First days on the job for our newest staff member in Iqaluit
By Vicki Sahanatien, Government and Community Relations Officer, WWF-Canada in Iqaluit.
I landed in Iqaluit on August 6th. It was a beautiful warm (14C) sunny day. Frobisher Bay was still full of the ice floes that had blown in during July. The brilliant white floes were beautiful against the ocean blue but they were hampering the sea lift ships landing their cargo and smaller boats from travelling. During the following days, winds shifted to the northwest, pushing the ice floes out and down the bay, creating lots of action on the beach. On each high tide, Iqalungmuit (people of Iqaluit) were launching boats to head out to camp, fish and hunt.
(C) Vicki Sahanatien, WWF-Canada
On August 7th, I opened the new World Wildlife Fund – Canada office in Iqaluit in the new and wonderful Nunavut Research Institute building. I lugged boxes and bags of computer equipment, books and so on with the help of my ever patient partner, Jim. As the week went by, more items were added; filing cabinets, small meeting table, a book shelf. I dove into a CBC-North television interview on August 8th and it was off to the races.
Arriving in Iqaluit was also an exciting homecoming for Jim and me. We had each lived in Iqaluit for a good handful of years and were blessed to return to the welcoming arms of many friends and colleagues. I look forward to becoming part of the Iqaluit’s vibrant community and contributing to WWFs Canadian Arctic Program.