Trip Slideshow

Finally got that slideshow uploaded. I hope you all had a great start to school. Some of you in your final year (gasp!). I hope you letting your friends know what a great time you had and how they all want to do the trip next year. I will be sending the CD's later this week. But you can enjoy all you want now too.
Doug

PSA Far North Expedition 2009 from Far North on Vimeo.

All Good Things Come To An End

Well time to finish this blog up and summarize the trip. It was successful beyond my or Marlene's dreams. When we got back to PSA on Tuesday, August 11th we had a sit down discussion about the trip and they were very happy. Thank you for all the input on your evaluation that you filled out on the plane.
Take Care
Doug and Marlene





The Big Churchill airport.



Last Group Picture.....

Down by the Bay [CHURCHILL STYLE]

Hello to all friends and family of PSA Far North '09!
Today we, (Alana and Patricia) have the pleasure of informing you of our busy day here in Churchill, Manitoba!

(sing to the tune of Down by the Bay)

By Hudson Bay
Where the polar bears go
We've learned some things
We did not know
And what we did out here today
Was...learn how animals adapt; by increasing fat
By Hudson Bay!


By Hudson Bay
Where the polar bears go
We've learned some things
We did not know
And what we did out here today
Was...have a long nap, so we could use our thinking cap
By Hudson Bay!


By Hudson Bay
Where the polar bears go
We've learned some things
We did not know
And what we did out here today
Was...we had exam review so we'd know what to do
By Hudson Bay!

By Hudson Bay
Where the polar bears go
We've learned some things
We did not know
And what we did out here today
Was...we studied with the intent of getting 100%
By Hudson Bay!

By Hudson Bay
Where the polar bears go
We’ve learned some things
We did not know
And what we did out here today
Was... we ate dinner on the beach with 900 bugs each
By Hudson Bay!

By Hudson Bay
Where the polar bears go
We’ve learned some things
We did not know
And what we did out here today
Was...we went for a swim with some capelin
In Hudson Bay!

Love, Alana and Patricia

Hungry?!?!?

Recipe for Memories You Won't Want to Forget!

From Jolene and Karen's Kitchen

Cook time: 16 hours

Ingredients:

-16 people, stirred too early, about 3000 lbs.

-one bus, Wayne

-one river, fresh water

-two Zodiacs

-two all-purpose guides, prepared

-four hundred twenty tons, Beluga Whales

-handful of Common Eiders

-16 or more packs hot chocolate mix

-one Parks Canada guide

-one Cape Merry countertop

-5 GPS handhelds

-one Chilly Churchill geocache

-16 bagged lunches

-6 kayaks

-one town Churchill

-sixteen plates din-din

-16 blankets

Preparation: Mix whales, Eiders, and river, and set aside until required. Gradually add people into Wayne, and bring them to river mix.

Blend people and guides and place in Zodiacs. Place Zodiacs in river mix, and shake for just over one hour. Take wet people to Cape Merry countertop to dry. Heat people with hot chocolate. Let stand for two hours. On countertop, smoke out geocache with GPS handhelds, then sample lunches. Return to river mix. For two hours, simmer 1/2 people in Zodiacs, while mixing the rest with kayaks to aerate. Switch people after one hour.

Marinate all in Churchill for one hour. Stuff people with din-din. Return to countertop and garnish people with knowledge, herbs, and jam from Parks Canada guide. Top with blankets to stand.

Serves: 16

Comments from the Chefs:

"Be careful when removing people from Zodiacs; recipe may be ruined if people are added to river mix!"

Close call!

"Add group singing for extra merriment in final product!"

Hey all!

It's Lindsay and Mike bringing you today's top news headlines. The story of the hour: the 11 polar bears that the PSA group saw just today. There were five on First beach: a mother with her two cubs, a big male, and a really lazy one sleeping on the rocks when the tide was coming in!

The others were seen at the old dump and in polar bear alley. The PSA group also had an exiting adventure in geocaching. Geocaching, for those of you who don't know, is a high-tech, scientific version of hide and seek. The group started by finding Frisbee's and decoding a quote with the GPS's. The riddle was the talk of the day. Many were going far enough as to call it journal worthy! "Why do people give each other flowers to celebrate various and important occasions? They're killing living creatures. Why restrict it to plants? Sweetheart, let's make-up. Have this deceased squirrel."

