This Mom Teaches

Today we officially began research! I can’t believe it’s only day 2 and the first day of research because so much has happened in this one day.

We began the day getting fitted for our trusty waders. As this is a wetland study, cold and full of bugs we need the waders to protect us. These neoprene beauties also paired well with our rubber boots and bug nets. It’s a stylish look, for sure.

After we found the correct waders, shoes and bug nets we returned to our classroom to learn all about maps. I’ll be honest I’ve never had a love for maps but our tech and trainee Danielle was so excited it made me feel the same. She explained the difference between GPS, GIS and cartography. They really do some interesting things with maps that I didn’t realize. The layers of GIS can give so much information about certain areas and the inhabitants there along with the landscape. We also talked about Google Earth, which many people love but don’t always think about the technology involved in those maps.

We learned about the satellite landsat7 that takes the images for Google Earth. Since we were talking about images and mapping we also looked at many other satellites at the website stuffin.space It’s amazing! The website basically showed all the junk we’ve put into orbit and there is a lot! I will definitely be using this in my classroom, the kids will love it.

After our lesson on maps we went out into the field and began learning to use GPS. I’m fairly certain if my dad were here he’d be making fun of me for my lack of use and understanding of the GPS Sorry, Dad! I figured it out!

After some quick practice with the GPS we had the absolutely amazing experience of watching the team here release some snowy owls! Apparently, the owls were supposed to be released yesterday but our flight delay also delayed their release. These owls were born in an owl sanctuary knowing that the ultimate goal was to release them when old enough. Their parents unfortunately cannot fly so they can’t release but these owls are bred and then their offspring are released into snowy Owl environments. Which, is just amazing! There was 1 female and three males (if I remember correctly).

Our PI, LeAnn and tech Morgan told us their history and then released them. The owls were a tad hesitant to leave their current homes but once they were out they were fast in their flight. I am so grateful to have been here on a day this occurred and be able to watch their release. It was beautiful.

After the release and lunch we had a short safety briefing. We talked about the importance of safety in the cold wetland conditions and the risk of polar bear encounters. To sum it all up we need to listen to our PI and bear watchers. Their whole job is to ensure our safety and that’s definitely appreciated. We are in bear country and need to respect that.

After the safety briefing we had our first experience in the field! As I said yesterday, we are helping one of the researchers, Tom, with the study of his Wood Frogs (not woodland). What we are doing is helping him flag known locations of the frogs as well as random locations. His thesis and study is to see what will happen to the frogs as earth continues o warm and the permafrost layer melts. This layer is so important in the wetland environment here because it keeps the wetlands from drying out. When this permafrost melts the water dries up, as do the wood frogs homes. He wants to study their area of living to see what will occur and he’s using plaster molds of frogs to also see the amount of water loss that occurs.

It is such interesting research and really shows the correlation of our changing climate and the effect it will have on the animals living here. We know this melting of permafrost will occur. Only time can tell what will happen to our wood frogs when this does happen.

We arrived in Churchill, Canada today. After 2 delays we made it to our destination around 3pm. I didn’t know I had a fear of airplanes until we got on a small jet that used a propellar for flying. Unfortunately, for me I was also sitting and staring at this propellar the entire flight just imagining all the ways it could possibly bring about my demise. Needless to say, I’ll try to avoid sitting next to the propellar on my return flight.

Due to our late arrival we didn’t do much in term of research, study and exploration today. However, our Principal Investogator (PI), LeAnn, did give us a brief summary of our location and upcoming research projects.

Our location here in Churchill is part of the sub arctic. She showed us an image similar to the one below and explained that Churchill is in the “armpit” of the sub arctic. She reminded us that even though we may not see the snow and ice currently we are still in a winter environment and it’s the northwestern winds that bring the cold to this area.

We also learned about something called isostatic rebounding. Which, is when there used to be a glacial sheet that used to be pushing down on the Earth, the sheet has melted and the Earth is rebounding from these effects.

Our job during this journey will be to study wetlands, their biodiversity and the differences in each. Due to this isostatic rebounding there are new portions of earth’s crust making their appearance at our top level. This means that the wetlands near the Hudson Bay. On which our facility sits are much younger than those further inland. We are going to compare the biodiversity in each region. We are also going to help a grad student with his studies in hepatology, or frogs, there are 2 different types of frogs we will be looking at Woodland frogs and the other I can’t remember and will update tomorrow.

The facilities here are gorgeous. Everything is lush and green. A huge change from the Arizona summer. I love waking up and looking out my window with the view of the water. There are safety precautions because this is polar bear territory. We cannot wander outside alone and must also be very careful in our water use. More on that later when I explain the facility. I am so excited to be here and get out into the wetlands and see what we can discover!

I wanted to change the world, so I became a mother.
She wanted to change the world, so she became a Mother.