Kelvin NorthSTAR

Adventures in Churchill—Kelvin students study polar bears

Kelvin High School students once again were given the amazing opportunity to travel up to Churchill to continue a scientific study of polar bears. Kelvin has partnered with Drs. Jane Waterman and Emily McKinnon at the University of Manitoba to collect long-term data on the body condition of polar bears that are studied during the field work in Churchill. The students also learn to identify the bears using a whisker print software and are creating a database of the bears that have been seen over the years. 

This year the bears were very active and we had the privilege of watching many sparring matches right beside our tundra buggy. The trip to Churchill took 28 hours starting with a bus ride to Thompson and then taking the overnight train through the Boreal Forest and over the tundra, finally arriving in Churchill. Other activities in Churchill included dog-sledding, research talks by Dr. Waterman, a talk by Florence Hamilton about Sayisi Dene roots, and getting up in the middle of the night to watch vibrant, dancing northern lights. 

Other partners in the NorthSTAR (Northern Student-led Arctic Monitoring and Research) program are the Churchill Junior Rangers, Nelson MacIntyre Collegiate, the University of Manitoba Wawatay Scholars, and students from the UM Access program. These students will continue to analyze the collected data over the next months and travel to present at a scientific conference later in the year. The NorthSTAR program is grateful for the support of the University of Manitoba and the NSERC PromoScience Grant.