2025 NorthStar Workshop

Students in the NorthSTAR (Northern student-led Arctic Research) program spent the weekend learning research techniques to prepare for the upcoming fieldwork in Churchill.

Norway House and Churchill students flew down to join Winnipeg students from Nelson McIntyre Collegiate, Kelvin High School and students from the University of Manitoba Wawatay Scholars and Access program.

Saturday was spent at the University of Manitoba where they heard lectures by Drs. Jane Waterman, Jim Roth and Emily McKinnon about polar bear biology, ecosystems, conservation, and analysis.

They then spent the afternoon learning camera techniques from Greg Speiser and Nicholas McDonald, and then explored different areas of the university taking practice photos.

On Sunday the group spent a very rainy day at the Assiniboine Park zoo, taking photos of the animals in sheltered environments and learning more about polar bears from Dr. Waterman and Dr. Roth.

In the afternoon, Szandra Temesvari and the Kelvin student leaders taught the new students how to assess the body condition of the polar bears and how to use the Whiskerprint program to identify bears non-invasively from photographs!