(Photo: From left: Doug Blackburn, Store Manager of Cambridge Bay; Mary Kaniak, Mary Algona, Margaret Okhina, members of Elders Gatherings; and Jim MaCeachern, ASAO of the Hamlet of Cambridge Bay)

Community members in the Hamlet of Cambridge Bay, NU will be able to go on land trips for traditional hunting and obtain necessities such as food for their gatherings, thanks to a Greener Tomorrow Grant of $9,230 to fund their Elders Gatherings.

In addition to funding this important program, Greener Tomorrow has helped raise awareness on the environmental impacts of using plastic bags in Cambridge Bay.

“With the community participating in the program, it reminds people about the true cost of plastic in the environment,” said Christina L’Heureux, Office Manager of the Cambridge Bay Northern Store.

Since 2011, the Greener Tomorrow program has reduced the use of plastic bags by 69%, which eliminates an estimated 14 million plastic bags from landfills. This program charges customers a single bag fee for plastic bags, with the fees accumulated over the year. Each year on Earth Day, April 22, 100 percent is returned back into the community to support environmental initiatives or social programs.