ArcticNet Annual Scientific Conference

Kelvin students have been working with Dr. Jane Waterman to study the impacst of climate change on polar bears. They attended the ArcticNet conference in Halifax and gave a presentation on: Biometrics of polar bears in a changing world: assessing body condition non-invasively near Churchill. The students joined over a thousand researchers at the conference. They presented well, made connections, and answered many questions. The students from Kelvin, Elmwood High School and Nelson McIntyre all travelled up to Churchill in the fall to work with Dr. Waterman.

The main focus of this scientific conference is climate change and sustainability in the North. The mandate is to “address the numerous environmental, social, economical and political challenges and opportunities that are emerging from climate change and modernization in the North.” The attendees included researchers, graduate students, Inuit, Northerners, policy makers, stakeholders, and our high school students!

The students chose from hundreds of sessions and learned about: sustainable Harvesting in Nunavut, impacts of Recent Climate Change in the Coastal Area of Northern Yukon, food security in the coastal communities of the Canadian Arctic, the Tuktoyaktuk Community Climate Resilience Project, the trajectory of permafrost environments, assessing the impacts of vessel traffic on Beluga whales in the Eastern Beaufort Sea, and using seabirds to estimate the deposition of microplastics.