P0 or dropped off in person to JBT School no later than May19th at 330PM. Please leave a message at 872-5543 for details. WESCLEAN NORTHERN SALES LTD. Ph 867 875-5100 Fax 867 875-5155 E-mail infowescleannwt.com web www.wescleannwt.com Avalon Cat Hair - long Size - medium Gender - female Avalon is a very loving and beautiful cat. She is spayed and is up-to-date with all her shots.If you think you have a home for a Avalon please call the shelter at 872-5543. Please leave a message at 872-5543 for details. WESCLEAN NORTHERN SALES LTD. Ph 867 875-5100 Fax 867 875-5155 E-mail infowescleannwt.com web www.wescleannwt.com Avalon Cat Hair - long Size - medium Gender - female Avalon is a very loving and beautiful cat. She is spayed and is up-to-date with all her shots.If you think you have a home for a Avalon please call the shelter at 872-5543. Please leave a message at 872-5543 for details. WESCLEAN NORTHERN SALES LTD. Ph 867 875-5100 Fax 867 875-5155 E-mail infowescleannwt.com web www.wescleannwt.com Avalon Cat Hair - long Size - medium Gender - female Avalon is a very loving and beautiful cat. She is spayed and is up-to-date with all her shots.If you think you have a home for a Avalon please call the shelter at 872-5543. SpayedNeutered Up-to-datewithroutineshots House trained DoraFemalekitten Grey tabby Looking for a new home Dora is a sweet little baby who needs someone to take care of her. Your heart will melt the minute you pick her up and hold her in your arms. By DALI CARMICHAEL For almost two decades one Fort Smith trapper has passed on the traditional land- based lifestyle to high schoolers taking them for week-long trips in the bush where they learn skills for wintertime survival. This past winter marked Louie Beaulieus 19th annual PWK high school winter camp at his site on Piers Lake a three-hour snow- mobile ride out of town. While the students change year after year the lessons they learn about connecting with the land stay the same. The idea for the camp came about in 1996 when then-French teacher Claude Doucet and former natural resources ofcer Sholto Doug- las - who used to run trapping workshops at the school - approached Beaulieu about tak- ing the kids out on the land to learn. Claude wanted to do beaver trapping at the end of the year when it was warm and nice Beaulieu said. He was happy to make it hap- pen. We borrowed some beaver houses from a local trapper. It was late in the year so we couldnt go far. We taught some kids how to set beaver traps and we made a camp where we hung around for a few days. After a successful trial run with about 12 students Beaulieu and his crew decided to expand the camp the following year. Even- tually he started hosting the excursion on his own trapline. Until the early 2000s the camps ran every February with anywhere between two to 17 students in attendance. In those rst years there was only one cabin on the property kids and teachers lived in tents heated by wood stoves fueled by logs they had chopped. More recent pupils of the land get to enjoy a more luxurious experience by comparison ven- turing out at the end of March when there is a chance of warmer weather with cabins to sleep in and a kitchen to cook in. In the camps 19 years there has only been one major incident when about two years ago one of the ve cabins sitting on Beau- lieus property went up in ames. I guess we didnt teach them about wood stoves well enough Beaulieu said. A few years removed he can now laugh about the incident. Despite the re there have never been any serious injuries on his watch the trap- per said an achievement he attributes to his survival lessons. Lose a pair of mitts Students are taught to sew their own. Dont have a shelter for the night The kids are expected to build their own from spruce bows ropes and tarps. They test it out by sleeping there for the night de- pending on the severity of the weather. The teens also learn how to use a compass and how to make basic repairs to their sleds in case of emergency. Subsistence training is integral to the camp. Beaulieu teaches his brood the best ways to set up a sh net in the ice how to set traps and how to skin and butcher the animals they har- vest. Sometimes - like during this last trip - he goes out alone leaving the group with other instructors so he can hunt for bigger game like caribou. Upon his return he shares his har- vest with the group using the opportunity to make delicious drymeat. Frequently Environment and Natural Re- source ofcers visit the winter camp. They use the students to help conduct seasonal ecological studies on snow density and the health of timber in the area. Some parents were apprehensive about the idea initially Beaulieu said but now most are excited about the unique learning opportu- nity available to their children. Withthe20thtripcomingupin2016Beaulieu doesntseethewintercampprogramstopping any time soon. It has turned into a tradition it- selfafunrightofpassageforFortSmithyouth. They keep asking me and its really hard to refuse Beaulieu said. I get to meet a lot of different students from different cultures. Most of the students once theyre out there theyre really good. I dont know if they still use the skills we show them when they come back but again a lot of times well get repeats and when we get repeats I try to make them help me out more to see if they still remem- ber what they did last year. PhotoDaliCarmichael PhotosHilaryTurko Trapper Louie Beaulieu along with a rotating army of volunteers has been teaching Fort Smith teens winter survival skills at his Piers Lake property for almost two decades. A typical visit to Beaulieus camp starts with ensuring students have the basic necessities including rewood for heat. The teens are expected to pull their weight in running the camp. Sustenance training including ice shing trapping and sometimes even snagging a caribou are always part of the winter camp curriculum.