Churchill - Day Ten

Started off morning as usual until it hits me. My team will be heading in one direction and I’ll be going in another. Got my coffee and found a quiet observation place to look outside and reflect upon this incredible opportunity and amazing journey. We all just picked up and left our hustle and bustle lives to come to a place that seems like an alternate reality. Our priorities are reorganized for a while and we managed just fine without phones, T.V., and texts. Of course, no one could live without wifi.

So even though the morning routine was in progress, I was a little out of sync with the group that I’ve come to know and work with these past days. Our morning briefing gave an outline of todays duties – sampling at Tree Island 14 (no lunch until finished!), back for lunch and then maintenance and clean up tasks, dinner, lecture on preliminary sampling results and then a farewell party complete with some local foods. The big must eats are caribou and char (fish). Had the fish at Gypspy’s and it tastes a lot like salmon.

We gave Pete our parting gift of Laphroaig single malt scotch hoping he would up the ante of a shot reward to those who might find new seedlings. Conversation about his Earthwatch responsibilities and his forthcoming retirement from university ensued. All too quickly, everyone dispersed to get ready for the day ahead. My final goodbyes were made at the van departure point, with hopes to keep in touch and even reunite with the L. A. crowd before summers end. A fond adieu to all my fellow educators and hope all your adventures are as terrific as this one. As one journey ends – another begins.
MORE PICTURES TO FOLLOW

Churchill - Day Nine

Our first day sleeping until almost breakfast.As`we stumbled out of our room trying to get to the coffee machine, one of our group was running down the hall to get his camera saying he saw a bear. Well we all grabbed our photographic equipment and piled into his room.Sure enough, there was a juvenile polar bear meandering our way. We watched as he got progressively closer - probably smelling the freshly cooked breakfast. He took a rest in the trees and I went down to grab a quick bite to eat and returned to watch from the second story outdoor observation deck. There was nothing nicer than to eat breakfast outside and watch a polar bear up close. The center did try shooting cracker (warning) shots to keep him from getting too close and he backed off into the trees.I think most of us could have stayed there watching all day.

Our breakfast visitor

Well the rest of the day wen pretty much normally. We had a beautiful day but the bugs are beginning to come out in full force. On went the bug nets, thank goodness they were effective. When we get into the van at the end of the day, the windows need to be cleaned on the inside from all the smashed bugs.
We were treated to a special lecture from some researchers staying here at he center. The first talk was on different nest building of the So. Canadian warbler and the arctic warbler. The second was on the long migratory pattens of two populations of godwits- alaskan and arctic.

Coffee with a familiar town mug

Our fun and fearless educators of today

Arctic rhododendron

Carley -Its the bear you don't see thats the problem!

Bugs be Gone

Last day of work

I will be leaving the area tomorrow and I will miss our teachers group, our director and staff and the work we were doing. The friendly jesting and sharing of our experiences have made us a close group.The beauty of this part of the continent is astounding and I hope to take some of the peace and serenity home with me.

Churchill - Day Eight

No attempt at getting up in the middle of the night since  no one had any northern lights success and we were pretty exhausted from our day off. Its gloomy outside and predicted to get worse - loads of rain. Breakfast, briefing, dressing, loading up and out to last site. We were on plot samples - counting all new growth - for the morning. The rains came as predicated and we plowed on till the job was done. Warm soup in the warm cafeteria was very welcomed.


Creative breakfast menu



Stairs to observation dome



Weather Rock: If its wet, its raining, if it moves, its windy, you get the picture






Weathering of rocks




shopping anyone?




Only open shop in town

 The afternoon was a washout for outdoors work and we caught up on core sample maintenance. Drying, gluing, and sanding.
Quieter afternoon, catching up on loose ends.
Had our after dinner lecture about some of the research data from previous years work - gave us an idea of how what we are doing will be used to forecast tree growth trends.

