​From May 24 to 27, nine students in SJASD competed in the 2018 Manitoba Envirothon hosted in Churchill, MB. 

Two teams entered the provincial event on behalf of SJASD including one Westwood Collegiate/St. James Collegiate team and one Collège Sturgeon Heights Collegiate team. Each team had a staff advisor from their school — Mr. Shoesmith, Ms. Zinn, M. Amma-Lanthier and Mrs. Connor.—who provided support during the trip. At the event, participating teams ventured through a 1-2 kilometre trail answering questions about soils, forestry, aquatics and wildlife geared towards a specific theme. This year’s theme was climate change in the North. The challenging trail test is a hands-on, team activity that involves specialized equipment, specimens and identification guides to answer the questions. The second part of the competition focused on a specific problem a team must solve in an oral presentation. This year’s topic challenged students to involve citizen science for conducting climate change research in the North. The teams prepared their material and presented for 10 minutesin front of a panel of researchers and environmental experts. While the teams are still awaiting their results, but did not finish top three this year, the Westwood/St. James team was recognized for excellence in the soils and land-use questions. Evaluations aside, there is much to be gained from attending the event. 

 “It was a great experience for me and it’s sad to think that it’s my last year competing in it,” said SJCI student Ian J. “It helped me narrow decisions for my future and I am really excited to come back next year as a volunteer.” 

A trip to Churchill would not be complete without a chance for the students to act as tourists for a couple of days. Students sampled some Northern cuisine such as caribou, muskox, goose and arctic char, and also enjoyed a local tour. On the last day of the trip, the students could choose from a variety of activities, including “Scientist for a Day” and hiking the tundra out to Cape Merry. 

Throughout the trip, the students had a great time learning about the North and meeting students from across the province. They hope to return to Churchill one day to see polar bears and belugas, or perhaps even become a research scientist of the North!