No smoke in the air today, but there has been and I'm told there will be more. There is a major fire burning near Chip and there are usually dozens of fires around here every year. The Slave Lake Disaster really hit home -- our town is literally carved out of the forest, and from what I understand, there is some really old timber around here.
Last year was apparently 'wet' (not compared to Ottawa) and this year is dry and hot. Although I know Ontario has had a really wet spring, we've had only 3mm of rain since March 24. And this is on top of less snow than usual. And what snow there was melted and ran off before the ground thawed, so little was able to infiltrate. And we've had some wicked winds... the Chip fire was able to travel 40 km in one day!
Another thing I have learned about forest fires, is that unlike the lessons from Smokey the Bear to be careful with your campfires, almost all of the fires here are caused by lightening. So, while we're hoping for rain, we hope it doesn't come in with a bang. And its really luck of the draw on where that lightening strikes!
Last week we got a disaster/evacuation preparation brochure in the mail. If we need to be flown out, its one carry-on per person. And no animals. We have a dog and its really hard to even think about that. But most likely we'd be driving out of town.... [apparently we should keep our tank full as gas will sell out in a matter of minutes as soon as there is smoke in the air]. Still, strange to think about grabbing all that is important to you. I guess I have some thinking (and packing) to do. What would you bring?
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Northern Birthing
With a little bit of experience under my belt, I decided to do a little piece on giving birth in the North... maybe fits well on my one year anniversary in Smith? How things can change in a year!
It wasn't many months after moving to Fort Smith we became pregnant. I was ecstatic, but at the same time terrified – my first baby, so far from family and friends, no doctors, hours from civilization, and I was pushing 40. That's right -- no doctors. Well, no regular doctors -- we have what are called locums -- they are here for monthly shifts, but no one that is here on any consistent basis. And definitely no hospital, obstetricians or specialists. Instead, and quite possibly better, we do have two permanent midwives who run an amazing birthing centre. Most women choose to use this service.
For the actual birth, there are two options -- at the birthing centre here in town or at the hospital in Yellowknife. If I was still in Ottawa, I'm sure I would have planned to give birth in a hospital like most people. However, with the amazing birthing centre we have here, and after preparing with my midwife, I couldn't imagine giving birth anywhere but Smith. Of course this choice is not without risks -- if anything goes wrong you will be medevaced to Yellowknife, which can take 3 hours from the decision point, and usually without the father. Still, for a low risk pregnancy, which I had, we felt that the benefits of staying in town were much greater. Unfortunately, I was late and was required to go to Yellowknife anyways (this is a requirement as if a baby is beyond 10 days, as there is no induction or much room for interventions in Smith). As many of you know, I was a wreck -- I really didn't want to go, but there was no choice.
We were surprised to learn that a partner is not covered under medical travel. Luckily, Rob was able to come with me, but many other families are not as lucky. All women from isolated communities must go to Yellowknife to birth (having a birthing centre like we do is not the norm, in fact I don't think there are any others) -- usually two weeks before the due date. For many of these, it means over 2 weeks on their own in a strange city. And some of these women are very young and may have never even been to a city before. Even for me, the culture shock of going from a small community with care providers that you know and trust to a hospital setting with rotating doctors and nurses was difficult.
We were back in Fort Smith almost 24 hours after Bowan was born (unfortunately no pictures of us getting on the plane -- it was too cold, and we were too wired). And it was at that point that I realized that a midwife is so much more than prenatal care and delivery. Gisela, our midwife, was indispensable -- at our door any time of day we needed, always available to provide a reassuring word on the phone (she even returned a call from the grocery store phone one time!), got us over a critical nursing hump, helped stave off jaundice, and looked after me as well. I’m not sure we would have gotten through the first week without her (especially with no family here).
As I have learned, it was a long road for our midwives to become recognized and to get funded (for a number of years they worked for whatever people could afford -- usually this meant barter). There is excellent coverage about their story in the local paper, Slave River Journal. You need to enter the guest username and password -- both srj -- to read the article. It's a good article, really.
Someone also put together a great video about the Fort Smith birthing centre - its called Northern Birthing on YouTube. Added bonus in the video -- some footage of our town.
Finally, some pics of Gisela with Bowan.
