“No one will protect what they don’t care about;
and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
What do you care about? If I asked you to name the top ten things that you care about most, could you do it with ease? Would the list roll off your tongue with confidence or would you need a moment to consider. What if I asked you to take that list down to five things, and now down to three? Likely it gets harder as you narrow it down. Our values are a complex system, transpired of many factors such as our family upbringing, our environment, our community, the people we spend the most time with, our faith, and the osmosis of societal norms and social media into our daily lives. This experience of life shapes our values, which in essence shapes what we care about. There is an idea that our core values - let’s say the top three things we care about most - stay constant over time, although even this is brought into question (listen to the The Personality Myth: Invisibilia Podcast). Perhaps then we can then agree that the most accurate summation of our life experience is that the only thing constant is change, and what you care about changes based on the things you experience.
The one thing that has been constant for me through time is my reverence for nature. Although my family wasn’t the most outdoors-y, I can still remember the serenity of family picnics on the banks of the Bow River, picking mushrooms in the Kananaskis mountain range with my mom, and solemnly collecting rocks on the banks of the Morskie Oko in the Tatry mountains of Poland on my first international trip when I was five. It wasn’t until I moved away to Switzerland though, that I really started enjoying outdoor activities like hiking, snowboarding and camping. Since then, I’ve travelled extensively and my inspiration from photography projected itself as a source to capture the beauty of nature I was experiencing. I lived in Kenya last year and was exposed to astounding scenery and biodiversity, but also a sense of loss from societal urbanization that has diminished access to nature for many. Although I have always been drawn to nature, I can’t say that I’ve always been an environmentalist. I grew up privileged, with unlimited access to clean air and water, and conservation was not in my top values. Kenya was a wake-up call and my experience on a ten-day Earthwatch Expedition to Churchill, Manitoba has been a turning point.
What is an Earthwatch Expedition you ask? It’s an opportunity for citizens from all walks of life to come together and learn about the effects of climate change first hand from world-class scientists. Earthwatch Institute is a UK based non-for-profit organization with a main objective to educate citizens on climate science through participation rather than activism. They organize expeditions to promote “Citizen Science” all around the world, including the Canadian subarctic of Churchill, Manitoba where warming is occurring at a rate three times faster than the global average. The subarctic is an interconnected, delicate ecosystem of wide-spread wetland biodiversity and vulnerable mammals like polar bears and beluga whales. Being a northern community it can feel isolated and forgotten by the rest of the world. The locals of these communities have been desperately trying to gain public attention about the advancing environmental changes they’ve seen during their lifetimes. The Earthwatch Expedition gave me the opportunity to meet community stakeholders and to learn about and see the effects of climate change first hand. Now it is my duty to share this information with you and to continuously strive to have a net positive impact on my environment both in my personal and professional life. I hope you enjoy this blog, and if you have any questions please do reach out to me as I would love to discuss more in depth. My goal is to inspire those within my circle of influence and to bring awareness to those who have different values, with much love and light.
The Centre
“To understand and sustain the north.”
The Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC), located 23 km east of the town of Churchill, Manitoba is a non-profit field station focused on research and education in the subarctic. This LEED Silver facility is on the base of the historic Rocket Range and offers accommodations, meals and access to top scientific and social researchers working on a diverse range of topics of interest to northern communities. They facilitate year-round learning programs for youth in Churchill and support Earthwatch Expeditions to promote Citizen Science. They also have their very own hydroponic grower ‘Rocket Greens’, bringing year-round vitality to the community at an affordable price. The CNSC is situated along the Hudson Bay seacoast and along the transition zone of three diverse ecosystems: marine, northern boreal forest and tundra. This area is home to multitudes of plants, birds, mammals and human cultures. The area to the east is protected by Wapusk National Park and an inland denning area for polar bears. The new facility was built to a high caliber of sustainability feasible for this northern community. Majority of building materials were sourced provincially, thermal and cooling architectural designs were incorporated, and the use of composting toilets and water regulators helps keep the average litres of water used per person per day to 1/4 that of the national average. The uniquely designed aurora dome is also perfect for viewing the northern lights in comfort and protection from the whimsical winter winds.
The Science
“Sustainable development: ‘Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.’”
