Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jul 20/98) - Her Arctic favorites include the snow bunting and the blue bell martensia, but Emma Pitcher says she is also fond of the ravens and the dandelions.

Her knowledge of the birds and flora and fauna that make their home in the NWT is not limited to Iqaluit.

The 82-year-old resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan has been visiting her daughter all over the North for about 24 years now.

"I first came to Coppermine in 1975 when they were there and I've been to Yellowknife umpteen times because they lived there for ten years," Pitcher says.

Her yearly sojourns brought her east again in 1993 when her daughter again relocated. The author of two published nature books, Pitcher has since had the pleasure of heading as far North as the floe edge in Pond Inlet to complete her studies.

"The summer of 1994 in Pond Inlet was interesting - to see so many of the flowers that were the same even though the weather is so much colder than Iqaluit's," says Pitcher. She often brings a botanist friend along so she can share the joys of the Arctic.

"The flowers here are so extraordinary. Anyone who loves flowers would want to share that."

Pitcher remarks that she still discovers new flowers every year and is constantly surprised by the massive variety of species she finds.

"The weather here is so severe and the soil is so thin and soggy but there is such a remarkable assortment of flowers," says Pitcher, who has logged about 100 different species of plants and flowers in Iqaluit including sandwort, arctic poppies, alpine milk vetch, moss campion and mountain heather.

Also fascinated by the fast tides, daylight hours and the wide cultural make-up of the North, Pitcher says her first love was ornithology.

"I started with birds as a licensed bird bander. It's one way we keep track of birds, of their age and health. I band tiny birds in the nest at eight or 10 days old and keep track of what's happening to them."