Yukon

Remote, expansive, and deeply rooted in Indigenous knowledge, the Yukon invites students to slow down and learn directly from the land. From glacial valleys and boreal forests to Gold Rush history and contemporary Indigenous leadership, the Yukon offers a powerful setting to explore how environment, culture, and politics are inseparable.

Through hands-on experiences with Indigenous communities, artists, conservationists, and off-grid hosts, students engage with questions of stewardship, resilience, and responsibility in one of the world’s most extraordinary northern regions.

Learning through the SDGs

Click an SDG below to see examples of how select SDGs are explored on our programs.

11
Sustainable Cities and Communities

In the Yukon, sustainability is less about density and more about relationships. Students explore how northern communities adapt to extreme climates, geographic isolation, and limited infrastructure while maintaining strong social ties. Through time in Whitehorse and rural communities, learners examine housing, transportation, food systems, and off-grid living as examples of place-based sustainability rooted in cooperation and long-term thinking.

15
Life On Land

The Yukon’s ecosystems encourage an analysis of biodiversity, climate change, and conservation. Students explore boreal forests, wetlands, and alpine landscapes while learning how permafrost thaw, shifting wildlife patterns, and glacial retreat affect both ecosystems and livelihoods. Hands-on experiences with conservation organizations highlight the role of stewardship in protecting fragile northern environments.

16
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

Yukon history reveals how governance, law, and power have shaped land use and community life. Students examine the impacts of colonial policies through Gold Rush history, treaty processes, and Indigenous self-governance today. Learning emphasizes reconciliation, Indigenous sovereignty, and how institutions can evolve to support justice and self-determination.

Land, Memory, and Responsibility

For thousands of years, the Yukon has been shaped by Indigenous knowledge systems grounded in observation, respect, and reciprocity. Students explore how these ways of knowing continue to guide land stewardship, governance, and cultural continuity today.

At the same time, learners critically examine how colonial expansion, resource extraction, and climate change have disrupted these relationships. The Yukon becomes a place to ask not only what happened here, but what responsibility we carry moving forward.

Sample itinerary

At Insight, our programs are designed to reflect the unique interests, goals, and needs of your students. Each itinerary is thoughtfully customized in collaboration with schools, ensuring meaningful alignment with your learning objectives.

Arrive in Whitehorse, the Yukon’s capital. Meet your local guide and Insight facilitator and begin with a Yukon 101 orientation focused on northern safety, land awareness, and cultural context. Settle in and prepare for the days ahead.

Travel to Champagne and Aishihik First Nations traditional territory for an Indigenous-led cultural experience. Through storytelling, demonstrations, and guided dialogue, students learn about life before colonial arrival and how Indigenous knowledge continues to shape the region today.

In the afternoon, explore nearby landscapes through a guided outdoor experience that introduces biodiversity, seasonal survival, and relationships to place.

Explore Yukon history at the MacBride Museum, where interactive exhibits bring the Gold Rush era to life. Students examine how rapid resource extraction transformed the region and its lasting impacts on Indigenous communities.

Later, visit a local glassblowing studio and work alongside artists to create a piece of your own, exploring how creativity thrives in northern environments where resourcefulness is essential.

Stop at Miles Canyon to explore dramatic cliffs above the Yukon River and learn how this passage shaped both Indigenous travel routes and Gold Rush migration.

Continue to a lakeside lodge near Marsh Lake or Lake Laberge and settle into rustic accommodations. Engage with the lodge owner to learn what it takes to live off-grid, from water collection to energy use. End the day with a campfire and northern skywatching.

Spend the day immersed in off-grid life. Participate in daily tasks such as hauling water, preparing meals, and maintaining fires. Learn practical winter or wilderness skills like animal tracking, fire building, or navigation.

In the afternoon, join an Indigenous herbalist for a hands-on workshop creating medicine bags or salves, learning how plants are used for healing and cultural continuity.

Return toward Whitehorse and visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve for a guided exploration of wetlands, forests, and meadows. Learn how conservation efforts support species such as bison, elk, caribou, and moose in a changing climate.

Continue to the Beringia Interpretive Centre to explore the ancient land bridge that once connected Asia and North America, examining Ice Age ecosystems, migration, and human history across deep time.

Spend the morning exploring downtown Whitehorse, visiting local galleries, shops, and community spaces. Begin your journey home carrying forward lessons about land, leadership, and responsibility in the North.

Highlights

Learning from the Land

Engage directly with Yukon landscapes to understand biodiversity, climate change, and conservation through place-based experiences.

Indigenous Knowledge and Continuity

Learn from Indigenous guides, artists, and knowledge holders whose leadership and traditions continue to shape the Yukon today.

Life Off-Grid

Experience what sustainability looks like in practice through hands-on living, skill-building, and community connection in remote northern environments.

What’s included

  • All accommodations
  • All meals and water
  • All programs activities and experiences
  • All teacher chaperone costs at an 8:1 ratio
  • Comprehensive travel insurance (medical, travel and cancellation)
  • Curriculum units to accompany program themes
  • Global and locally-based facilitators
  • Pre-program orientations and post-program debriefing

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