Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

NNSL (July 16/99) - There were two new trees planted in Yellowknife earlier this week at city hall that didn't cost taxpayers a dime.

Actually, behind city hall, two trees -- a chokeberry and a mountain ash -- were planted Tuesday by the 13 youth ambassadors touring the North as participants in this year's Let's Root for Canada Program.

The young ambassadors are on tour to dozens of communities within Canada's three territories.

Selected from each province and territory, the high school students represent a cross-section of Canada's youth as part of The Tree Canada Foundation's effort to teach young Canadians more about the North's environment and forests.

Mayor Dave Lovell, Yellowknife South MLA Seamus Henry and Yellowknife Frame Lake MLA Charles Dent were there for the tree planting ceremony.

"It's nice to have you guys standing here on something other than rock," Mayor Lovell said, referring to the youth ambassador's visit to Nunavut prior coming to Yellowknife. "It's great to have you over here for a visit."

After the tree planting ceremony, the youth ambassadors were off to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage centre for a guided tour of the museum with Barb Cameron and Bishop Sperry, who gave them a little insight into Aboriginal cultural heritage, Northern exploration and Arctic ecosystems.

Nina Fox, the youth ambassador selected for the Northwest Territories, said she has been deluged with questions about NWT.

"It's been really interesting, people keep asking me questions and I have to come up with an answer," Fox said.

Fox was selected for the Let's Root for Canada Program after submitting an essay in her science class, while she was a high school student in Hay River last fall.

"I wrote an essay for what unique things I can bring to the tour. It was about things I've done for trees and the environment."

After Yellowknife, the youth ambassadors will be visiting Rae-Edzo, Norman Wells, Inuvik, Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic, followed by a trip into the Yukon. The trip will wrap up in Whitehorse, Aug. 6.