Churchill - Day Seven

Well its been a fun-filled day off. We were up and running for an early departure with Carley (research associate/tour guide) packing us up in the van and taking us to some of the towns highlights. We got out several times to walk  a couple of beaches, an old fort, Cape Merry, and around town. You could see the belugas from the road, feedng  off capelin  in the waters.We spent some time shopping- only 1 gift type shop - Parks Canada Museum -located in the train station- and some local rustic log cabin type hotels. We spent a bit of time in the Eskimo museum which exhibited  a great deal of native craftsmanship. After that we took a zodiac boat ride to the river off the bay to see beluga whales. We were astonished to see so many whales so close up. We cut the engines and moms and calves would come directly up to the boat and just glide alongside or underneath. The crew put in microphones so we could hear their songs. We spent about 2 hours out on the water and even saw a seal. It was really incredible - pictures to follow tomorrow. We had a terrific dinner at Gypsy's - a Portuguese owned restaurant. I even had escargot.



"Polar Bear Playground"




Serene pond by the fort



Have to send to
The Acorn

Beluga surfacing near boat

Pete took us out after dinner where we continued our local tour. He and Carley really know the area extremely well. We hit beaches, rivers, marina-like docks, memorials and just wide open areas.  Was able to find some bay beach glass to take home. Had a stone skippng competition from the river bank. We saw arctic swans, ospreys, 2 bald eagles, arctic terns,  and lots of ducks and geese. We were thrilled to see a single polar bear  moving inland. We were trippng over ourselves to get out and watch. Along in our travels we stopped and saw another bear, this one with 2 cubs and not so far away. This was amazing because we really did not expect to see any. We headed back towards the center and stopped at the bear jail where they put persisent bears for 30 days before they relocate them. Then off to the beach for sunset. What do we see - another polar bear on the rocks. This one was too close for comfort and we  could not stay long. The long day ended with a magnificent sunset and a short ride back to the center.

Bear Jail

Contemporary Bear Trap

sunset

sunset

Churchill - Day Six



Gluing down cores



Add caption



Well last night was a bust for the northern lights. Everyone woke up at various times to check it out but it was rainy and overcast, so we all just got tired. It was good to  take care of the previous days work ( gluing down core samples into trays) . We headed out to a new site  along a pond and began coring tree trunks. Weather was sunny, cool and windy. Had an observation from a group of visiting possible funders in the project. It was good to be able to speak intelligently about the research we are conducting.

 Our biggest thrill was when we were leaving the site in the morning and we were alerted to a polar bear siting. Sure enough, off in the distance was a bear coming from the bay inland. All the photographic and magnifying equipment came  whipping out. We were fascinated by the quick movement of a large and animal. He was about a mile away but we could clearly see his white body moving through the brownish terrain even without binoculars. Everyone was  a little more alert during our afternoon work!

The winds died down and we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on the tundra. We left early to get supplies in town and were treated to another wildlife sighting - this time , belugas whales just off the coast.

baby belugas

 You could see their white bodies surfacing while they were catching dinner. There must have been at least a hundred of them.Hopefully we will see them up close tomorrow on our day off in town. Came back to another fine dinner at the center.

ice wedge pond

wolf print

fox den

arctic fox

Took a drive deeper into the boreal forest area. Our director knows the land extremely well and is an excellent tour guide. Some of the highlights were seeing an arctic fox, wolf footprints, snow goose, and bear dens. We wre able to dig only a few inches below the surfaceto touch an icesheet (permafrost layer). We ended up at one side of Twin Lakes for a beautiful sunset on the lakeshore.

Churchill - Day Five

Getting up bright and early is becoming a little bit more difficult in the morning and judging from how quiet the others are, I’d say I’m not the only one. After a hearty breakfast, we were able to perform our KP duties. Not a bad trade off since we don’t have any other of our regular chores to do.

