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Blog Action Day - Climate Change

It's been a month since my return from Churchill and as I reflect back on an amazing experience I find the words that my team mate Chris wrote to be so true:

"According to an ancient Native American Proverb, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” Kershaw emphasized repeatedly to our Team throughout the Expedition, it is the “individuals” that will make the greatest difference in this world - each person matters. Our individual choices to conserve matter. Our individual actions have an immediate impact and an extended influence to a watching and wondering world. In order to cause a ripple effect of sustainable global solutions…we must learn to be, the change we expect to see."

Personally I've made a commitment to stop drinking water from disposable plastic bottles, recycle more newspapers and reduce the amount of trash I create. I've presented to 17 different classes, seeing over 550 students in 4 schools and also gave a workshop for teachers. Next week I present to our community and parents. Again, a huge thanks to Earthwatch and all my teammates!

For more info on this day please see: www.blogactionday.org

Community Project Follow Up

Students from Mesa Alta Junior High share their results from their Hart Canyon Field Trip. Here are just a few shots of some of the 30 presentations of what they found, the pH and conductivity results of the soil, and some of their drawings and pictures! A big thanks goes to Mesa Alta teachers Danette Candelaria, Shirely Hurford, Adam Benavidez, Kenny Florez, and Karla Harvel for their support of this project. What great teachers and students!

Field Science in the Four Corners

It's been a busy time since I've returned from Churchill. Last week I went into 6 different classrooms and gave presentations ranging from Polar bear math to comparing soil samples from the Arctic and New Mexico. Today I took 5 teachers and about 120 8th grade students from Mesa Alta Junior High out to Hart Canyon where 3 BLM scientists worked with us as students had their own mini "field science" experience. Even in our small area we had a large diversity in plants, animals and soils. We found a pack rat nest, antlers, and various other "treasures" of the land. Now we will go back to the lab and conduct pH and conductivity tests on our soil samples and compare those with what we found in Churchill. Thank you Dale Wirth, John Hansen, and Barbara Whitmore from the Farmington BLM office for their expertise and help with answering all kinds of questions!

Think Globally, Act Locally

Today we are winding down, cleaning up, organizing our work, and creating an original expedition song! We gathered and processed over 200 soil samples and about 500 seedlings and saplings. Dr. Kershaw will share some preliminary findings at his last presentation right before we leave.

So what, now what?
What a wonderful world we live in. Our Earth has so many beautiful sites and since this is the only home we have we need to be aware of our impact and what the future will hold.
An increasing body of observations gives a collective picture of a warming world and other changes in the climate system. I was a small part of a project in a long term study of climate change at the Arctic’s edge. Dr. Kershaw’s research on the Arctic environment provides important data to understand the implications of climate change for natural and human systems. Now it’s time I share what I learned with others. Upon returning I will be getting with students and teachers and we will be deciding on a community project for local action.

Meanwhile I encourage anyone with questions or ideas to please contact me at kathy_price@bsin.k12.nm.us. My next blog entry will be an update on my follow on project.

**Extra, Extra** – as we left the field yesterday to return to the Center we saw a red fox, two bald eagles, beluga whales and another Polar Bear climbing down the rocks to take a swim in Hudson Bay plus another wonderful night show of the Northern Lights. WOW!

Glaciers, Ice, and Snow

Think about this and share your ideas with others:

Is more snow pack good or bad for the Arctic? (or survey a group of students and graph your results)

As we were walking on rocks by Hudson Bay, Dr. Kershaw pointed out scratches in the rocks that were caused by glaciers that covered this area 8,000-9,000 years ago. As the glaciers melted the ground rebounded in a movement called isostatic rebound. When we were coring into the permafrost today with a hand drill we brought up marine animals that were about 1400 years old (and we were about 15 km from shore).

When water freezes it expands. When that ice wedges into the ground it can cause different types of land forms (such as my favorite to say really fast: polygon peat plateaus and palsas). In the winter sea ice on Hudson Bay can get over 2 meters thick and tides pay a role in breaking the ice into pressure ridges that can crack and stick up 10-12 meters high. Ice often stays on the bay until late June.

For a great glaciers site please click this URL:
http://42explore.com/glaciers.htm

The native Eskimos had over 100 words relating to snow because it was so important in their survival. Snow cover is important for several reasons. Think about what those reasons could be and check your predictions by reading information from the Natural Resources Canada web site.
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/climate/snowcover/1

At the Churchill Northern Studies center the wind blows a lot you can see that snow packs are an important part of the ecosystem. Other Earthwatch groups come here during the winter and do research on the snow pack. They will also have blogs that will be fun to follow

PS: We saw the Northern Lights last night! They were spectacular...a huge swath across the whole sky, slowly swirling and awe inspiring. Now it's time for our last day in the field...on goes the mud boots & bug nets, shovels in hand!

Interesting Inukshuks

Driving into the town of Churchill we passed a large stone structure. It’s a unique symbol that represents a traditional stone sculptures used by Canada’s Inuit people. In fact it is also part of the 2010 Winter Olympic design and can be found on lots of souvenirs and of all different sizes.

Inukshuk (singular), meaning "likeness of a person" in Inuktitut (the Inuit language) is a stone figure made by the Inuit. The plural is inuksuit. The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms and for different purposes: to show directions to travelers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou. Similar stone figures were made all over the world in ancient times, but the Arctic is one of the few places where they still stand. An inukshuk can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat.

Our guide Paul said they usually use 7 stones to make them and he said when we traveled in the north a lot when he was young that it’s nice to come across them when you are feeling lonely.

Use the Flash link below to create your own quick Inukshuk!
http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/images/inukshuk/game.html

Here's a slide show with more shots from our day off.