To finish off the year with Ocean Bridge they normally do an Urban Learning Journey within one of the large cities in Canada where participants plan projects to showcase and contribute to ocean literacy. Originally, we were supposed to go to Halifax but due to the Covid pandemic we are unable to gather in groups or travel outside of our areas. For this reason they modified the Urban Learning journeys to virtual projects that we can do in our communities, with a week long virtual educational conference organized by the Ocean Wise staff.

I really wanted to do a worthy project to finish up my dedication to the program and started to think about ways I could do that. In November, I emailed a few local organizations to see if they wanted to work with me on a service project. One of the organizations I reached out to was the Churchill Northern Studies Centre as I am really passionate about future research being done in the Arctic. As luck would have it - I received a response from the centre that they were in need for some aide in rejuvenating their cold-water marine tank in order to help educate the public on species found in the north.

Churchill Northern Studies Centre is an independent, non-profit field station focused on research and education in the subarctic. They are located 23 km east of the town of Churchill, Manitoba. They provide accommodations, meals, equipment rentals and logistical support to scientific and social researchers working on a diverse range of topics in the north. They also facilitate learning programs throughout the year for non-credit learning vacations, university credit courses and youth programming. Read more about the Centre on their website: https://churchillscience.ca/ 

The project proposal: CNSC is looking to upgrade their cold-water marine tank. They have used it in the past (since 2014) to showcase marine life found and captured in the Hudson Bay to the visitors that come to the centre. After six years the tank broke down and they are looking for funding to be able to repair the tank so that they can continue to use it in their education program. The tank has served many residents of the town of Churchill, educating the public and visiting northern school groups. "The continuation of the Hudson Bay Marine Tank will benefit the community by increasing knowledge and awareness of coastal marine ecosystems and the species they contain" (Jordan Stewart, CNSC). For some of the people that visit this tank was the only interaction they have had with the ocean and to see what is found below the ice. They were also asking for ideas to be able to reach the public virtually by creating online webinars, educational programs and videos.

Read more about this project in the blog post below:

Photo Credit: Churchill Northern Studies Centre