This expedition brought together a group of 12 from all over the world: Canada, Germany, India, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Philippines, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and the USA. We spent our mornings working with Dr. Leanne Fishback and her team of dedicated Research Technicians collecting field data for studies on the surrounding wetlands. Dr. Fishback has been studying the Arctic over the past 17 years and is proud to call Churchill her home. Her background is in environmental geochemistry, focusing on freshwater lake and pond water chemistry in arctic and subarctic regions. She is a strong proponent of Citizen Science as it gives her the opportunity to share her research and directly influence and promote sustainable behaviour. It was an absolute privilege to be able to contribute to the research of Dr. Fishback and Dr. Jon Davenport from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. We helped gather research for two projects concerning the wetlands. The first measured the metamorphic rate of tadpoles (Boreal Chorus Frog vs. Woodland Frog) in different wetland sediments (fenn vs. coastal). This experiment ran a total of 90 days, with our team contributing at the tail end and take-down, which was a huge help for the staff. The second experiment gathered baseline data on stickleback fish (9-spine vs 5-spine), and their ability to catch prey (zooplankton vs copepods) depending on their habitat. You may be wondering how this relates to climate change, the answer to that is baseline research, which is needed in order to understand the effect of changing climates on different species. This experience also gave me a huge appreciation for scientific research; it highlighted the amount of patience required, as experiments are long and meticulous with the only known being the question. Citizen Scientists support the collection of enormous amounts of data which helps free up the time for scientists and researchers to crunch the numbers and create reports that contribute to a larger network of scientific data. It also gives regular citizens like you and me an opportunity to leave the daily grind and reconnect with nature. Our evenings were spent discussing sustainability and coming up with action plans for our personal and professional lives. A lot of the information was a hard pill to swallow, the data is unequivocal, and it is no longer a question of if, but when. Although greenhouse gases were emitted in the travel to reach Churchill, this is offset by the impact of every participant reducing their daily footprint and spreading the word of the impact of climate change on the Arctic.
Key Learnings
In the last 50 years, we have lost 50% of our biodiversity (animals, insects etc.).
We have crossed the ”safe-zone limit” of climate change variables (nitrogen, phosphorous, genetic diversity), and added more (aerosols, plastics and ocean acidity) - see Planetary Boundaries below.
CO2 is driving temperature changes for the first time ever - read up about the Milankovitch cycles.
Thawing permafrost is releasing methane pockets trapped in ice, one of many climate feedback loops.
More vegetation doesn’t necessarily mean good vegetation (ex. leaves get larger but have less capacity to store nutrients).
Sea levels are rising due to more energy in water, i.e. thermal expansion.
We only have 420 GtCO2 left before we reach 1.5 deg C. The projected emissions from known reserves of coal, oil and natural gas are estimated at 2795 GtCo2.
The Stockholm Research Institute has developed the Planetary Boundaries, which are system limits we know humanity as thrived in over the past 11,00 years, the era known as the Holocene. Now, there is evidence that we have crossed the limit on factors such as phosphorous and nitrogen (think fertilizers from large scale farming operations) and lost 50% of our genetic biodiversity (see here for a list of species that are currently on the red list: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/6335/50352346). We have also added new factors into the mix such as atmospheric aerosols and ocean acidification. It is inspiring to note that we were able to reduce on of the factors - stratospheric ozone depletion - by working together as a global society.
Planetary Boundaries
Pockets of gas get trapped in glaciers, and scientists can use the techniques of ice coring to extract these “mini-atmospheres” to understand what the atmosphere content has been through the ages. Yes, there are natural cycles, you can see from the graph how the methane and CO2 increase and decrease. However, for the first time in the past 100,000 years, the amount of methane (red) and CO2 (blue) has sky-rocketed. This can only be attributed to human-made emissions. To learn more about the natural cycles, read up about the Milankovitch cycles which determine how the atmosphere changes based on the wobble, tilt and rotation of the earth around the sun.
Cycles of Methane and CO2
The Town
“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.”
Churchill has been nicknamed the “Polar Bear Capital of the World”, quite fitting for a residential population of 899 and a roaming population of 900 polar bears. It is also known as the “Beluga Whale Capital of the World” and the best location for viewing the dance of the Aurora Borealis. The region surrounding Churchill was long inhabited by cultures of the Inuit, Chipewyan and Cree Aboriginal Peoples. The ‘Hudson’s Bay Company’ built the first permanent settlement in 1717 and set-up the Churchill River Post. This trading post was mainly built to capitalize on the North American fur trade. This fort was later replaced with the larger Prince of Wales Fort as part of the Anglo-French dispute for North America. There are still remains of the Churchill Rocket Research Range, which launched its first rocket in 1956 and remained as a host for space research until closing in 1984. For years, Explorers daring enough to face the harsh climate of the Arctic Circle attempted to sail the entirety of the Northwest Passage. Now, due to changing climate and melting ice, access to the North is becoming more accessible. The September issue of the National Geographic covers the issue, articling the complex relationships of who owns the Arctic and what greater access to the passage means for shipping routes and globalization of society. Read it here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2019/08/sir-john-franklin-searched-for-northwest-passage-then-vanished-feature/
During our expedition we were privileged with a day of rest and recreation, and the time to explore the town of Churchill. We began the day by boarding the yellow school bus of Nature First Tours with our guide Rob. As a resident of Churchill over the past 30 years, he is an expert when it comes to bear safety, with a wealth of knowledge about the sensitive ecosystems of the Hudson Bay Wetlands and how they are being impacted by climate change. We drove out to Bird Cove, a rugged landscape of rocks and low-lying vegetation. We were rewarded with unobstructed views of Hudson Bay and the ghost ship ‘Ithaca’ looming in the distance. After enjoying the serenity of the bay, we went to the Polar Bear Jail, which was a slightly unsettling experience. All residents are asked to be on high alert and contact the Department of Natural Resources when a bear is spotted near the town. The maximum holding time for a bear is 30 days until it is deemed ready to be released back into the wild. There is a fine balance in sustainable development, leading to societal, economic and environmental tensions when objectives do not align. The male bear in the jail at the time had been there for weeks and was clearly distressed, but resources were limited to safely manage the situation. Now that there is an estimated 30 days less of annual sea ice, the long-term effects on marine life and polar bears is becoming evident. The CNSC uses non-intrusive tracking devices (lightweight neck collars) to learn more about these marine mammals.
