Home Sweet Home, away from home

CNSC- the landscaped view

CNSC withe Dancing Lights

This is the fourth season that Brian and I have been volunteers at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Churchill, Manitoba.  Members of the staff have become our dear friends and CNSC has become our home away from home. As I write this, I am reminded of my favorite question in Maine- "Are you from away?"  You could be a transplant to Maine for the past 30 years, but you are still from away. That does not state anything about the present reality; we identify with the Maine mentality just as we now identify with life in the north- northness as our friend Heidi would say. We indeed are "from away", and that is what makes this such an extraordinary experience that we will treasure. 

This post has some new photos and some from past years. Below you see the view from the front of CNSC with a rocket launcher from 50 years back, and the tundra/forested areas out the back windows. There are also shallow tundra ponds that are covered with snow right now. I'll include one from last year when the surface was exposed by the winds.

The Front Yard

The Back Yard

Tundra pond with exposed ice- great reflective surface for auroras! 2015

Some of you know more than others about our stays at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. As you see in the photo at the top of this post, it is now housed in a brand new facility which opened its doors in 2011. Churchill is on the western shore of Hudson Bay at a latitude of 58 degrees north. The town is known as Polar Bear Capital of the World, but it could just as well lay claim to being a perfect place for viewing northern lights, observing beluga whales in summertime, spotting migrating birds from your life list, identifying (and eating) the flowers and berries of wild plants, and becoming familiar with the cultures of the many people living here.

The facility at CNSC is most comfortable in this new, green building! Yes, it is very cold outside while we are here, but we dress for it and try to go outside most days for a short and invigorating walk. Occasionally there are longer activities in which we are included, and they are so much fun. While inside we are toasty warm, and when working in the kitchen we are wearing our T-shirts.

The Dome Room

Dome and Back Yard

There are so many things I love about being here, but since my original motivation was to see the aurora borealis, I have to say that it is beyond fantastic to get up in the middle of the night to use the facilities and run up this stairway to the heavens. Many nights it is just a 360 degree view of a starlit heaven. Sometimes it is cloudy, and in a blizzard it might look like you are on a jet plane flying through the clouds. Occasionally there is the thrill of the aurora dancing around the sky. You have the heavens to yourself until you wake everyone else up (if they wish to be awoken).

On the front of the building, I look at the mission each day- "To understand and sustain the north". CNSC does this through research and education. Brian and I are here to support the Winter Skies aurora vacations. We've been able to attend many lectures here on topics ranging from astronomy and climate change  to photography and local culture. It's a very stimulating environment.

Birdfish Logo- Symbol of CNSC

I love the landscape here, and never tire of looking out over the tundra in one direction and the boreal forest in the other. If it is too cold outside, there is always the view from the dome. This building is filled with windows (all part of the green plan), but I do get outside with every opportunity. The wind blows a lot, so there are often sculpted snowdrifts to see. Just the other day we were treated to a gorgeous sunset, but many times it is just the beauty of soft pink light in the sky.

Blowing Snow

Sculpted snow photo from last year

View from the side deck in late afternoon light

There is something new every day here. It might be an outing to the forest, a lecture, a mind blowing aurora, or simply a story from a guest or fellow volunteer as we do dishes together. For our friends and family, I hope this post helps paint a picture of our time up here that helps explain why we've made this journey more than once!

Sunset earlier this week