New research yields berry interesting results on Salal berries

Salal berries and leaves.

by Valerie Shore, University of Victoria, March 1, 2018

Move aside blueberries, cranberries and strawberries, there’s a new contender for the title of healthiest berry for us to eat. And you won’t find it in the grocery store.

Recently published research led by University of Victoria plant biologist Peter Constabel shows that salal—a wild berry common to coastal areas of western North America—is an antioxidant superstar, packed with higher levels of health-promoting plant chemicals than most other berries out there.

Residential school runaway remembers harrowing journey that killed his two friends

Bernard Andreason, then and now. Andreason, left, at 11 years old, when he attended Stringer Hall in Inuvik. He’s now 56, and lives in Vancouver (right). (CBC)

‘At the time, as young kids, it sounded good … like we were going to make it in a day or 2’

By Brandi Morin, CBC News, September 21, 2017

When the highway connecting Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk year-round finally opens in November, Bernard Andreason hopes to be there.

But it will be a celebration tinged with loss and regret.

Bug Out Bag System

A forest fire burns near Kelowna, BC, 2013.

by Sakej Ward, July 9, 2017
Considering the wild fires in BC and the provincial state of emergency, I know their is a lot of our people wondering how to prepare for such an emergency. I want to help out, a little bit, by providing a packing list for a Bug Out Bag System, think of it as a evacuation bag list. If you are in a threatened area and may have to face the threat of a wild fire start to prepare now.  Hope is not a strategy!

‘The barrenlands are not a friendly place,’ says N.W.T. trapper after 2 searches in 1 month

With little vegetation, deep crevices in the rocks, and its remote location, the area around MacKay Lake, N.W.T., can be dangerous for hunters. (submitted by Colin Patrick)

Two searches have been launched in the past month near Mackay Lake

By Alex Brockman, CBC News, Feb 25, 2017

The barrenlands of the Northwest Territories have been known as a dangerous place for hundreds of years.

It’s unforgiving. There are few signs of vegetation beyond the treeline, treacherous crevices in the rocks and freezing winds bringing temperatures below —50. The Dene have traditional stories of people going in and never coming back.

Highway closures in B.C. raise concerns about local food security during disaster

Coquihalla Highway closed in February 2017 due to heavy snowfall, leaving transport trucks and private vehicles stuck on the highway overnight.

Experts say communities have between 3-5 days of supplies before more needs to be shipped in

By Andrew Kurjata and Ash Kelly, CBC News, Feb 15, 2017

A series of highway closures has highlighted how dependent B.C. communities are on regular shipments of food and supplies and raised questions about what would happen to that supply chain during a prolonged emergency.

A starving wolf stalked a woman and her dog for 12 hours. Then along came a bear.

Joanne Barnaby, left, is reunited with Tammy Caudron after 18 hours in the Canadian bush.

By Michael E. Miller, Washington Post,  June 17, 2016

Joanne Barnaby was deep in the deadfall, smeared in mosquitoes and blood, dehydrated and near exhaustion, when she heard the call of a mama bear searching for its cub.

Barnaby couldn’t believe her luck.

Twelve hours earlier, she had been picking mushrooms in the remote Canadian wilderness when she had heard a growl behind her. She turned around and saw Joey, her faithful mutt, locked in a snarling standoff with a skinny black wolf.

Missing Pond Inlet man walks safely into Repulse Bay

Brian Koonoo. Photo: CBC News.

‘I am happy to be alive! Love you all,’ says Brian Koonoo on Facebook after week long ordeal

CBC News, May 20, 2015

Brian Koonoo, a 36-year-old man from Pond Inlet, Nunavut, walked safely into Repulse Bay Wednesday morning after four days of air and ground searches were unable to locate him.

Koonoo, who works for Parks Canada, originally set out on snowmobile from Pond Inlet on May 10. He arrived in Igloolik May 12 and spent the night before heading on to Hall Beach the next day, according to Nunavut RCMP.

He’d already travelled at least 450 kilometres when he left Hall Beach on May 13, en route to Repulse Bay.

PDF: Where There is No Doctor

A PDF of the 2011 version of Where There Is No Doctor 2011 (click the link to download).  This manual is 503 pages.  A hard copy version can also ordered from the publisher.

From the introduction:

This handbook has been written primarily for those who live far from medical centers, in places where there is no doctor.  But even where there are doctors, people can and should take the lead in their own health care. So this book is for everyone who cares. It has been written in the belief that:

“I thought I was going to die.” School girl who was lost on West Coast mountain tells her story

Leanne John, the 15 year old girl who became lost during a school field trip, is flanked by loving and relieved parents Gloria and George John. The spoke to Ha-Shilth-Sa about their ordeal on March 11. Photo by Denise Titian

By Denise Titian, Ha-Shilth-Sa, March 12, 2015

Ahousaht — Leanne John, 15, was taking part in a school field trip in the rugged and remote Bedwell Valley when she went missing March 3 during a hike up the mountain. The Maaqtusiis school student spent a night alone on the frozen mountainside. This is her story.

A group of about 20 school kids from Ahousaht went to Clayoquot Wilderness Resort in Bedwell Sound. It is the off-season for the resort and the school was using the base camp for their field trip.

Leanne, a Grade 9 student, was part of a group made up of students from grades 8 to 11. They were to spend four days in Bedwell Sound to learn cultural teachings from staff working at Ahousaht’s Holistic Centre.

Land Shark Survival and Stealth Bivy Bag Review

The Land Shark, an emergency bivy and rescue/stealth bag, comes in a small pouch.  Photo: Land-Shark.com

Warrior Publications Note:  The manufacturer of this bag claims it defeats FLIR thermal imaging.  It also functions as an emergency survival bivy bag, and has reversible orange and camouflage sides.  The bag retails for around $70.  The following review is from CanadianWildernessSurvival.com.

by Canadian Wilderness Survival, Jan 2, 2015
I found this product on the internet one day while looking up some gear and was instantly intrigued. The Land Shark bivi , or bivy, is a small shelter made for one person that is designed to be an emergency shelter, but it has some neat benefits that no other bivi has!

The Land Shark is made from a 100% waterproof material which looks similar those blue tarps you buy from the hardware store, but is nothing like them The material is more like a rubber that has been sewn in such a way that makes it ripstop, ensuring that if you should get a hole in the bag it’s not going to tear further. This is the main feature of all ripstop materials, the entire product is sewn or fused with small interlocking squares and this prevents any holes from becoming tears under pressure.