It wasn't many months after moving to Fort Smith we became pregnant. I was ecstatic, but at the same time terrified – my first baby, so far from family and friends, no doctors, hours from civilization, and I was pushing 40. That's right -- no doctors. Well, no regular doctors -- we have what are called locums -- they are here for monthly shifts, but no one that is here on any consistent basis. And definitely no hospital, obstetricians or specialists. Instead, and quite possibly better, we do have two permanent midwives who run an amazing birthing centre. Most women choose to use this service.
For the actual birth, there are two options -- at the birthing centre here in town or at the hospital in Yellowknife. If I was still in Ottawa, I'm sure I would have planned to give birth in a hospital like most people. However, with the amazing birthing centre we have here, and after preparing with my midwife, I couldn't imagine giving birth anywhere but Smith. Of course this choice is not without risks -- if anything goes wrong you will be medevaced to Yellowknife, which can take 3 hours from the decision point, and usually without the father. Still, for a low risk pregnancy, which I had, we felt that the benefits of staying in town were much greater. Unfortunately, I was late and was required to go to Yellowknife anyways (this is a requirement as if a baby is beyond 10 days, as there is no induction or much room for interventions in Smith). As many of you know, I was a wreck -- I really didn't want to go, but there was no choice.
We were surprised to learn that a partner is not covered under medical travel. Luckily, Rob was able to come with me, but many other families are not as lucky. All women from isolated communities must go to Yellowknife to birth (having a birthing centre like we do is not the norm, in fact I don't think there are any others) -- usually two weeks before the due date. For many of these, it means over 2 weeks on their own in a strange city. And some of these women are very young and may have never even been to a city before. Even for me, the culture shock of going from a small community with care providers that you know and trust to a hospital setting with rotating doctors and nurses was difficult.
We were back in Fort Smith almost 24 hours after Bowan was born (unfortunately no pictures of us getting on the plane -- it was too cold, and we were too wired). And it was at that point that I realized that a midwife is so much more than prenatal care and delivery. Gisela, our midwife, was indispensable -- at our door any time of day we needed, always available to provide a reassuring word on the phone (she even returned a call from the grocery store phone one time!), got us over a critical nursing hump, helped stave off jaundice, and looked after me as well. I’m not sure we would have gotten through the first week without her (especially with no family here).
As I have learned, it was a long road for our midwives to become recognized and to get funded (for a number of years they worked for whatever people could afford -- usually this meant barter). There is excellent coverage about their story in the local paper, Slave River Journal. You need to enter the guest username and password -- both srj -- to read the article. It's a good article, really.
Someone also put together a great video about the Fort Smith birthing centre - its called Northern Birthing on YouTube. Added bonus in the video -- some footage of our town.
Finally, some pics of Gisela with Bowan.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Santa in Smith
So, December 1 marked the lighting of the town XMAS tree... about 100 people showed up to watch Santa flip the hydro. We were a little surprised that about 1/4 of the bulbs were burnt out, and that they were old school incandescents... maybe a little "buy a string of LEDs for the Christmas tree" community project is in order?
It was pretty amazing to see a line of kids waiting to see Santa, considering it was probably close to -20C (with the wind) and poor Santa just sitting there! And of course, the night was complete with brisk walk home in the faint glow of the aurora (we didn't stick around outside to watch it get brighter).
The next big excitement is the perpetual Santa Claus parade... apparently it goes down a different street every night throughout December... and because its so cold, people just stay inside and watch from their window! Again poor Santa! But apparently he makes many appearances -- like getting off the plane, skate with Santa and even a swim with Santa??! I will keep you posted!
(Sorry about the pics -- my little camera doesn't do so well at night)
It was pretty amazing to see a line of kids waiting to see Santa, considering it was probably close to -20C (with the wind) and poor Santa just sitting there! And of course, the night was complete with brisk walk home in the faint glow of the aurora (we didn't stick around outside to watch it get brighter).
The next big excitement is the perpetual Santa Claus parade... apparently it goes down a different street every night throughout December... and because its so cold, people just stay inside and watch from their window! Again poor Santa! But apparently he makes many appearances -- like getting off the plane, skate with Santa and even a swim with Santa??! I will keep you posted!
