Patricia Robertson

Carcross elder steps forward to continue language work of mother and sister

Respected Tlingit elder Norman James sounds like an old hand when it comes to making recordings of his language. A fluent speaker of Tlingit from Carcross, James is working with the Yukon Native Language Centre to produce new audio files.

A native language master and living treasure

At 87, Percy Henry is one of the last fluent speakers of the Han language, a living repository of traditional knowledge who has spent a lifetime working to pass on that knowledge to others.

figleaf and greater toad pelt thrive in yukon forests

If you're out walking a forest trail next summer, you might see greater toad pelt or witch's hair, along with figleaf pixie and pea-green crottle. No, these aren't the hallucinations of some aging prospector.

Gwich’in speaker continues her spiritual tradition

Patricia Robertson Rev. Bella Jean Savino is the inheritor of a Gwich'in tradition of both spirituality and literacy that goes back over 150 years. The 68-year-old Savino is an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church.

Christmas quiz separates ravens from bowerbirds

Shopping done? Cookies baked? Good. Now for one last little challenge for 201.2 It should be a snap if you've been paying attention to Your Yukon columns all year.

Tr’ondek Hwech’in work to reclaim their native language

Tish Lindgren is a 31-year-old member of the Tr'ondek Hwech'in who likes to tell a story about her famous great-grandfather, the highly respected Chief Isaac.

inborn maps mean yukon birds follow ancient migration routes

Patricia Robertson Did you know that the Yukon has more inhabitants from the East Coast than the west? No, there hasn't been a sudden influx of Ontarians and Maritimers.

Grassland slopes home to large and small rarities

Many of us have encountered wood bison on the Alaska Highway around Muncho Lake, B.C., looking intimidatingly large and unyielding.

monitoring yukon bats to stay ahead of the epidemic

Yukon's two known bat species - the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) - both disappear by early October, long before Halloween.

Passion for her Tlingit language keeps her learning

"My goal in my life is, by the time I turn 50 - I'm 43 now so I've got eight years - I'm going to stop speaking English," says Connie Jules. It's an ambitious objective for the Teslin-Tlingit language teacher.

Studying ways to keep permafrost happy

Fabrice Calmels is spending a lot of time these days getting to know the Alaska Highway - or more accurately, the permafrost underneath it.

keeping an eye on wildlife health all part of the job

By Patricia Robertson A veterinarian, to most people, means someone with a white lab coat and a stethoscope treating pets in a clinic, or pulling calves on a farm in the middle of the night.

Scientists reclaim contaminated soil with ancient technique

By Patricia Robertson A 2,000-year-old method of fertilizing soil may prove to be a faster and more effective way of cleaning up northern sites contaminated by oil spills or heavy metals from mining.

advancing the north through research

By Patricia Robertson The Yukon Research Centre is making a name for itself nationally - even if it takes some smoked salmon to do it.

yukons flora continues to grow

Finding a new plant species requires the detective skills of a Sherlock Holmes - time, patience, and cunning. That's why Yukon biologist Bruce Bennett was excited.

Growing apples, cherries and grapes in the Klondike

Near Dawson City, on the north bank of the Klondike River, John Lenart grows raspberries, bush cherries, pears, strawberries, and three varieties of grapes, both wine and table.

Looking at plants from a bee’s eye point of view

Bees are flying flowers, says Gord Hutchings. A bee expert and passionate advocate who's been studying bees for over 25 years, Hutchings spent three weeks in the Yukon this summer to learn more about Yukon native bees.

singing flycatchers may be cheating on their mates

From late May to early July last summer, Tara Stehelin stood in the predawn hours on the hills overlooking Fish Lake, holding a digital recorder and shivering.

Getting a handle on hazardous waste

Patricia Robertson Who thinks of a can of whipping cream as hazardous waste? Not the cream itself, of course. But the aerosol can it comes in is a hazard even when empty. It's a compressed container and therefore explosive.

yukon made means food too

Waving fields of golden wheat around Whitehorse? Or juicy fruit ripe for the picking in local orchards? This isn't a reality yet - though Dawson-area growers sold Yukon-grown apples, corn on the cob and eggplant at the Dawson City farm.