Yukon Explorations
August 7-15, 2025
Youth ages 17-35 are invited to join this 8-day Howl Experience in the Yukon. Learn in community with youth from across Turtle Island, while visiting the traditional territories of the Kluane First Nation, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, the White River First Nation, Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council.
Engage with local Elders, Knowledge Holders, language keepers, artists and researchers to deepen your understanding of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, climate change, ReconciliAction, community building and personal resilience. Get inspired and find your voice (howl?) by truly connecting to place through land and community-centred learning, all through a relationship-based and Two-Eyed Seeing approach.
Program highlights.
All of Howl’s programs explore the themes of reconciliation, citizen science, service learning and strategies for personal resilience. These are just a few of the things that you might do as part of your Exploration.
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Visit cultural centres in Whitehorse and Haines Junction. Take a lesson with a local Language Keeper. Learn about Southern Tutchone cultural history by spending time on the land with Knowledge Keepers at Kwäday Dän Kenji (Long Ago Peoples Place), as you are guided through a re-creation of a traditional village, enjoy bannock, tea and storytelling.
Chat around the fire with Parks Canada staff and gain perspectives on Indigenous co-management of Kluane National Park.
Stay and explore at the Kluane Lake Research Station (KLRS) - a world class research and teaching facility owned and operated by the Arctic Institute of North America with the University of Calgary, and located on the east shores of Kluane Lake.
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Engage with researchers in residence at KLRS and from Yukon University through hands-on citizen science projects and small group conversations around climate science, while exploring glaciated mountain landscapes and ecosystems that are being directly impacted by climate change everyday.
Experience the midnight sun on the shores of Kluane Lake, stop to reflect with some sub-alpine art during a hike to Kathleen Lake, or witness the impressive summer glacier melt of the Slims River after hiking to a viewpoint on Thechàl Dhâl (Sheep Mountain).
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A core element of any Howl Experience is the service learning opportunities we collaborate on with our community partner organizations. Spend time volunteering on community initiatives such as the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations community greenhouse, or help out with invasive plant species removal alongside community members in the Village of Haines Junction.
Earn a Microcredential.
Participants are eligible to earn a Royal Roads University Microcredential in Land-Based Community Leadership for ReconciliACTION. Learn more about the Microcredential here.
Program details.
Participants meet in Calgary, AB and fly to Whitehorse, YT together.*
We will be spending the majority of the program based at the Kluane Lake Research Station.
For more information on the station itself, please visit the following websites:
*Yukon-based participants can arrange to meet the group in Whitehorse upon arrival.
Program cost:
$2500
($2000 for Yukon residents)
Price includes:
Flight from Calgary to Whitehorse (price does not include flight or transportation to and from Calgary; participants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to and from Calgary)
All meals, accommodation, ground transportation
Activities (listed below)
Access to research station experts and educators
Honoraria for Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elder
This program offers guidance, education, coaching and support 24 hours/day for the duration of the program.
Upon acceptance into the program, a $500 deposit is required to secure your spot.
“The time I spent in the Yukon can only be described as life-changing. Howl presented me with a chance to reconnect with the natural world. They created a safe and welcoming environment that encouraged us to learn, share, and reflect. I’m excited to explore my newfound interests and honestly, I’m thrilled to continue learning. The Yukon Exploration program gave me a place to be vulnerable and I haven't felt this comfortable in my own skin before.”
Kade, Yukon Exploration (2022)
Program partners.
