Have your large items out by Friday May 25 on the main road and cemetery Road.

Community Ditch Clean-up Friday and Saturday from 10am–3pm.

We will not be cleaning around cabins but you are welcome to use the dumpster or put items out at the end of your driveway for pickup.

For more information contact shelley.denny@uinr.ca

The smelt wheel will be in the river for several weeks, from the beginning of the migration until the run is over. The purpose of the project is to estimate the number of smolt in Middle River and to collect biological information about the salmon population in Cape Breton rivers.
This wheel is noticeable by warning signs and safety markers. Boaters are advised to watch for this device when setting out on the river, especially at night or during conditions that reduce visibility.

For some of us, things just never add up…but that’s definitely not the case for Billy Taylor. As UINR’s Finance Officer, it’s Billy’s mission to make sure that everything adds up to the penny. If things like cash flow statements, account reconciliation and financial forecasts make your eyes glaze over, Billy’s light up!

It’s Billy’ job at UINR to deal with everything that has a dollar sign before it. Budgets, invoice payments, payroll–all fall within his responsibility. For an organization with fifteen full-time employees that are involved in a wide range of projects with multiple funding partners, it’s a testament to Billy’s time management that he finds time at lunch to grab a soup and sandwich at Brenda’s Cafe!

A graduate from Riverview High School, Billy went on to study at UCCB where he received a diploma in Business Technology. This was the beginning of over 15 years of working in the private sector doing everything from computer sales and repair to management. It’s here that Billy caught the finance bug and he soon found himself buried in the books and loving it!

Before you think that Billy is all work and no play, on his off time you can find him with his wife Dawn, spending time with their three dogs and cat, camping around Cape Breton in their travel trailer, and golfing as much as possible. In the winter, Billy plays goalie in co-ed hockey.

“All my previous work was in the private sector where the main objective was making money. Coming from a place where there was a constant battle for profit, it is really rewarding to be working at UINR where our main objective is community education and the environment.”

billy@uinr.ca

Molly, Zoe, Calvin and Hobbes

Ten questions

Chose an animal native to Unama’ki.

Eagle.

Favourite season?

Summer.

What is the best part of your work?

The relaxed atmosphere.

Choose a quality you admire in others.

Integrity.

Favourite beach?

Cheticamp Beach.

Last thing you read?

UINR’s 3rd Quarter Financial Statements.

What’s for supper tonight?

Pork chops, I hope!

What is your favourite website?

eBay and 3balls.com

What did you do in the last week to help the environment?

Composted and recycled.

Chocolate or chips?

Chocolate. It’s not safe near me.

Billy reviews financial statements with Annie Johnson.

We need photos of people fishing, cleaning fish or even eating them! Old photos, new ones, all are welcome.

If you have some photos that you are willing to share, please get in touch.

We can scan your photos and return the originals to you. If they are digital, please send us the highest resolution possible.

You will be given credit if we use your photo.

If you can help, please contact shelley.denny@uinr.ca or angela@uinr.ca

This summer high school students will participate in a camp on forestry, natural resources and employment opportunities in the sector.

We are looking for a Manager and two Supervisors to work at an eleven-day youth camp to be held from August 6–16, 2012.

All staff will be required to remain at camp for the duration of the program.

Here are the complete job descriptions and information to apply:

Employment Opportunity MANAGER

Employment Opportunity SUPERVISOR

UINR's Lorraine Marshall with Rosie Sylliboy

Sitting at the kitchen table sharing a cup of coffee or tea with a friend…it’s something that most of us take for granted. But not Rosie Sylliboy and some of the other full-time residents of Malagawatch. A boil water advisory has been in place since April 2011 when UINR began testing the wells in Malagawatch.

Health Canada funded a project that allowed UINR staff, Lorraine Marshall, to add Malagawatch to her sites for water testing. What she found was not good. Lorraine explains “While the chemical analysis was within Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, bacteriological results were consistently testing positive for total coliforms and in some cases, E. coli. Total coliforms are found naturally in soil and the gut of animals and humans, and in water they can indicate contamination from faecal matter. E.coli is found in the guts of animals and plants and indicates a definite faecal contamination.”

