Sharing science at Arctic Change meeting

Guest post by M.Sc. student Gillian Thiel

Gillian baking muffins on a rare sunny day!

What happens when you gather many of the world’s leading Arctic researchers, northerners, enthusiastic graduate students, and government officials in one building during a the biggest snowstorm of the year? A pretty amazing conference!

During the week of Dec. 11 – 15^th, a handful of professors and students from the Cape Bounty research team braved the impending snow to attend the international Arctic Change 2017 conference in Québec City. It was possibly the final time that researchers from around the world would have the opportunity to meet under the umbrella of the ArcticNet funding program. It did not disappoint.

Student Day (Dec. 11^th) was a fantastic day planned by students for students and included an elevator-pitch competition, panel discussions, and workshops on topics such as data management and bridging northern and southern perspectives on arctic research priorities.

Over the week, I had the opportunity to attend a variety of sessions on topics including ocean biogeochemistry, rapid changes in extreme environments, and vulnerability, adaptation and resilience to climate change in the Arctic.

One of the most memorable presentations was one by Ed Zebedee about how the community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut dealt with a major power plant failure in 2015. It highlighted some of the major barriers to living in the north such as ill-equipped airports and the difficulties of shipping large equipment to remote communities. However, Mr. Zebedee’s presentation also highlighted the incredible resilience and adaptability of Pangnirtung residents, the efficacy of the emergency management plans that were in place, and the initiative of the Canadian Rangers. You can read more about the power failure here.

I also had the opportunity to attend panel discussions including one on the politics surrounding defense and development in the Northwest Passage led by the Honourable Minister Laurence Cannon and featuring Hannah Uniugsaraq (Director of Nunavut Tunngavik), Lindsay Rodman, Suzanne Lalonde, Tom Lawson, and Michael Byers. It was an impressive panel.

But, what made the whole week truly unforgettable were the people I met. Arctic Change 2017 gave me the opportunity to interact with researchers from around the world. They gave me insight into my own research, and also exposed me to science I knew nothing about in regions of the Arctic I had never even heard of! Overall, the Arctic Change 2017 was a fantastic, fun, and educational experience. 

Resolute Qarmartalik School Science Fair

Bad weather in Resolute during late winter.

Bad weather can be frustrating when your excitement to begin summer research is at a high. You have all your personal gear packed. You have spent two days organizing everything you need for the next month.  All of your scientific equipment is ready to be installed. But the weather keeps changing. Snow keeps falling. Visibility is poor. And planes remain grounded. This can be trying. But then an opportunity to visit the community and participate in the science fair at the school is presented to you. You forget about the fact that there are delays in getting to the field and you remember that outreach opportunities like this are one of the reasons we are involved in Arctic research.

For the last four years, the Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP), Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN), have sponsored a science fair for Grades 1-11 at the Qarmartalik School in Resolute Bay. This year, students presented their research on which form of renewable energy would have the greatest benefit for Resolute, how to better insulate housing in the community, the best toothpaste to use to protect their teeth, the best compost to use in this environment, and many other topics that the students were either passionate about or that were directly relevant to their day-to-day lives in the Arctic.

Researcher Neal Scott with several students at the Qarmartalik School Science Fair.  NRCat was also on hand for the festivities! [picture posted with permission of parents and school]

We were fortunate enough to be invited to judge this year’s science fair along with other community members (e.g., the RCMP) and encourage the students’ scientific curiosities. This opportunity also enabled us to meet and talk with the parents and teachers of this remote community. We were shown traditional tools used to clean and stretch animal hides. We were each given syllabic charts to encourage us to learn how to write our names in Inuktitut, and we were taught a traditional game, where the goal is to be the first person to get the end of their stick into one of the small holes drilled into a caribou antler. But for the children (and ourselves if we are being honest), the best part of the day was a visit from the Natural Resources Cat (NRCat) – for which it didn’t take long for the kids to “de-tail” the costume (3 minutes to be exact).  

It was a great day to share the excitement of science with the children of Resolute!