Dechinta pilot program sees students earn UBC credits for paddling Peel River

The Yellowknife-based Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, which CBC calls the Northwest Territories’ ‘bush university,’ has partnered with the Youth of the Peel Society on a pilot program that sees students earn university credits for paddling the Peel River. The university credits are received from the University of British Columbia. “I think we all fell in love,” said Angela Koe-Blake, a youth from Tsiigehtchic, NWT. “Hearing all the stories from elders, all you can do is imagine it. We just couldn't believe our ancestors and our grandparents walked these trails with their own two feet.” Bobbi Rose Koe added that the program was for anyone who wanted to learn more about the importance of protecting the Peel watershed, as well as Indigenous history and culture. CBC states that this year’s trip will start on McClusky lake in the Yukon and end in Fort McPherson, NWT. CBC