Drinking water is considered safe when there are no total coliforms or E. coli. These bacteria can get into shallow, dug wells from ground seepage or surface water. UINR was able to redirect funds from chemical testing to provide a solution to the problem of unsafe drinking water for the residents. Six homes now have an ultraviolet light and micro filtration system that will kill all microorganisms and remove particulate matter, including parasites.

Rosie Sylliboy couldn’t be happier, “Finally, I can really enjoy my home and not have to worry about someone accidently having a drink from the tap and I don’t have to haul clean drinking water home. After the boil water advisory, I couldn’t even take a shower here. Thanks to UINR, I know my water is safe now”

lorraine@uinr.ca

Rosie Sylliboy, Lorraine Marshall and installer Dave duChene

How it works

The system is installed at the head of the home’s water system. First the water passes through a filter that takes out particulate matter and then it passes through a glass tube with an ultraviolet light.

The light sterilizes harmful microorganisms and the water making it safe to drink and use.

The light needs to be replaced once a year, a small price to pay for the piece of mind of having cool, clean water!

This summer, up to 14 high school students from Unama’ki will participate in a week-long camp on forestry, natural resources and employment opportunities in the sector.

Nikani Awtiken is a project of MELC (Mi’kmaq Environmental Learning Centre), the new educational arm of UINR. Funded by Natural Resources Canada, this pilot project is part of the National Aboriginal Youth Forestry Employment Training Initiative.

Mark MacPhail, UINR’s Director of Forestry, is the project’s coordinator. “The aim of Nikani Awtiken is to instill an interest among Mi’kmaq youth in pursuing careers in natural resource management. Access to career opportunities is critical to the future sustainability of our communities and the historical relationship of Mi’kmaq people to the environment creates a natural fit for our youth. It will give them an opportunity to explore career and academic options while gaining practical hands-on experience in natural resource management and traditional perspectives of sustainability.”

The camp will be held August 6-16 at Camp Rankin in Richmond County and will give participants training in a wide range of skills including forest management, tree and medicinal plant identification, GPS, chainsaw and boating safety, visit to a saw mill, team building, leadership skills, first aid, professional work ethics and traditional Mi’kmaq knowledge.

There is no cost to participants and room and board is provided for the week-long camp.

Application details are here: Participant Application

Joef Bernard, Debbie Waycott-Envirothon Coordinator, Vicky Googoo

Growing up, I listened to stories my father’s friends would tell in the kitchen waiting for their turn to get a hair-cut from my father. Sometimes I would get in trouble for asking questions and being nosy. I don’t know how many times I was told to mind my own business and stay out of the way. Of course I would find ways to listen in on their stories, hiding behind the couch or stove. I always kept my ears open to the ways of harvesting plamo (salmon).

In this story I look at snaring the old-fashioned, hard way. Basically it boils down to the newer way of using an eel spearing pole and a coil of rabbit snare. The old fashioned way is using a twelve foot piece of straight tubis (alder), and a tree root, which I don’t know the name of to this day .

The other part of my story is about Qamsipuk (Indian Brook) where it runs through Eskasoni where the old iron bridge used to be, later replaced by a new road and bridge. My story begins at the lower end of the river where there used to be two pools–one was called Temikewey (Deep Pool) and the other was called A’qatitemikewey (Half Deep Pool). When I look at the river now I see it has changed a lot! The pools are gone,washed away by ice and erosion or, in my opinion, due to the new road and bridge.

As my story begins, my Grandmother Bridget Joe instructed my uncle, Ekkian Dennis, to fish for salmon in Quesepul. It was a beautiful fall day. We thought that the salmon run was around October 15– “every year the early run” the Elders would say.

As we set off we stopped at Sylliboy’s Grocery, it was called Ben’ek, our local supply store. We purchased a roll of rabbit snare wire and there were curious looks from the patrons inside the store. No questions were asked why we purchased snare wire, guess they were wondering because it was too early for rabbits. We were off to Qamsipuk and soon we got to A’qatitemikewey. As we approached our spot there lay a beautiful salmon in the pool; the water was crystal clear in the sun’s glare. The salmon was laying there with his tail just moving, trying so hard not to be noticed. You think it looks too relaxed, leave it alone, but all we can think of was my Grandmothers words, “it would be nice day for a salmon meal.” Oh well!!!