The trip that the group took up to Twin Lakes was entertaining, as well as informative. The bus ride cause quite a bit of excitement. I wonder if school buses were designed for off roading??? Something to look up later. The forest is in a stage of succession from a forest fire that scorched the entire area about 25 years ago. Believe it or not, it's not very developed. The game that was played demonstrated that succession battles against all of the negative influences, which are more abundant that the positive.

Seeing as we are getting up very early for our kayaking adventure, its good night for now!

Lindsay & Mike.

Freezing Frogs? Not Only in Dr. Seus...

Dear House and Homes,

We should have bought a lottery ticket, because today is a lucky day. Mac and Seb (us) get to blog about, presumably one of the best days so far.

Even though we’re more than half way there, we doubt that the rest of the days could compare.

Today we all read about Yertle the Turtle, and that inspires us to write today’s journal.

So here we go, and the day began, with a breakfast of muffins and toast and jam.

After that scrumptious and filling meal, we met with Professor Cash who said Churchill’s ideal; for sticklebacks, amphibians, sedge in the bogs, tadpoles and beetles and super cooled frogs.

There is one cool animal, called the Rana sylvatica, who freezes in winter, which surprises a lot of us.

It’s called the wood frog, and we heard how it talks; it uses ribbets and chuckles, when a mate it stalks.

We got ready to research, and wielded our hip waders, and went out to catch some tadpole evaders.

We looked for the traps, and examined the catch, only to learn that things don’t always match.

Sometimes pools were abundant with life, while others seemed to be the result of a strife.

It just goes to show, that nature leaves questions, that science was answering and left us suggestions; for any future research that we may endeavour, but if we’re not clever, we’ll just say …

...whatever. *snap*

~Mac and Seb

Churchilling

We started the day with another scrumptious breakfast of bacon, sausage, potatoes and fruit salad. Normally we need to fill ourselves up in order to have enough energy for a day of travel, but today turned out to be a chill-out day unrelated to the outside temperature.
The morning's lesson was a crash-course in GPS, to have us prepared for the geocaching that we will do later. It turned out to be much needed, as turning the
bloody devices on seemed to be more confusing than interpolating coordinates via triangulation.

After eating a delicious non-bagged lunch in the cafeteria, we returned to the classroom to watch 'An Inconvenient Truth' (right after Catface, of course), since quite a few of us hadn't seen it before (some had seen it upwards of 4 times already, but we all know there's no such thing as too much Al Gore). After discussing the movie, we watched a few short video clips of expert scientists talking about the issues of climate change; all facts, no political tactics. We all learned a lot about the science of climate change, the impacts it has and will have on our planet, and what we can do to solve the problem.

One supper later, we were all back in the AV room to watch another video, this one was a (somewhat informal) documentary about animals in the Churchill area, mainly Belugas. The two hosts were even more outrageous than the beard on Doug Isaak's face in his starring role as a boat driver in that film. Aparently, people will ask to be dragged behind a motor boat in arctic waters in an attempt to get good shots of the whales.
Now we have free time to...work...

1001 ways to use a caribou...

Wotziye!

For those of you who don’t know, that is the greeting of “Hello” in the Dene language. Churchill has always been well known for its nature. From polar bears, to belugas, to the beauty of the northern lights, it has been well known for many years. But what makes the town of Churchill deep down, is its aboriginal culture and their contributions to our history, which we got to experience full on today.

Shelves full of traditional Aborginal sculptures greeted us at the Eskimo museum. Some told stories of success, some of history and some... well... read for yourself:

Polar Bear Kills Walrus
“The bear surprises the sleeping walrus on the ice. Picking up a piece of ice he crushes the head of the walrus. If the piece of ice is too light to kill the walrus the bear will dip it in and out of the water until the size is increased.”

We don’t know about you, but we always thought that a “bear kills walrus” situation would include more teeth and claws. You really do learn something new every day.