(Sorry about the pics -- my little camera doesn't do so well at night)
Monday, September 27, 2010
It's yellow here
It's fall in Smith -- and has been for a few weeks. I have to admit I was a little concerned at the beginning of September when there was ice on my windshield every morning and temperatures didn't venture about 6 or 7 C for a few weeks. But we had a reprieve this weekend -- beautiful sunshine, probably reaching mid teens yesterday. We took a little hike out to a really unusual and interesting spot called Grosbeak Lake, in Wood Buffalo National Park. It was a scouting trip for my Geology field trip today. My teacher friends in Ottawa will be quite jealous to see my class -- only 7 students in this class and field trips really are so easy (and free for students).
Yellow definitely dominates the autumn scene here -- poplar, tamarack and some birch.... and while there are some smatterings of red, nothing like Ontario and Western Quebec. I do miss that, but this spot quickly took my mind away from what I was missing. It is a very shallow salty basin (remnant from an inland tropical sea), with no vegetation due to the salt. It is strewn with rocks of all types that were carried from hundreds of kilometres way by glaciers some ten thousand years ago. But what is most unusual is the weathering that has resulted from the salt and freeze/thaw -- some very interesting pock marks and rocks that look like they have just exploded on the spot. Also on our trip today we saw a male moose running down the side of the road (the hunters were salivating) and a big bison in the park.
Also included is a shot of the river running through town as well as our newly paved path -- it was unveiled for the Terry Fox Run, which was a great way to get everyone out and using it. This was our favourite dog walking place before the paving -- but now it is too busy. I guess it's a good thing to have more people using it, but we have since done some more exploring and found more great trails nearby.
Yellow definitely dominates the autumn scene here -- poplar, tamarack and some birch.... and while there are some smatterings of red, nothing like Ontario and Western Quebec. I do miss that, but this spot quickly took my mind away from what I was missing. It is a very shallow salty basin (remnant from an inland tropical sea), with no vegetation due to the salt. It is strewn with rocks of all types that were carried from hundreds of kilometres way by glaciers some ten thousand years ago. But what is most unusual is the weathering that has resulted from the salt and freeze/thaw -- some very interesting pock marks and rocks that look like they have just exploded on the spot. Also on our trip today we saw a male moose running down the side of the road (the hunters were salivating) and a big bison in the park.
Also included is a shot of the river running through town as well as our newly paved path -- it was unveiled for the Terry Fox Run, which was a great way to get everyone out and using it. This was our favourite dog walking place before the paving -- but now it is too busy. I guess it's a good thing to have more people using it, but we have since done some more exploring and found more great trails nearby.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Summer in Smith
Its hard to believe the summer is over -- it really flew by. We had an amazing 'first' summer up here (yes we've already decided it won't be our last) and were very very happy that Rob's boys, Jake and Jamie, were able to come up.
I spent the first three weeks of summer teaching for Aurora College's Teacher Education Program in Edzo (see earlier post). When I got back to Smith we only had three weekends left with the boys and we crammed in a lot. Here is a quick recap of some of the highlights:
I spent the first three weeks of summer teaching for Aurora College's Teacher Education Program in Edzo (see earlier post). When I got back to Smith we only had three weekends left with the boys and we crammed in a lot. Here is a quick recap of some of the highlights:
- Canada Day -- the boys were in Smith and I was in Rae.
- Story telling festival and Aikaitcho Assembly -- my fist experience watching Dene hand games. Its a guessing game with high stakes -- apparently a lot of betting goes on (sometimes tens of thousands of dollars). The drums, energy and showboating are amazing -- you can watch for hours.
- Annual Pine Lake Picnic in the Park (Wood Buff) -- lots of food and fun -- the boys participated in traditional Dene games as well as a canoe race while I helped out with the kayak demonstrations.
- A fly-in fishing trip to a cabin owned by one of Rob's staff on Lake Germaine. It was a beautiful spot -- lots of fishing, hanging by the fire, swimming, canoeing, boating, eating, etc. -- a great little getaway.
- Paddlefest on the Slave River (see earlier post).
- An evening trip to the Salt Plains (WBNP), a unique habitat with salt mounds and a great place to check out tracks.
- Road trip down to Edmonton -- included are some photos from Alexandra Falls, NWT.
- We also did a rafting trip on the Nahanni near the end of August-- see separate post below
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Slave River Paddlefest
Paddlefest - August long weekend. Its a pretty big event for Smith -- with close to 300 participants and drawing tourists from far away to little town.
