Churchill Redux Part IV: The Junk of Churchill

Stuff doesn't deteriorate much in relatively cold and dry climates like it does in places that are on average warmer and more humid; the detritus of life is difficult to get rid of under the best of circumstances, but extremely so in a remote location with limited transportation, permafrost a few feet down making burial difficult, and pristine clean air not to be sullied by burning garbage, all of which describe Churchill, Manitoba. With its seasonally swelling population brought on by the periodic descent of tourists, nature-lovers, scientists, film-makers, adventurers, and dependable influx of summer rail and dockworkers, all of whom add more than their share to the leftovers, Churchill has some big issues.  The wreck of the MV Ithaca, high and nearly dry in Bird Cove of Hudson Bay since running aground, is the biggest:

The foggy wreck of the MV Ithaca aground in Bird Cove, Hudson Bay, Churchill, MB; the entire 
crew was able to walk safely to land when the storm subsided and the tide went out.

The story of the wreck of the Ithaca is a bit of a wreck too; it ran aground, in November of either 1960 or in 1961 (sources vary on this matter), following the loss of its rudder in one of those gales Hudson Bay is famous for. It was used as a freighter, variously stated to be under Greek or British ownership at the time of its demise. It has even been subject to the unlikely anonymous claim that it "...was originally owned by Benito Mussolini (the Italian dictator during World War II). After the war, when Benito didn’t need it anymore being dead and all, the ship was converted into a freighter." Although its silhouette is hardly that of a pleasure yacht, the name "Ithaca" might suggest that it was indeed a Greek ship. But by far the most credible story, at the Crannster Travel Blog, documents that the ship was in fact built in Quebec and operating under British ownership at the end. Funny the number of Apocryphal stories this one wreck as amassed.  

By November 11, 2012, just a few days following the watery near-shore peek through the fog in the photo above, viewed from the opposite side of Bird Cove it's easy to see that the 50-plus year rusting of the Ithaca had been put on hold again by the arrival of this winter's ice:

 

The prolonged annual deep-freeze slows down the molecular reaction that is rust,  doubtless largely accounting for the wreck's longevity. Churchillians and visitors make the best of it; in low tide, and presumably also when the shallow water of its grave is solidly frozen, it's possible to walk up to the vessel, although we didn't have the opportunity to do so. It's too fragile to explore inside anyway. However, another large metallic Churchill wreck, affectionately known as "Miss Piggy," is still in good enough condition to climb.

But first, someone (in this case, our guide, Jim Halfpenny) armed with a shotgun with cracker as well as live shells) has to circumambulate Miss Piggy to assure that there are no hidden polar bears in the vicinity:

 

Then you can step right up, if you dare:

Miss Piggy is the hull of a Curtiss C-46F-1-CU Commando plane, which, like the Ithaca, hauled freight. She went down less than a mile from the end of Churchill Airport's (exceptionally long) runway, almost 33 years to the day before our visit. The history of this event is well documented; she was operated by LambAir, and was reportedly carrying cases of soda pop. Her departure was halted shortly after takeoff when an engine lost pressure and a wing clipped a power line; she came down on her belly on a rise with an excellent view of Hudson Bay below. The crew of three lived to tell about it. Now visitors are invariably taken to explore it inside and out.

Miss Piggy's beautiful view of Hudson Bay.

For a wonderful rundown on many more plane wrecks preserved by the cold of the north, including more details and photos of Miss Piggy, see Ruud Leeuw's web page, Abandoned Plane Wrecks of the North.

The Ithaca and Miss Piggy are Churchill's most notorious hunks of junk, now embraced as local not-to-be-missed landmarks. But yet another non-functioning vessel, the Enterprise, most enterprisingly, has been turned into Churchill's version of a "tree house" with special appeal for kids who want to play sailor.Known to locals as Charlie's Boat, it's parked on the beach, done up with sturdy stairs and safety railing, for a fun fantasy experience.

Note, however, even the town "tree house" must be approached with caution in polar bear season, when the fantasy might become just a little too unreal.

Alas, Churchill has a great deal more, far less appealing, large detritus that is not likely to ever depart. The many decommissioned buildings that the Canadian and U.S.militaries left behind on the premises of what is now the Northern Studies Centre, for example, could (and doubtless should) in be dismantled and shipped by sea or rail for recycling. However, it seems that until the value of the metal exceeds the considerable cost of deconstruction and transport to the nearest scrap metal facility (which could easily be hundreds of miles away),the ugly structures, built to resist corrosion in the first place, are likely to persist infinitely.

Then there's the ordinary castoffs of ordinary life: food scraps, the masses of paper that our cyber-lives produce, socks worn toe-less, hundreds of thousands of depleted batteries, electronics that no longer spin electrons around like they should, cans that once contained motor oil or house paint, construction debris, flat tires, medical waste, and unloved Coca-Cola polar bears:

Toy Coke polar bear salvaged by the L-5 staff greets visitors at the gate.

