The town of Churchill has been inhabited by indigenous people for about 6000 years. It is the traditional meeting place of three existing tribes: the Cree, Dene and Inuit. French trappers came in the 1500-1600 and married Eskimo women and created a new culture called the Metis who are still alive and well in this area. Charles I of England gave his nephew, Prince Rupert all the land that drained into Hudson's and James Bay. That was an enormous amount of land--1/3 of N. America. Next came Hudson Bay Company that dominated the area for the next 300 years with the fur trade. The Hudson's Bay train arrived in 1927 and linked Churchill and the small towns south to Winnipeg and the rest of Canada. During WWII, American created Fort Churchill to aid the war effort in Europe and 5600 people lived here . Then in 1950s, Fort Churchill was continued to flourish with a population of 7000 working on rocket research, cold weather training and exercises for the military, and refueling for B52 during the cold war. 200 scientist worked on atmospheric testing. In 1970, the American closed the base and left. Even though many of the military building were demolished close to the actual base, the airport and D20, a double Quonset hut --know as the polar bear jail --remain. There are still lots of scattered buildings from the military era and it's just too expensive to removed them currently. Some like around where we are continue to be used and some are just abandoned. The permanent population of town is about 800 with another 200 as seasonal workers and port employees. Most of the seasonal influx is now for 6 weeks to see the polar bears, 6-7 weeks in the summer to see Beluga whales and less so in Feb/March is experience the Northern Lights on cold, clear nights. This is Churchill-
Left over military structures- below are 2 that are part of the Center where we are staying.
Churchill Northern Studies Centre was established in 1976 by members of the local Churchill community, university researchers and the government of Canada. It remains independent with no university or organizational affiliation. It's a non-profit whose mandate is to facilitate research and education of the Western Hudson Bay. There is a full time research staff that assists investigators in locating and selecting field sites and help collect data and maintain equipment on a contract basis. For a daily fee, researchers get room and board, airport/train transfers, lab space and internet. We are not allowed to go out of the building, so I just have the front of the building on my way to the bus!
We took a tour today of the new facility that was opened in 2011 and is where we are staying. It sits adjacent to the repurposed building left over from the missile site that was used since 1976. The 18 million price tag created a gold star green building that houses a cafeteria, classrooms, laboratories, reference collections, wireless internet--remember we're at the end of the world--There is a 360 degree aurora viewing dome upstairs that is good for watching storms in addition to the northern lights. Since we can't go outside to see bears--or anything else, there is an observation platform on the second floor. Fitness room, media center with lots of movies, a library, recreation room, quiet room, computers for use by anyone, and a gift shop. Our rooms are 4 person dorm rooms. A bit tight, but I haven't spent much time in the room.
Apparently this is a researcher's paradise. Churchill has a unique location between the arctic tundra and the northern boreal forest. There is fresh water from the Churchill River flowing into Hudson Bay and Northern Canada's only deep water seaport and during the ice-free months of the year, it's an important link between the wheat fields of Western Canada and markets in Europe. It is also an area with a 6000 year history and an excellent, but small Eskimo Museum with artifacts starting with the pre-Dorset people dating from 3000 BCE to the historic Eskimo cultures dating to the 17th century.
Left over military structures- below are 2 that are part of the Center where we are staying.
Churchill Northern Studies Centre was established in 1976 by members of the local Churchill community, university researchers and the government of Canada. It remains independent with no university or organizational affiliation. It's a non-profit whose mandate is to facilitate research and education of the Western Hudson Bay. There is a full time research staff that assists investigators in locating and selecting field sites and help collect data and maintain equipment on a contract basis. For a daily fee, researchers get room and board, airport/train transfers, lab space and internet. We are not allowed to go out of the building, so I just have the front of the building on my way to the bus!
We took a tour today of the new facility that was opened in 2011 and is where we are staying. It sits adjacent to the repurposed building left over from the missile site that was used since 1976. The 18 million price tag created a gold star green building that houses a cafeteria, classrooms, laboratories, reference collections, wireless internet--remember we're at the end of the world--There is a 360 degree aurora viewing dome upstairs that is good for watching storms in addition to the northern lights. Since we can't go outside to see bears--or anything else, there is an observation platform on the second floor. Fitness room, media center with lots of movies, a library, recreation room, quiet room, computers for use by anyone, and a gift shop. Our rooms are 4 person dorm rooms. A bit tight, but I haven't spent much time in the room.
Apparently this is a researcher's paradise. Churchill has a unique location between the arctic tundra and the northern boreal forest. There is fresh water from the Churchill River flowing into Hudson Bay and Northern Canada's only deep water seaport and during the ice-free months of the year, it's an important link between the wheat fields of Western Canada and markets in Europe. It is also an area with a 6000 year history and an excellent, but small Eskimo Museum with artifacts starting with the pre-Dorset people dating from 3000 BCE to the historic Eskimo cultures dating to the 17th century.
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