INUVIK - Jan Davies had a lot on his mind when he showed up to a community forum last week to discuss a future energy and sustainability plan for Inuvik.

Most importantly, he said, he'd like to see a collective will to develop the town's economy in a sustainable way.

Jan Davies is shown with his 11-month-old son Hunter, filling out a survey at a Nov. 18 forum held at the Midnight Sun Complex to discuss a future sustainability and energy plan for the town. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

"I think Inuvik to me is in a fragile position because right now it's a government centre for the region but it's still limited in what careers and jobs are available here. Tourism is constantly relied on but that's a fickle thing. We really need to diversify."

Davies was among several residents who showed up to the afternoon/evening event held at the curling club lounge on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The town hired Inuvik based environmental consulting company Kavik AXYS to draw input from the community through discussions and surveys to make a sustainability plan for the town.

Monica Heincke, a sustainability planner from Calgary, was hired by the company to host the event. She was also charged with the responsibility of gathering input from other community members including councillors, students and town staff. The company will put together a sustainability report for the town by January so the municipality can access the federal government gas tax funding. Under the Canada-Northwest Territories Gas Tax Agreement, each NWT community government should have a community sustainability plan prepared by 2010.

Davies said he thinks too much stock is put into the pipeline. He wants to see more research and investment in alternative energy sources such as wind power and hydro electricity. He thinks there's no reason why Inuvik couldn't have its own university to compliment the work that's being done at the Aurora Research Institute, which draws well known researchers and graduate students from around the world.

He points to the town of Athabasca, Alta., a population of about 2,600, which has its own university specializing in distance education.

"If people know the amount of researchers that come here to do major research then why don't we have agreements with other agencies for higher learning to have a place like Athabasca University here?" he said.

When it comes to tourism he said companies should be working together rather than apart.

"For tourism, we need to think outside the box, what do visitors want to see catered and let's cater to that. Right now it seems everyone is working individually. Let's find out what's working and can we make that better?"

Davies, who hails from Alberta, has lived in Inuvik for three years. Employed by the federal government, he's the water resources inspector for the Delta region.

He's seen many local community waste facilities, which he said need to be upgraded to accommodate recycling of waste oil, tires and food containers. He said he thinks governments should invest in a central waste management plant that could serve surrounding communities where better waste management programs could be started.

Davies tries to do his part by walking to work everyday. He and his wife collect their recyclables and load up the truck when they travel south. He said people will work against climate change when they become more aware of their own effects on the environment.

"There are small things, walking to school, getting kids to walk to school," he said. "There's no reason why everyone has to drive everywhere. I see people idling vehicles for much longer than a half hour."

Heincke said she spoke to several residents who shared Davies' passion for a greener, more sustainable Inuvik.

"People see things as interconnected," she said. "They want a university to be connected with business opportunities, to be connected with tourism, to be connected with arts and culture, which includes residents and elders."

Sara Brown, the town's senior administrative officer, said the challenge will be getting projects off the ground and discovering which agencies are responsible for what. Even though the town is interested in developing as many sustainable programs as possible, such as expanding on its recycling project, much depends on resources available and how much help the territorial government is willing to provide.

"Sometimes it's people power, sometimes it's dollars," she said. "If you don't look at it as a living document then it's another foot stool. If we all have the bigger picture of where we are going then we can all do our part to try to get there."