Journey to the Arctic: Hitting the Tourist Attractions in Churchill

Friday, October 21, 2011

Hitting the Tourist Attractions in Churchill

Today did not start out particularly well but it ended on a good note. PBI has a large pickup truck with big tires that is not easy to climb up into the front seat. I lost my grip as I was pulling myself up and found myself lying flat on my back on the slushy ground. What an embarrassing way to start the day! We solved the problem by buying a step stool which makes getting into the truck easy as pie now.

Apparently no one uses salt up here for snow and ice. Everyone has been slipping and sliding around all day and thinks nothing of it. The weather is warming again and there is ice all over everything.

We went out this afternoon in full tourist mode. We drove up to Cape Merry which is a national historic site run by Parks Canada and the interpreter took us on a short hike and tour. This site is the former cannon battery at the mouth of the Churchill River designed to complement Prince of Wales Fort across the river. We were accompanied by an armed guard with a loaded rifle and cracker shells in his pocket. It is a popular place for the polar bears to hang out amongst the rocks! Yesterday, park staff spotted a pod of beluga whales off the cape - very unusual for this time of year. They also spotted a grizzly bear that was having an altercation with a polar bear which is unusual. The polar bear won and the grizzly took off in the other direction.

We visited the polar bear detention facility where problem bears are tranquilized and locked up until they can be flown out of the area. I understand that it can hold up to 30 bears - pretty impressive operation!

Then we headed out of town to Goose Creek, hoping to see the arctic wolves that have been sighted there recently. It was a beautiful ride but we didn't find anything but snow buntings.

We wrapped up the afternoon driving around town and looking in gift shops that carried items that were for the most part way out of our league. The local Inuit carvings, drawings, clothing and paintings were beautiful but cost 100's of dollars. It was a treat though just to see such beautiful items.

We also checked out the helicopter rides and the dog sledding programs. Dog sledding is $100.00 / mile and the helicopter rides are $400.00/ 30 minutes. I think we will wait and see if we can get in on a PBI scheduled event!

Churchill River at Cape Merry

Churchill Housing in town

Churchill

Cape Merry

Bear Traps

Gift shop

Road just leaving Churchill

Tundra Buggy maintenance facility

Polar bear detention facility

Cape Merry Hike

Goose Creek

Churchill Grain Elevator

Cape Merry Hike with Guard

Goose Creek Road

Lichen on Rocks

Polar bear holding facility

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Welcome

I’m so happy that you’ve come to share this incredible journey with me. I hope that I can do justice to the experience through my own words and pictures and those of others I meet along the way.

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My name is Kathy Donahue. I am a Michigan environmental educator and have loved sharing the wonder of science and the natural world in our woods and lakes with school groups, summer camps and the local community. However the global effects of climate change are threatening our world today in ways that are unprecedented in human history. I find myself inspired to do more than what I can on a local level.

Working as a volunteer with Polar Bears International (PBI), I have already traveled to Sudbury, Canada as a presenter for the 2010 Roots and Shoots Conference for Canadian youth and have attended a presentation at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago by Dr. Steve Amstrup (senior PBI scientist) and Dr. Ian Stirling (a Canadian scientist with over 40 years experience studying polar bears in the field).

I am so excited to be a part of the PBI team going to the arctic (Churchill, Manitoba, Canada) starting October 13, 2011.It is a privilege to be working with such an exceptional group of people – all experts in their field - who share a common passion and belief that humans can make positive lifestyle changes that will be sustainable for maintaining a healthy planet for generations to come.

Working together as part of an international team of educators and scientists, we will be developing educational materials onsite as well as broadcasting programs via the internet to classrooms and groups throughout the world documenting the rapidly deteriorating conditions in the arctic due to climate change and encouraging people to think in new sustainable ways.

Change can only occur when we take to heart the power of our experiences, intuition, science, a strong dose of common sense and turn that wisdom and knowledge into action through passionate embrace. The greatest gift we can give to our children and all living things on this earth is to empower others to make the changes in their daily lives that will increase sustainability on this planet.

Inspiration From the Field

The greatest danger to our future is apathy.
Jane Goodall

Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was loaned to you by your children.

Kenyan Proverb

The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Jane Goodall

Let the beauty of what you LOVE be what you DO.
Rumi

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
Author Unknown

My mission is to create a world where we can live in harmony with nature.
Jane Goodall

Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved.
Jane Goodall

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Gandhi

Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.
Jane Goodall

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We only love what we understand. We only understand what we are taught.
Babia Dioum (Senegalese Ecologist)

Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication and courage. But if we don't practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us -- and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along.

Carl Sagan