High school students spent the day visiting six research stations on remote Lake Cargill, traveling by snowshoe from the main site. Stations included aquatic biology, marine mammals, meteorology, archaeology, ice coring and contaminants. Students examined water samples under microscopes; used scientific equipment to sample ice, snow, and test weather conditions; and examined marine mammal artifacts and archaeological finds from Canada's North. Attendees from 14 schools totalled 70 students and 18 teachers.
At the Interpretive Centre, Grades 6/7 students from H.C. Avery and Grade 9 students from Ecole Charleswood School learned how to tell the age and life stories of fish by dissecting out their "ear bones" (or, otoliths), measured properties of ice and snow, and learned about Inuit culture by playing fun games like the musk-ox push.
Many teachers bring their classes back to FortWhyte year after year for this unique event, which connects students with the Arctic's remote ecosystem and human communities that are experiencing immense changes due to human-caused climate change. It inspires youth towards future career choices in science and environmental studies, and also gets them thinking about the role they can play in their own communities to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and their impact on our shared environment.
Once again, thank you to all of those involved! We're already looking forward to next year!