Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

AKLAVIK
Kayla Arey has seen muskoxen before, but never as many as she saw this summer during her first trip to Aulavik National Park, thanks to her job with Parks Canada.

Parks Canada's Kayla Arey shows off a lake trout caught during the fish monitoring project at Uyarsivik Lake in Tuktut Nogait National Park. The project aims to study the health of the freshwater ecosystem in the park. - photo courtesy of Jean-Francois Bisaillon

“The landscape was awesome, it was never-ending and there were no tress anywhere,” Arey said. “There were so many muskox.”

Arey, 20, is from Aklavik and has worked for Parks Canada for the past three summers. Last year, part of her job was to help researchers count and identify plants in Ivvavik National Park. A helicopter took her into the park where she worked in a field plot, gathering as many different plant species as she could find within that area.

She also spearheaded a project that aims to show visitors what Ivvavik has to offer, said Molly Kirk, Arey’s supervisor.

Kirk, an ecosystems scientist with Parks Canada’s western field unit, said Arey has been taking photos of the various plant species in the park, learning their identities and compiling the information.

“She’s really become our in-house botany expert,” she said.

Kirk said Parks Canada aims to use the photos and information as a guidebook for Ivvavik.

“We’re working on taking her photos and information and publishing it in a pamphlet for visitors,” she said. “It’s really an outstanding contribution she’s made.

She’s a fantastic photographer.”

Kirk said Arey’s primary role was as a member of the ecological integrity monitoring team where she helped with everything from setting up wildlife cameras to setting up fish nets in Uyarsivik Lake in Tuktut Nogait National Park.

This year, she also helped with the Bio20 program, which takes students from Inuvik into the park for a week of learning. Arey helped implement the program and lead hiking expeditions.

She said the job allows her to spend time outside in some of the most amazing landscapes in the world. She said she enjoys helping researchers and helping to teach youth about the land.

“Just working with the environment and the plants and being able to be out on the land,” she said when asked what aspect of the job she liked best.

Kirk said Arey is naturally inquisitive and always asks questions when she’s working on projects.

“She wants to know the background of why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Kirk said. “She really is invested.”

Kirk also said Arey’s positive attitude shines throughout her work.

“Sometimes in our work, we can be working in the pouring rain, early in the morning or late at night, she always has a positive attitude,” she said.

Arey is now a student at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, where she is studying a bachelor of arts through the environmental studies program. She said her job with Parks Canada definitely influenced her decision.

“When I first began, it really opened my eyes to what you can do in the field and I’ve wanted to continue since,” she said.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.