Quick briefing on standardizing data recording ( if they only knew how hard it is to see the keys ), lots of clothes layering ( hint: try them on before you bring them ), short van ride and ready to start work on our little patch of Tree Island 11. Our biggest challenge was the smallest tree – a little David and Goliath moral reminder.  A bit more arctic weather conditions and wet ground. It was nice to work to the calls of the Canadian goose and occasional whimbrel in the background. We continued in the same area after lunch, where we worked to memorable quotes from Edie, such as,” Thank goodness for Advil!” Just when everyone felt they had enough, we rallied around and finished recording the whole lot, demonstrating the overachiever in all of us.

Dinner held some special treats as it was oneof the staffs birthday. Have to remember to purchase her cookbook Recipes for the Ravenous. We settled in for another informational lecture on the geomorphology of Hudson Bay area. It was interesting to learn about local land features that we actually saw in the field today, like the “jumpy things” that ate Crissy's boot.  They can be quite large, are very bouncy and fun to jump in. We were treated to a field trip to Ramsay Lake which is an example of an Ice Push Lake margin and actually got to see snow.

Plan to wake up during the night to hopefully see some northern lights coming from a recent solar flare. Might  just be a little slower getting up  tomorrow too.

Churchill - Day Four

We pretty much have the same schedule everyday for the time being. In the morning we get briefed about work, weather conditions, get repaired or missing equipment and head out before 9 am. Today's weather  felt more like the arctic conditions we were expecting - overcast, windy and nippy.  Afterwe finished our tree coring duties, we went on to do our first sapling/seeding quadrant.. Some are only sveral centimeters high, so dfficult to find at first glance. When you look for a while, you begin to notice how many different types of vegetation there is packed into asmall area. Did get to see another ptargiman and canadian goose nest.

After lunch we took our tree core samples out of the drying ovens and learned how to glue them in trays so researchers can sand them down in order to see the rings more clearly. Trees here grow very slowly and there are a lot of rings to count even in very small trunks. We then headed out again, this time to a new tree island (about 50+ trees) and started our task of finding black or white spruce or larch seedlings or saplings (1 cm to 1.9m high.) Talk about finding a needle in a haystack! It’s a good thing one of our team has a good sense for it. It stayed on the chilly side so it felt good to come back and have a cup of warm tea. Took care of samples, had dinner and reconvened in our classroom for a lecture on local terrain features that are common to a permafrost environment.

We are hoping to spot some northern lights due to a recent solar flare-up but its not likely due to several conditions – doesn’t get too dark, waning full moon and its been cloudy anyway.

Churchill - Day Three

Up very early today - there really isn't any darkness at nght - just about 5 hours of a kind of  twilight, then bright and sunny. We have had extremely good weather - in the 70's today and no bugs to speak of. With temps this warm, they will be hatching and biting in no time.

Another Hare sightng this am.

The kitchen does a prety good job considering all the food has to be flown in - pancakes and oatmeal today. And I was never so glad to see apples and oranges.
Our days will be pretty much the same - briefing after breakfast, get ready, go to field site till noon, back for lunch, out again to site, then back for dinner. After dinner we have a 2 hour hour lecture. The past 2 days has been about global climate change and the evidence that supports it. Tonight we had a "trash dash" - yes I did trash pickup, voluntarily. Then there was a bonfire put on by the staff for the summer soltice- complete with marshmellows and snacks.
Our team spent the day boring holes into white spruce trees on a site named Tree Island. The area is in peat covered ground with lots of boggy, wet ponds. Its not as eay as you think since we need to bore close to the bottom, in 2 different directions, when it is covered in thick branches. We record a lot of data on portable ipaqs,such as location, height, diameter -slow going but great to be outdoors. We had to quit when our borer broke-metal screw part is permenantly implanted in tree. We then helped another team count and record data for saplings/seedlings.

Another cool thing about this place is all the people you meet doing all kinds of science research. Today we talked with people studying zooplankton that re-emerges in the thawed ponds every summer and others who are studying about Dunlin (birds)behaivor by attaching tiny data recorders on their legs.

