Today was our “day off” which is a bit of a misnomer since it makes the rest of our time here sound like “work days,” which I guess they are as we do in fact “work” hard from early morning until late at night doing climate change research. However, since what we are doing here is so exciting and important, and since everyone here is so dedicated, it does not feel like work….
Back to our day off… After asking us what activities we wanted participate in, an unbelievable day was planned for us by Dr. LeeAnn Fishback, the Scientific Coordinator of the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. We began the day with yet another delicious breakfast prepared by Ella, Terrapin, and the rest of the cooking staff at the Centre. Then LeeAnn took us on a hike down by the water. (As one would expect, not one member of the Earthwatch team chose the “sleep late and skip the hike” option. This group wants to experience it all!) After the hike, we went kayaking with North Sea Tours in the Churchill River with the beluga whales. They are very curious animals, and swim right up to and under your kayak. It was wonderful. Next, we had free time in the town of Churchill. We shopped, visited the Eskimo Museum, and refueled at Gypsy’s before heading out to see belugas one again, this time on the zodiac boats. With Tiffany and Jocelyn as our guides, we went out for two hours onto the Hudson and Button Bays surrounded almost continuously by belugas, including an adorable 4-foot baby beluga. The babies are grey, the adults white. Jocelyn placed a microphone in the water so that we could hear the belugas. The belugas had other plans though, and kept trying to nibble at the microphone (and at our go pros). Trivia tidbit of the day: Beluga milk is green! We even searched for polar bears in the rocks surrounding Button Bay (from the safety of our zodiac) and saw many terns, but sadly, not a single bear. Second trivia tidbit: As soon as we got out in the Bay, we were technically in Nunavut as opposed to Manitoba. Our “day off” ended with the Earthwatch team, and some of the incredible staff/scientists at the Centre (including LeeAnn, John Davenport, Stephanie, Fiona, Adam, Robin and Andrew (Feltman) having dinner out at the Tundra Inn.
During the van ride back to the Centre after dinner, the conversation turned to excitement about what jobs we would have tomorrow, and at how many wetlands we would be collecting data from. These are truly some of the most dedicated people I know.
~Erica Marlaine
climatechangeatthearcticsedge 