We viewed the situation for a minute and my Uncle Ekkian said, “in four feet of water, we need a twelve foot pole or a tupsi.” He had a hunter’s knife and in seconds he had one ready. Out came the snare wire and if you are familiar with catching rabbits and making a loop and tying it to a small tree, it was the same idea.

Pretty soon, we had the snare tied to the pole as instructed by our Elders. It’s not as easy as it sounds. We weren’t wearing waders, all we had on were sneakers or BF Flyers. Of course you didn’t want to fall in and get wet and you had to be real quiet not scare our precious meal away.

As we got close to the fish, we saw that it was a little nervous, not as relaxed as before. We decided one of us would approach the pool and try to put the loop around the body of the fish and tighten it around its tail and swing it in out of the water. It sounded so simple and my uncle was kind enough to suggest that I would be the one to volunteer for the task. He was older and bigger and I didn’t argue or ask any questions. I slid the snare and pole in the water and gently drifted the snare towards the head of the salmon, trying not to touch its body. My uncle kept whispering, “be careful, be careful,” he kept telling me.

Suddenly, I pulled the pole in one swing and out flew the salmon onto the shore. My uncle looked like a giant bear struggling with the salmon. Once he got a hold of it we laughed ourselves silly. We realized what we had done and looked around to see if anybody was watching and then we were off with the precious cargo. On our way home we took the woods instead of the road. We didn’t want to create any curiosity to anyone watching, especially fisheries officers, or more commonly known at that time as the RCMP.

We finally made it home three hours later. When we brought the salmon to the kitchen, you could see my grandmother’s eyes light up. All she could say was, “Oh my God, plamu, plamu, plamu!” that’s all we heard. She explained that she didn’t think we could pull it off. She told us to get out of her kitchen and out of her way!

charlie@uinr.ca

Photos: Ekkian Dennis, Grandfather Joe jij, and Grandmother Bridget Dennis

Below: Different salmon snares

Kataq–Mi’kmaq Ecological Knowledge: Bras d’Or Lakes Eels is written by UINR’s Shelley Denny, Angela Denny and Tyson Paul, but they are quick to credit the dozens of Elders and community fishers who freely shared their observations, practical knowledge and stories about fishing eels in the Bras d’Or Lakes.

Until now there has been little documentation on Mi’kmaq Ecological Knowledge (MEK) available for use in scientific assessments, management plans and recovery strategies. UINR is a leading organization in the collection, interpretation and storage of MEK for this region.

In addition to information on  the value of eels and eel fishing and traditional resource management of eels, the publication also looks at the current state of the eel population in the Bras d’Or Lakes. An outline of Mi’kmaq concerns and a call for action conclude the publication with recommendations to communities and governments to ensure that eels continue to play an important role in the day-to-day life of the Mi’kmaq people in Unama’ki.

A limited number of printed copies are available and you can download a free copy here.

shelley.denny@uinr.ca

We dedicate this publication to the many eel fishers of Unama’ki, past and present, who inspired us with their thoughtful insights, humour and passion for eels.

Margaree Salmon Association is tracking salmon in the Margaree River and Atlantic Ocean.

If you find a black cylindrical device (about 2 1/2 inches in size) inside a salmon kelt (commonly known as slink salmon), contact UINR with information on catch date and location.

If you catch a salmon kelt and you notice a one-inch incision on its belly area, this indicates that it probably contains a tracking device. You may wish to live release this fish to enable the device to collect migration information.

If you have salmon kelt in the freezer that are not cleaned, and you notice an incision on its belly, it may have a tracking device inside.

This device DOES NOT contaminate the fish and it is still edible.

It is important to return the tracking device because of the scientific information it provides. You will receive a ball cap from the Ocean Tracking Network  for returning the tag and information.

Please contact UINR:

Shelley Denny 902 578 4340  shelley.denny@uinr.ca

Keith Christmas 902 379 2163

or 902 578 8149

keith@uinr.ca