Are you the kind of person who follows the “three second rule” when you drop your food on the ground? How about the “couple of weeks, probably stepped on by a bear” rule? That’s the way they do it up here.

Seaside Sandwort. Sounds disgusting... tastes like beans.

Kelp on the other hand... looks disgusting and tastes like plastic. We didn’t try it, but kudos to Jolene for trying.

Who knows how long that’s been on the beach?

One of Doug’s old friends, Caroline, a Sayisi Dene, came in to share her stories. She described what it was like to grow up as a Dene, and the culture of her elders. But the part we enjoyed most about Caroline’s memories was how nothing was ever wasted with the Dene tribe. Every part of the caribou could be used for food, clothing, bags, and toys. Who knew that a game made out of old caribou bones could be so much fun?

Sarah & Megan

If the rock is gone... Tornado (don’t you wish you had a weather rock?) :P

Dear family,

Don’t you wish you had a weather rock? Oh wait, you don’t know what we’re talking about. Well, we’ll tell you. So the lovely town of Churchill has a fantastic meteorological system in place to determine the local weather, it’s not your average Weather Channel but it works.

The rest of the village was just as awesome and filled with humour, and the people here are great. They know a lot about snowboarding at Mt. Tremblant and don’t really care for rules; in fact they encourage you to pick the dead polar bear’s nose. Lovely.

The only real downside is the endless amounts of hungry, blood-sucking, golf ball-sized mosquitoes. And this is only a slight exaggeration. They’re in the antique bus that Doug drives madly, they’re in the Churchill Northern Studies Center and their bodies can be found smeared all over the walls, and most surprisingly they cling on people and follow them onto the boats.

Speaking of boats, today’s main attraction was a ferry tour around the Cape Merry area. We were lucky enough to see ringed seals, beluga whales and the odd polar bear.

And although not in the conventional manner, we’ve learned so much already in the day and a half that we’ve been here. Our group has had some thoughtful discussions about what climate change means to us, and the experiences we have had outside of the classroom have helped to further emphasize and influence how we think about our impacts on the planet.

Here’s a little taste of what we got to hear today on our ferry tour, and see if you can guess what arctic animal is singing this cacophony of sound.

Love,

Kat & Mel

From Prairies to Tundra and a Polar Bear to boot!

Dear Mom and Dad,

We arrived in Churchill today. While the train journey was long, it has yet again given me perspective on how large and varied Canada really is. In school we teach that Canada is made up of many different eco zones, but saying it in the classroom and seeing it before your eyes are two different things. We started out from Winnipeg in Aspen and Oak parklands. We headed West through the Western uplands and then North into the Manitoba lowlands. The lowlands are what make up the Manitoban prairie.



After a day (a full day!) of prairies we entered into the Precambrian Boreal forest followed by the Hudson Bay lowlands and finally the Arctic Tundra.


It took us 42 hours to go from prairie to tundra (and I have the pictures to prove it!)

We were welcomed into Churchill by two big furry paws....Polar bear paws!



As the train rolled into town a young male appeared on the tracks. He jumped off and provided us all with a great big hello (from behind some willow bushes). I gave the group a mini tour of the town and then we headed on to the Northern Studies Research Center (our home for the next 10 days).

I have just finished giving the students an introduction into atmospheric chemistry. We’re getting ready to go out tomorrow and hopefully meet some belugas and get a taste of the local Churchill wildlife.

Off for a good night's sleep,

Doug

Planes, Trains and More Trains

Hi Ryan and Riley!

Greetings from the train! We are 24 hours into our 42 hour train journey. On a map you can tell Churchill is far away from Winnipeg but the distance takes on a different meaning when you watch the landscape change before your eyes. It’s a bit like watching a time-lapse picture happen right in front of you.

42 hours on a train makes it more than just a mode of transportation. In addition to taking us to Churchill it is also a games room (card games, card games and more card games), a classroom (our train package has kept us busy for a good chunk of time) and our bedroom (it’s amazing what creative ways there are to sleep on upright seats). We have met other student groups and travellers heading up to Churchill and have gotten to know our porters very well. Dennis is by far our favourite.

