This year brought many new staff to Churchill Northern Studies Centre. We asked each of them for their personal take on their first winter in Churchill. Please enjoy seeing a subarctic winter through the eyes of these subarctic rookies. Erica Gillis, Research Intern It was the thought of spending a winter in the subarctic that originally drew me to Churchill. … Read More
Winter Wrap Up 2020
By Danielle Chiasson Now that the snow is melting in Churchill, the temperatures are creeping up above freezing, and the first migratory birds are passing through, we thought it would be a good idea to reflect on Winter 2020 before embracing the arrival of Spring. In February, visitors from around the world began to arrive in Churchill to experience the … Read More
A Semester in the Subarctic
My name is Jordan Amatuzio, I am currently an Environmental Studies student at the University of Manitoba. This winter I had the incredible opportunity to spend the final co-op work term of my undergraduate degree as the Programming Assistant at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC). When I first saw the posting for the position at the CNSC the idea … Read More
Four in the Far North
by Eric DeChaine, Professor of Biology, Curator of the Pacific Northwest Herbarium Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A. I am a naturalist at heart, striving to better understand the natural world: the diversity of species, their environment, and their interactions. Unfortunately, we are currently losing biological diversity faster than at any time in human history. So, the challenge is to … Read More
You Live Where?
by Alex Windsor Whether I am up north, or visiting friends and family down south, people frequently ask me, “why did you move to Churchill”? For those who know me, I am interminably cold. Growing up in southern Ontario, the hot summer temperatures and rays of golden sunshine meant nothing to my freezing fingers, ice-cube toes, or the multiple sweaters … Read More
Reflections on Summer Research
Hello! My name is Emma Traynor. I’m currently finishing up my stay as one of the Churchill Northern Studies Centre Seasonal Research Technicians. In September, I’ll be heading back to Saint John, New Brunswick to finish up a degree at UNB in marine biology. As my time at the CNSC comes to a close, it’s hard not to reflect on … Read More
We’ve Got Worms (but not in a bad way)!!
by Carley Basler, Sustainability Coordinator Some of you reading this might know (although most won’t) that I was the part-time Summer Research Technician in 2003 and 2004. I was an Environmental Science Major at the University of Manitoba at the time and was learning a lot about living sustainably. I was introduced to Red Wriggler composting worms at a waste … Read More
Fostering the Next Generation of Scientists
Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC) hosts several unique educational initiatives, from university field courses to learning vacations. In this blog post, I highlight one in particular: the Current Topics in Science high school course. This course is part of the 4+1 program developed by the Frontier School Division. This program is a modified semester layout that enables students from smaller, … Read More
Tree Island
by Owen Fitzpatrick “You cannot interpret the shape of trees as anything other than a collective memory” (19-20) Jordan Mounteer, ‘Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa)’ This could not be any clearer than at the northern limit of the boreal forest near Churchill, Manitoba. If you were to set off from the Churchill Northern Studies Center, on a bumpy and slow snowmobile … Read More
Kale and Conversation
written by Carley Basler, Sustainability Coordinator We’ve been growing hydroponic leafy greens in the Sub-Arctic for over a year now. Whether its 50 below or 38 above, we’ve kept our roughly 3000 plants alive and are proving that this is something that communities like ours CAN do. We’ve cleverly named our produce Rocket Greens to pay homage to the CNSC’s … Read More