The weekend began with a 40km (4-5 hr) floatilla / race from Hay Camp to Fort Fitzgerald. The race was between Parks, the kayak club and Smiths Landing First Nation, each in a voyageur canoe while about 40 others paddled canoes or kayaks at a more leisurely rate. There was an amazing community feast at the end - fish, potatoes, corn, bannock, watermelon. Kind of cool that there are at least 6 feasts in town each year.
The rest of the fest takes place at the rapids at the Mountain Portage where kayak enthusiasts play games and show off their stuff. We have some pretty amazing rapids here - class V. You can check out some awesome footage of the experts having fun in the water here. And it's really a beautiful spot for spectators, too -- outcrops of shield and sandy beaches.
The rapids are actually an important part of the history of the town -- it was a necessary portage on this important transportation corridor from the south to Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean. We probably wouldn't be here if the rapids didn't exist.
Good times -- if you do plan to come visit us in Smith sometime, I would highly recommend August long weekend!
The weekend began with a 40km (4-5 hr) floatilla / race from Hay Camp to Fort Fitzgerald. The race was between Parks, the kayak club and Smiths Landing First Nation, each in a voyageur canoe while about 40 others paddled canoes or kayaks at a more leisurely rate. There was an amazing community feast at the end - fish, potatoes, corn, bannock, watermelon. Kind of cool that there are at least 6 feasts in town each year.
The rest of the fest takes place at the rapids at the Mountain Portage where kayak enthusiasts play games and show off their stuff. We have some pretty amazing rapids here - class V. You can check out some awesome footage of the experts having fun in the water here. And it's really a beautiful spot for spectators, too -- outcrops of shield and sandy beaches.
The rapids are actually an important part of the history of the town -- it was a necessary portage on this important transportation corridor from the south to Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean. We probably wouldn't be here if the rapids didn't exist.
Good times -- if you do plan to come visit us in Smith sometime, I would highly recommend August long weekend!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Teaching in Edzo
My summer started out with a teaching gig in Behchoko (Edzo), a small little village of about 300 people located about 100km from Yellowknife. Part of my teaching is for the Teacher Education Program running out of Aurora College. It is affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and provides students with an opportunity to gain a B.Ed. without leaving the NWT. Aurora College also offers a 3-year diploma (working towards the B.Ed) in different communities. It also means that students aren't required to pack up and leave their community for the whole 4 years (they typically will not have a Bachelor's Degree).
From an outsider (and of course that is what my observations come from), it seemed like an odd little place. I found myself living in a huge institution -- one that housed day care, elementary, high school as well as some college programs as well as a residence. Of course being summer, it was largely empty, except for a 5 or 6 people who rented rooms in the residence. I learned that the story of Edzo is that of a village relocation gone wrong. There is another village, Rae (pop. ~1500), about 15-20 minutes away. It is located on Marian Lake, really an arm of Great Slave Lake - a beautiful spot. But in the 1960s, people started getting sick and it was traced back to drinking water. There was no wastewater treatment. Given the terrain, climate and small population, developing a cost-effective wastewater treatment system seemed out of reach. So, the government decided to move the town. They chose a spot right on the highway, in the middle of the bush (as opposed to waterfront like Rae). They built the big school there in hopes that everyone would relocate, but not surprisingly, very few moved.
So now the majority of the population lives in Rae, but sends their children to school in Edzo (about 15-20 minutes away). It was a bit gloomy and isolated, especially with limited access to internet, but the students were great and it was a good learning opportunity.
From an outsider (and of course that is what my observations come from), it seemed like an odd little place. I found myself living in a huge institution -- one that housed day care, elementary, high school as well as some college programs as well as a residence. Of course being summer, it was largely empty, except for a 5 or 6 people who rented rooms in the residence. I learned that the story of Edzo is that of a village relocation gone wrong. There is another village, Rae (pop. ~1500), about 15-20 minutes away. It is located on Marian Lake, really an arm of Great Slave Lake - a beautiful spot. But in the 1960s, people started getting sick and it was traced back to drinking water. There was no wastewater treatment. Given the terrain, climate and small population, developing a cost-effective wastewater treatment system seemed out of reach. So, the government decided to move the town. They chose a spot right on the highway, in the middle of the bush (as opposed to waterfront like Rae). They built the big school there in hopes that everyone would relocate, but not surprisingly, very few moved.
So now the majority of the population lives in Rae, but sends their children to school in Edzo (about 15-20 minutes away). It was a bit gloomy and isolated, especially with limited access to internet, but the students were great and it was a good learning opportunity.
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