See photos at bottom

Churchill - Day Two

Well it was a lot more eventful day.
Getting up to a bright shinning sun at 6:00 is an eye-opener. During breakfast we saw an Arctic Hare. It is the largest rabbit I've ever seen, looking more like a small dog. Also spotted a male ptarmigan which looks like a cross between a chicken and a duck.It was changing over from its white winter coat to brown coloring - perfect to hide among the vegetation thats growing now. Also met up with some fellow researchers that are tagging ring seals, harbour seals and bearded seals in the area.After lunch we had our briefing on what we will be sampling and how to use the equipment. Our team will be be counting and measuring all seedling and sapling trees in a certain area. Things like specific location, height, number of tips at the top, number of whorls to help determine age , and more. The other task is to take tree core samples from all trees over 6 ft. high in certain areas. After lunch we put our instruction to the test by going out into the field and practicing what we just learned. It was sometimes comedic since none of us have ever used these type of tools before. Hopefully we will be quicker tomorrow.
Since Dr. Kershaw needed supplies we all decided to take advantage of seeing the town for the first time.
It is a small cluster of buildings that are designed to stand very cold winters. Didn't get much of a chance to walk around today but did get a great tour about surroundings during the drive and saw icebergs  off in the bay.
After dinner we had an extensive lecture outlining some of the factors that are happening that give evidence if global warming and possible driving forces, things like shrinking sea ice, less snow on land, faster thawing sea ice, and less semi-permanent snow patches. Very interesting stuff!

Tomorrow we will begin sampling in earnest.

Churchill - Day One

Started the day by taking a walking tour of downtown Winnipeg. Very quiet on Sunday morning except for the Manitoba Marathon taking place around the municipal buildings. There are some interesting districts but again not opened. Did stop for breakfast at a famous pancake house but line was too long and I succombed to a very gooey cinnamon bun.

Off to the airport where some other teachers had already checked in. Everyone seems very pleasant and there are 5 from the L.A. area. Most teach middle school science.

Made it onto flight and arrived safely. whew!

Met by staff members and driven back to Churchill Northern Studies Center.
We are the first to use the new building and its really comfortable.
The weather is fairly mild but windy and there is no snow on the ground. The land is very flat, pools of water all around and sparsely populated whte spruce trees.

Had a good dinner and then we were briefed by our project director.The study center is located at the edge of the arctic circle where the boreal forest meets the tundra. It isn't a  very distinct line and there is a wide transition area .The basic focus of our research is to determine baseline environmental conditions so later on people can determine if significant changes have occurred.
Tomorrrow we get our first assignments in the field (we already got our KP duties)

This is the building we are staying in and we will be using the old buildng for testing samples.

First Day Out of L.A.

Okay, now I am excited!
The adventure is real and so are the airline delays.

First hit  - departure out of L.A. Plane leaves terminal only to stop and need signal repair. Not so bad, only about a half hour. Plenty of time to make connection to Winnipeg.  Had nice conversation with neighbor returning fom Brisbane, Austrailia visiting new grandchild. Worked for Headstart program in Wisconson. Informed me of big push there to start 4 yr. olds in Kindergarten - Yikes. Smooth arrival into rainy Minneapolis, just enough time to stroll to new terminal area to catch connection.

Second hit - the plane is tiny - only 12 rows. Half the people get on the plane when the gate clerk announces they need a pilot. So off come the passengers and we all had to wait 1 1/2 hours for someone to fly the aircraft.


Polar Bears all over the city!



A bit of history

Lilacs

Looks like a good place for dessert

Walking Bridge

Staying in downtown Winnipeg hotel. Its funny because  the city looks like  there should be a lot happening but not many people on street or many shops. Went for nice walk around the Forks  near the river (mosquitos). The water is flowing fast. There is a large park area and  hit on Aboriginal Day. It was late but there were lots of folks listening to live music. Looks like they had a massive festival day. There are lots of buildings in the distance that look interesting and plan to walk around tomorrow. Will take camera this time.

Its hard to catch up on tme since it just got dark at 10:30.