August 8th, 2017

Hey Guys! It’s us again and we are back with even more tidbits about
our day! Today we did a plethora of things on the field but they were
all for the same cause, to research and learn about the permafrost by
doing a series of tests on a transect.
We went to a few different sites, one was a fen, and two were bogs. A
fen is a wet area whereas the bog is a lot drier. The bog site that we
visited consisted of two parts, one being a regular, healthy bog and
the other was burned from a fire that occurred in the year of 1999.
Due to the fire, it is very easy to identify the different bogs
because of the difference in appearance from the burns caused by the
fire and the diversity of plant species. There were even several
spaces in the bog where we were able to reach our hands down into the
water and touch the permafrost, to no ones surprise our hands were
frozen.
        When we got back from the field, our day was far from being finished.
We had several things left on our agenda. While at the CNSC, we were
given an inspiring presentation by a Sayisi Dene Elder Caroline Yassie
who shared the history, ways, and struggles of her people. Yassie went
into detail by telling us how her people did what they thought was
necessary by not using no more or no less of their resources. She
explained how not a single piece of the caribou was wasted by her
people and every part had its purpose.
        After our presentation given by Caroline, we went into the town of
Churchill where we watched the sunset as a group and spotted a few
whales. While taking in the surreal sunset, we shared with each other
what we were grateful for and reflected what we did. It was a perfect
end to a magical day.

- Sam Colenback and Tomas Quintero