Next, we visited Miss Piggy, a C46 freighter that crashed transporting cargo to Churchill. The plane failed due to mechanical problems; luckily the three crew members of the flight were only slightly injured in the crash. We said our goodbye’s to Rob at the picturesque Inukshuk and boarded the CNSC bus with Evan. Originally from Winnipeg; he came to Churchill to work at CNSC for a summer term and loved it so much that he’s now happy to call it home. He spoke of some of the challenges faced by northern communities in Canada. One specific event that left an emotional mark on the town was the closing of the railway and only accessible land route. The Port of Churchill and connecting railway was owned by the Canadian government and sold to OmniTRAX, a privately owned American Company in 1997. The company announced that it would be negotiating a sale when the Port closed in August 2016, leading to a loss of jobs. It continued servicing the rail line to ship goods into Churchill until May 2017 when the railway was damaged due to flooding. Churchill was left in isolation and uncertainty until the Arctic Gateway Group (a private consortium of First Nations, local government and corporate investors) stepped up to purchase and fund the repair of the railway. For 540 days, residents had to rely on air transportation for visiting relatives, food and fuel supplies, and access to health care. This led to a steep rise in living costs and a 20% decline in the population of 1000 residents. Days before the railway closed, a group of Artists initiated the Seawalls Art campaign to in-still spirit back into the community and to remind Canada of the impacts of climate change on northern settlements. You can watch the documentary for free on CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/know-i-m-here-on-absolutely-manitoba-1.4744317. The railway started back up in 2019, and tourists can again use the Via-Rail to visit the town. The two-day journey from Winnipeg covers a vast distance, offering an introspective journey with panoramic views of the sub-arctic tundra, and half the emissions of flying.
As the sun began setting over the Hudson Bay horizon, we caught a glimpse of a white rock – no, a polar bear pawing its way over the rocks. It was a humbling experience to view this majestic creature so triumphantly covering vast ground with its massive black paws. It stopped a couple of times to sniff the air, acutely aware of our presence, confident enough not to be bothered. The Harvest Moon was also in full glory that night, and settled over the horizon in a color of blazing orange.
Moving Forward
If you’ve made it to the end of my blog, thank you for your attention. Although some of the information may be daunting, the truth is that it’s not too late. We are at a pivotal moment in history, where we have the information at our fingertips, and what we do with that information will determine our future and the future of younger generations. We all have a moral responsibility to care for ourselves and our environment. Below are some of the tips I’ve learned which have been extremely helpful in understanding my personal carbon footprint and how to manage it in a way that is sustainable with small compromise on my quality of life.
Measure
The first step in understanding how we can reduce our carbon footprint is to understand what it is. There are many great resources out there for calculating emissions, one that I found particularly helpful can be accessed with this link: https://www.carbonfootprint.com/measure.html.
Did you know that on average, a Canadian uses 329L of water per day? It’s crazy when you take into account the fact that we only need 2L per day to survive. Even if you have a water conserving toilet, you still use 4-6L every time you flush! The saying - “If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down” - really isn’t so bad if you can view it in terms of the massive impact it has on the energy needed to process that water! Your shower head and taps should have a note letting you know the rate in litres per minute, and washing machines and dishwashers have information on gallons per load. Keeping a tub in your sink means you can catch grey water from washing vegetables and fruits that can then be reused for your household plants and garden.
Electricity is a big consumption too, and one of the biggest electricity guzzlers are our dryers. Hang drying your clothes keeps them in better shape for longer so you won’t find your t-shirts losing quality so quickly, meaning savings on your clothing budget as well!
Reduce
We’ve all heard of the 3 R’s: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. As the conversation around sustainability expands, more R’s are being introduced, including: Refuse and Rot (i.e. compost). As you can see from the triangle, the biggest impact comes from the refuse part. Lately, I’ve been questioning many more of my purchases, and believe me I love my snacks, but more frequently I’m noticing that the worse the packaging is, the worse it tends to be for my body as well. I challenge you to do the same with your purchases. Below is a list of the top ways to reduce your CO2 equivalent as well as a great link to a reduction cheatsheet developed by the City of Calgary. https://www.calgary.ca/UEP/ESM/Pages/Climate-change/For-The-Climate.aspx
Offset
There are many organizations diligently working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon offset projects. If you like donating your money, I’ve included a link for some projects here: https://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonoffsetprojects.html. If you prefer donating your time, check out local organizations in your community that are making a difference. Finally, if you’re into investing, consider switching to a Socially Responsible portfolio, like those offered through Wealthsimple!
Still not convinced? Watch Chasing Coral on Netflix and please share your comments below so we can open on the dialogue on this topic that effects all of us.
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
they find it attached to the rest of the world.”
