6 min read.
By Cléa Frapin, Conservation and Monitoring Biologist – Northern Canada and Thomas Gianoli, Biologist, Bird Monitoring – Northern Canada
A vast expanse of nature, the sound of the tide rising and falling in Ungava Bay, birds singing, seals poking their heads above the water, Polar Bear tracks, and in the midst of it all, the laughter of young Inuits playing Happy Salmon. Against this stunning northern backdrop, we introduced the youths from Kangiqsualujjuaq to bird biology and monitoring techniques during a landcamp in Nunavik.
The Imalirijiit Project
It all began at the northern retreat organized by the Institut nordique du Québec in the fall of 2024, when José Gérin-Lajoie presented the Imalirijiit community environmental monitoring project. Imalirijiit means “Those who study water” in Inuktitut, a name given by young people during the first camp in the territory. This is a joint initiative between the Inuit community of Kangiqsualujjuaq and scientists from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), who wanted to monitor the environment of the George River. Kangiqsualujjuaq is located in Nunavik (Northern Quebec) southeast of Ungava bay, at the mouth of the George River, which flows from south to north on 565 kilometers. The community was, and remains, concerned about the impacts of the development of a rare earth mining project, which began around 2010 in the upper George River watershed, on the border with Labrador. The Inuit community of Kangiqsualujjuaq, which is highly dependent on the resources of these waters, wishes to carry out environmental monitoring in collaboration with scientists in order to establish its own baseline and track the potential impacts of the mine on the George River ecosystem.
Map showing eastern Nunavik and the locations of the different annual Imalirijiit camps.
The camp
To involve the different generations within the population, the inhabitants decided to set up camp each year on the territory with the goal of collecting data on the river, and involving and training young people between the ages of 13 and 21.
Photo: Amélie Grégoire Taillefer
The themes addressed at the camp change from year to year depending on the interests of the community and the scientists involved. This is where our Science in the North team was able to contribute its expertise and embark on the Imalirijiit adventure. We travelled to Kangiqsualujjuaq on July 2, 2025 and stayed for three weeks. We joined the scientific team of José Gérin-Lajoie, Geneviève Dubois, and Rachel Hussherr, as well as Amélie Grégoire-Taillefer, an entomologist at the Montreal Insectarium, and Brenda Anderson, a graduate student in the Environmental Technology Program at the Nunavut Arctic College.
We spent a week in the village of Kangiqsualujjuaq to prepare the logistics, one week at the camp on the territory, and another week in the village for post-camp logistics. This year’s activities took place on the banks of the Kuururjuaq River (Koroc, in the Kuururjuaq National Park). The group consisted of about 30 people from the community, including elders, guides, facilitators, cooks, and about 15 young people. Activities involved scientific training, local knowledge sharing, and recreational activities.
Activities
To introduce young (and the not-so-young) people to bird studies, we held two sessions of songbird capture using mist nets and were able to demonstrate banding and measuring three individuals (Lincoln’s Sparrow, Common Redpoll, and White-crowned Sparrow).
Photo: Thomas Gianoli
Photo: Cléa Frapin
It was fascinating to see their wide eyes filled with curiosity and amazement at the colours of the birds up close. Through several activities, we introduced the young people to ecology and bird identification techniques. We did a quiz on bird songs, introduced autonomous recording units (ARUs), dissected raptor pellets, and talked about migration and the Motus Wildlife Tracking System.
Several traditional cultural activities were included throughout the days. These included subsistence activities such as mussel (Uviluq) harvesting, Arctic char (Iqaluppik) fishing, repairing fishing nets under the supervision of guides, seal hunting attempts, and boat trips to explore the territory from a different perspective. Finally, activities such as sewing Snowy Owl figurines (Ukpik, a culturally important bird), preparing bannock (traditional bread) for meals, Inuit baseball games, sharing touching stories from the lives of elders, and musical sessions were moments that brought everyone together.
The camp offered a rich and diverse program, impeccably organized, all complemented by a curiosity and desire to learn on the part of both the young people and the adults present. It was a resounding success, a fitting celebration of the ninth edition of the camp in the territory and the tenth year of this inspiring and enlightening project.
Photos: Amélie Grégoire Taillefer (left, middle), Cléa Frapin (right)
It’s hard to explain how exceptional the Imalirijiit camp was in every respect. Living in the community for a week, isolated from the world and surrounded by extraordinary people, sharing our knowledge and experiences, was a unique opportunity and privilege. Being immersed in this magnificent natural setting, despite a busy schedule, and sharing the experience with the people of the Kangiqsualujjuaq community made us realize how meaningful it was – not only for us, but especially for them. It’s a reconnection to our roots that is sometimes underestimated and endangered by the introduction and accessibility of technology and comforts at home, and a disconnect from everything else. You could say it’s a return to simplicity, despite the challenges that everyone is facing.
All this while sharing our passion for birds – what could be better! All the moments spent there will remain forever in our memory, with the great hope of being able to repeat this experience in the years to come!
