Day 1
The first day of the Churchill training workshop took place at the University of Manitoba. Students from Kelvin High School and Nelson McIntyre Collegiate gathered to learn the skills they would need when they went on the trip.
The day started off with general introductions to the ecosystem and life in Churchill. The students received lectures from about specific wildlife and the effect of climate change on the balance in Churchill. Dr. Jim Roth and Dr. Emily McKinnon (Professor in the Access Program at the University of Manitoba) both gave lectures, with the latter also bringing up the important connection of modern science and Indigenous Ways of Knowing. This was a new and exciting topic for the students and it brought about many questions and a lengthy discussion.
There was a brief session led by Dr. Emily McKinnon on the importance of taking research notes and how to properly do it. After an explanation, students were able to practice these skills with some taxidermy birds in a lab at the University of Manitoba.
The day ended with a technical skills training by Gregory Speiser (Nelson McIntyre Collegiate Teacher). He taught the students how to set up and use digital cameras and a rangefinder. Knowing how to use these devices with accuracy is essential for successful data gathering in Churchill.
Day 2
The second day was spent at the Assiniboine Park Zoo. This day was a chance for students to practice their data gathering skills with test subjects. They went out in groups of 3, one person with a camera, another with a rangefinder, and the final person with a notebook. The goal with the camera was to be able to take clear photos that showed a proper side profile of animals in the zoo. For the person with the rangefinder, it was getting accurate numbers and being able to maneuver around physical obstacles between the person and the animal subject.
After gathering data using a variety of animals, the students were taught the two methods of measuring the body condition (line and rectangle) and how to take a whiskerprint. During the process of measuring body condition, the students, teachers, and professors had a discussion about the flaws of the two methods. This discussion led to the creation of a new method - the hybrid method. This new method capitalized on the stability provided by the rectangle method while retaining the benefits of the line method. Going into the new season, the NorthSTAR team is hoping to use this method to reduce the margin of error while doing calculations and have more accurate body condition indexes for the polar bears we will see.
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