I’ve gained perspective on what Northern explorers like Samuel Hearne and Joseph Tyrell would have gone through just to get to the starting point of their expeditions. It’s given new meaning to the quote “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end” by Ursula K. LeGuin. As I watch the scenery change from prairie to forest before my eyes I am getting more and more excited about what else this journey (because it really IS a journey) holds in store.

Missing you,

Marlene

Free Knives for Far North Expedition... Thanks Wenger

Just a note to thank Wenger for supplying knives for our Far North Expedition.

A week away.from trip....questions?

Thanks for the pictures you have been sending to me. I had a question about stuff needed while we are at the study centre. The study centre sent me the following response: 
"We provide all sheets, towels, pillows, duvets and blankets on each&nbsp;bed."<br>
I am going to bring a small towel for the trip north on the train so I can wash up on the train.&nbsp;
If you have any questions please ask.&nbsp;

Expedition is getting closer

We have two weeks and a bit till the expedition starts and we have some last minute details to clear up. We thought of having a meeting before the trip but the logistics of getting any significant amount of the students together don't make this realistic. If you have any further questions before the trip starts please feel free to email myself.

I will paste the first assignment to be completed before the trip below. Please read it carefully and use the links provided to complete. If you have any questions please let me know.

I have a brief multiple choice survey for you to do. It will give me a sense of the range of abilities and experiences that you possess so we can take advantage of them as the trip progresses. Just click on the link to get the survey .

Courtney has the clothing in now and you can pick it up from her (please confirm with her when you will drop by the office cClayton@tcet.com) or she will have it waiting for you at the airport on the 28th.

I have been able to get Swiss Army Knives to sponsor the trip with free knives for the group. They are standard pocket knives. I will bring them in my checked luggage to distribute when we get to Churchill.

Please send a picture of yourself to me so we can match names to faces before the trip starts.

I hope you are getting excited for this trip. I am sure it will be the trip of a lifetime.

Doug

First Assignment - What is being reported?
Before the trip starts I wanted you to read a few articles and get your response to them. Over the last few months I have been tagging articles in the popular press on Global climate change. Most have been coming from Science Daily News, etc.

For this first assignment I want to you look at two issues. First a brief review of the community we will be visiting. I want you to get a sense of the history of this place. Considering the European contact started in 1610, Churchill has a long history in Canada. Read the tagged articles at http://delicious.com/doug.isaak and give me a summary of what your reaction is to the place. I am looking for a personal response to the place. Don't present facts but tell me about perhaps what you are expecting to see.

If you are unfamiliar with delicious.com, you can just click on one of the tags on the right hand side and it will bring up all the articles tagged by me. Follow the link to the article.

The second part of this assignment is to review at least 5 articles on climate change that I have tagged at the same above website. It doesn't matter which web pages you review but include reference to the web page in your discussion. You can stick to a theme if you wish (i.e. animals, ice, etc.) Give a brief summary of the article and give your personal response whether you agree or disagree with it. No more than a paragraph per article.

Please have this completed before the trip and emailed to me. If this will be a problem please contact me for alternate arrangements.

Good luck with exams...

I assume most of you are heading towards exams. I have been watching the news from Churchill and the weather is looking interesting this spring in Churchill this year. I will leave this for you to look over. Marlene and I will be setting up a summer meeting in July. We are just in the middle of deciding on a date. Good luck on your exams and looking forward to seeing you soon.

Doug

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/big-chill-in-churchill-47992231.html

Good Introduction Meeting

Great to see some of you Wed night and look foward to making this a success. Marlene and I (Doug) have talked and to make this a fun and somewhat casual experience we are going to drop the usual Mr. Ms. and just go by our first names. Please feel free to email us about any concerns or questions. It will be slow as we all finish our school responsibilities but as we get closer to the date we will fill you in on our expectations. If you have any questions regarding the packing list or items you want please ask and I can give you my opinion.&nbsp;

First Meeting of Far North Expedition 09

See you at the meeting tonight at 7pm. Marlene and I will be there to introduce the trip and the upcoming timelines. Looking forwarding to meeting all the participants.
Doug