Very much like the early days of Yellowstone National Park, at one time Churchill had an open dump that attracted curious, hungry bears like crazy. That made good viewing for the tourists. As long as they stayed in their vehicles, at least. But the "provision" of edible material to the wild bears was tantamount to baiting, which not only is completely unethical by today's standards, and of no benefit to the bears, but is also dangerously entrained the animals to associate the presence of humans with the availability of food. And incinerating the stuff disgustingly destroyed Churchill's otherwise wonderfully fresh air. The dump was at last covered up, though sufficient amounts of chaff from the grain silos at the docks still attracts desperate bears, of which we saw three or four at a time at the old dump site on our November 2012 trip.

After much consideration, discussion, debate, and negotiation, the solution seemed to be to find a structure capable of housing the trash until it could otherwise be transferred away; the dump was closed in 2006, and an old military facility was repurposed into a new, bear-proof facility, unceremoniously called "L-5", with bays for recyclables, hazardous waste, true trash, and a special repository for animal carcasses. Apparently the stuff is periodically shipped to Thompson, Manitoba, a small town in the middle of Manitoba. What happens to it there I have been unable to find out.

To make this long, and still unfinished story short, the tundra wasn't made for modern human habitation. We create too much waste, throw away far too much, and the environment there cannot absorb it. It's an ongoing problem for the people, and the bears, of Churchill, and the rest of the world.

Click here to go to Part V.

Churchill Redux Part III: The Churchill Northern Studies Centre

The "bird-fish" symbol of the Churchill Northern Studies Centre

Our November 6, 2012 arrival.

The northern tip of Churchill's Wildlife Management Area (beige on the map), once the purview of both the Canadian and the U.S. military, is the portal to "polar bear-land" for most visitors, whether tourists or scientists. Some of it is open to public travel, a small portion is set aside exclusively for the two operators of tours in the specially designed vehicles known as tundra rovers or tundra buggies, and one piece of it, where the military rocket research range facilities once were, was in 1976 repurposed to become the august Churchill Northern Studies Centre.

Churchill's tallest structure, visible from almost anywhere the tundra buggies go, marks the location of the Studies Centre; as a research administrator specializing in the management of research centers, my job is to worry about scientists' access to the tools and infrastructure they need in addition to financial resources to support themselves, their staff, and their work, so, looking at that distant landmark every day of our 2011 visit to Churchill truly piqued my curiosity as to how the Centre operates and what science goes on there. Unfortunately, it was not on Natural Habitat Adventures' agenda.

Click to enlarge to see the tallest shape on the distant horizon

So yet another of many reasons I was so excited about our 2012 return to Churchill with Jim Halfpenny's A Naturalist's World  was that our group was to be lodged at the CNSC! Here is a little what I have learned about it:

CNSC is an independent research facility that investigators can apply to for stipends to cover their living expenses, but most also need to bring their own grants to cover the often substantial cost of research, such as helicopter transport to, say, census moose from the air, or over-snow vehicles for measuring wind speeds and temperatures at various locations, or reagents for bench work in the Centre's or their own labs back home. Competitively awarded grants, for example from the National Science Foundation of the U.S. government, support high quality inquiries into Churchill's unique offerings, including its "charismatic megafauna" such as polar bears, wolves, and beluga whales; birds, insects and plants; other life forms adapted to the extreme conditions, like lichens and microbes; geology, especially of the extraordinary Canadian shield; climate change; solar science, astronomy, and the aurorae borealis; and the economy, language, health, or ethnography of local peoples.

Almost fluorescently bright lichens on the exposed rocks of Cape Merry, Churchill

Much more substantially, according to the Report on Research and Monitoring in the Greater Wapusk Region, Churchill Northern Studies Centre and Parks Canada, 2010-2011, "[i]n April of 2009, research facilities in the Churchill area received an infusion of funds when the Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC) was successful in obtaining $11,000,000 from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) as part of the Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund (ARIF). The ARIF is an $85,000,000 program that was part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan and the fund was designed to invest in maintaining and upgrading key arctic research facilities."  The Report also contains succinct summaries of many recent projects, and is well worth a look to get a feel of the quality and scope of the scientific activities carried out in the region.

I am greatly heartened by the CNSC's success in acquiring funds to upgrade and maintain such critically important infrastructure that serves inquiry, great and small, in this fragile, fast-changing environment.

All this is not to say I didn't have trepidations about staying there when I learned that the accommodations are dorm-style, with two bunk beds in a room, such that for seven nights I would be sleeping, or trying to sleep, in a small room with three women I had never before met, as would KLK be with men who were strangers to him. I should not have worried, there was sufficient flexibility that one could trade one's assignment, and so those who already knew each other could room together. I knew no one, but the other three women in my room had all met before, and what they had in common with one another and with me was a love of Yellowstone National Park. It was in fact a match made in heaven - and Kevin's roomies were likewise Yellowstone fanatics. And no one snored! 

