Boats, Cleanup, & A Meet-N-Greet

Two Grade 9 students volunteered to help me transport all my sealift goods to my residence.  They had already helped the Grade 8 teacher break open the large wooden crates with crowbars.  The packers in Montreal did a really good job stacking everything into a cube and building a wooden box around it.  They must also be experts at the video game Tetris.  I rewarded the two students with two cans of pop each. 

            

The main living area in my residence looked like a warehouse.  There were boxes all over the floor.  It took me three hours to open them and put away all the stuff I packed in July.  The garbage bin outside was packed with discarded boxes.  Looking at all the cupboards, full of canned food, dry food, bottled water, and other things, I was convinced I would be alright for many months.  I would still have to buy perishable food at the local stores but I would be saving money in the long term.

            

The NSSI sealift ship arrived on September 1.  It only stayed in the bay for a day.  The crew must have been exhausted by the end.  The sealift shipping season is at the mercy of Mother Nature.  You have to get everything done before the waterways turn to ice.

            

Two coast guard ships, CCGS Henry Larsen & Terry Fox, also anchored in the bay at the beginning of September.  What I didn’t expect was to see the gas ship again.  The Travestern had returned to transfer fuel over to the two coast guard ships.

            

On Saturday, September 2, the cadets of 3045 Army headed out to the airport to clean up the shoreline behind the runway.  Every year before the arrival of winter, the cadets complete a portion of their community service training by doing a large garbage clean up.  The corps started cleaning the shoreline behind the airport in 2013.  We took a break last year and cleaned a different area.  There was enough garbage along the shoreline to warrant a return.  This would be my first clean up as the corps’s new commanding officer.

            

We assembled at the local Anglican church to have breakfast.  We then headed over to the airport in a convoy of pickup trucks and atvs.  The atvs pulled trailers that we would use to haul garbage bags full of trash and any large objects.  Everyone had been instructed to wear warm clothing, gloves, and rubber boots.  Some walked down to the shoreline while others got a lift in the trailers.  I gave the trailer a try.  It was a very bumpy ride down to the shoreline.  Next time, I’m riding on an atv.

           

The large wood pile we started in 2013 was still there.  We collect more wood than we can burn.  The pieces of wood are from discarded sea lift crates and are carried by the currents from the town, across the bay, and finally to this shoreline.  The currents also bring many, many other items over the brief summer months. 

            

The cadets were divided into two groups and given many large black garbage bags.  One group headed south and other headed north.  The senior cadets were in charge of using the atvs and trailers.  Two adult staff set up a white tent and lit two Coleman stoves to boil large pots full of water.  The time was 10:30am.  We would stay until 3pm.

            

The ground was mostly wet and muddy but we still collected all sorts of things.  Pop cans, tires, plastic bags, plastic oil containers, chip bags, gloves, a tricycle, oil drums, and toys.  And that’s just a short list.  I found a large rabbit doll and called it Tummy.  It was our mascot for the day.

            

The cadets were fed hot chocolate and Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs).  I made sure the trash we created was put in garbage bags.  The atv crews brought out a lot of garbage bags, full of trash.  The bags and very large objects were transferred to a pickup truck.  An adult staff member drove the pickup to the local landfill and dumped everything there.  This process was repeated several times.  The wood pile was slightly larger than before.  More wood for us to burn at the annual October bonfire.

            

A cleaner landscape.

Everyone was tired by 3:00pm but the shoreline looked more pristine.  The cadets were formed up and debriefed about their hard work & accomplishments.  Then they assisted the adult staff in taking down the tent, packing the Coleman stoves, and loading the trailers with the left over MREs and garbage bags.  This time, I walked back to the airport parking lot instead riding in the trailer.  The cadets were driven home.  Another successful beach cleanup in the books.

            

Arctic Bay’s new health centre officially opened on September 11.  At a cost of $23 million & taking 2 years to construct, the new facility is bigger and better than the old one.  There’s more space and more medical equipment.  I was unable to attend the opening ceremony because it was during regular school hours.  One of my drummers performed at the ceremony and had his picture featured in Nunatsiaq News.  A new five-plex residential unit is being built next to the health centre to accommodate medical staff.  The old health centre was built in 1983.  What will it be used for now?  Only time will tell.

           

New tables!

Inuujaq School held a Parent-Teacher Meet & Greet on Tuesday, September 12.  Many parents came to school to speak to the teachers, understand what their children were being taught, and what the routines of the classroom are.  Snacks were available in all the classroom.  The Meet & Greet also gave me an opportunity to show off the new tables I got from the sealift.  I was glad that many parents came to speak to me.  Otherwise I would have been alone and eating all the snacks by myself.