We were also lucky in that just two years ago, the CNSC had opened its new building - everything was spotless and commodious (except maybe the thermostat, which was a bit sophisticated for us, such that those in top beds were hot all night if those of us on the bottom were warm enough. So it worked out, with the two menopausal types having already claimed the lower beds - on the "age before beauty" principle - before this micro-climatological phenomenon was even recognized). There wasn't much room, but we managed to cram our stuff - very bulky due to the need to dress in layers, large boots, camera and tripods and so on - out of each others way. But the thing I loved the very most about the accommodations was that there were no locks on the doors: no key to assign, fumble with, or lose, and a sense of trust engendered by a common fascination with polar bears and all things Churchill that set the tone for the entire stay. 
The subarctic is unforgiving of human habitation: garbage and waste are extremely difficult to make disappear from an isolated location like Churchill; permafrost first makes ground excavation difficult, then, as the climate warms, softens and destabilizes building foundations. And, because of the year-round cold temperatures, human-occupied structures must consume extraordinary volumes of fuel. Read about how brilliantly the CNSC has addressed some of these problems in an environmentally optimal way at World Wildlife Foundation-Canada's blog. 
The rocky tundra around the Churchill Northern Studies Centre appears to be a very watery place; it's pockmarked with fresh water streams, ponds, and lakes, and the mighty Churchill River itself is not far away, so who would think fresh water for a building-full of visitors, scientists and staff would have to be conserved, until one is reminded that most of the surrounding water sources are shallow and thus stay frozen for a good portion of each year.  The Centre uses water piped from the nearby Norton Lake when temperatures allow. When we visited in November, water was already being trucked in from the Churchill River 15 miles away. 

A small fresh-water stream - not yet frozen - with the Churchill Northern Studies Centre as backdrop.

Thus, all the bathrooms are equipped with four low-flow toilets, plus one composting toilet. Likewise, the wash basins and showers have automatic water shut-offs - fine for hand-washing or brushing one's teeth, but a little shivery for showering. We had of course been provided terry bath towels, but for quick dries, the restrooms have those frustrating motion-detecting paper towel dispensers that issue a few inches of barely-absorbent 100% post-consumer waste paper at a time. Then, suddenly one morning, the paper towel dispenser in our restroom grew tired of the constant demand and staged a rebellion!

But this marvelous building has LEED Gold certification, and all willingly went along with the spirit of resource conservation. 

 KLK at the thermal windows in the new Centre's Weston Family Welcome Lounge

The Centre has many other facilities for both working and touring visitors, including several seminar rooms, a library, wi-fi and guest computers, personal laundry, a large cafeteria with good food and lots of it, a media room, a little indoor exercise area, and a large outdoor viewing platform high above any bear's reach.

Early morning view from the CNSC second floor viewing platform. See any bears?

There was indeed at least one very large bear here, right up against the base of the building; photo taken from the viewing platform.

But the most marvelous feature of all is the aurora dome, accessed via an interior spiral staircase to a small, room-temperature platform covered by a large domed window to the skies. Not only can one comfortably and safely view the northern lights but it makes for a fantastic place to stand and watch  stars and meteor showers. The Milky Way on a cold, crystal-clear night at that latitude is not short of magical. And what fun it was to stand, neck craned, with a half a dozen fellow travelers viewing these incredible phenomena, all in our pajamas!
I do not have much by way of photos of the building or the other structures scattered around the grounds - some in current use, but most shuttered since the military departed. November is high polar bear-season, and people to do not walk around outside, at least not without an escort armed with a shotgun and both cracker and live shells. Polar bears are fearlessly curious, move very quickly and silently, and can be aggressive. But I was able to get a shot of the "blue" wing, to the left of the entrance, which comprises dorm and seminar rooms, administration, library, lounge, and gift shop (with the best sweatshirts ever!).

To the right of the entrance are the cafeteria (first floor), more seminar rooms, the media and exercise room, and the aurora dome (not visible on the roof from this angle, unfortunately). The viewing platform is on the opposite side of this wing. 

to understand and sustain the north

The bear that left those turkey platter-sized prints had come directly toward where I stood to take this photo, right under the cafeteria windows around the corner to the right.
Before assembling for our parting group shot, Jim Halfpenny threw a shotgun over his shoulder and took a quick look-see to assure our safety.

The sharp-eyed among you might notice that sometime between our arrival and our departure 6 days later - we boarded the bus for the airport as soon as this photo was snapped - the "e" in Northern disappeared from over the door. Most likely that notorious Churchill character, the Wind, took a shine to it and carried it away.

And by the way, the beacon-like structure turned out to be a remarkable old rocket launch, with its base enclosed to enable operations to continue through the coldest part of the year. After the military departed, detector-equipped rockets were launched, for instance, to rise high in the atmosphere to study the aurorae borealis for which the circumpolar region is justly famous.  

Non-commercial educational expeditions such as ours, and others, including the Centre itself, use the facilities and services of the Centre. Check out the CNSC's 2013 brochure listing its public education offerings. It's all I can do to keep myself from signing up for all of them!

Click here to go to part IV.