The Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) of the Yukon Research Centre has just received $186,499 from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to conduct research on permafrost and infrastructure in Ross River, Yukon.

Permafrost thaw has damaged Ross River infrastructure and this research aims to better understand which buildings are vulnerable to permafrost and how to manage existing buildings and future construction in a changing climate.

Yukon College students have partnered with the Yukon Research Centre (YRC) to analyze the oldest weather data in Yukon history. The results from the MATH 105 (Introduction to Statistics) class suggest that temperatures in some Yukon communities have either increased significantly or have become more extreme in their variation over the last century. 

These statistics students used weather data from the YRC Data Server that had been collected from the White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&YR) log books of 1902 to 1957. The goal of the assignment was to see what kind of overall change in the average monthly temperatures have occurred over the last 100 years in 5 Yukon communities: Dawson City, Mayo, Carmacks, Whitehorse and Carcross.  This historical data is being compared with more recent temperature records kept by Environment Canada.

Whitehorse - Science Adventures at Yukon College and the Association of Professional Engineers of Yukon are pleased to welcome everyone to the 21st Annual Bridge Building Contest Saturday, April 5, at Porter Creek Secondary School in the gym.

During the past three months, over 200 Yukon students, adults, families and corporate teams have been building bridges out of wooden coffee stir sticks, white glue and dental floss.  The challenge is to build the lightest bridge that can hold the most weight. The excitement is seeing what loads these bridges can endure before they break.

“The entries this year show a lot of innovation and dedication,” said Heather Dundas, Coordinator of Science Adventures at the Yukon Research Centre, Yukon College. “Students and families are learning engineering principles, design concepts, building skills, and teamwork, and having fun doing it.”

Yukon Research Centre (YRC) scientists have just received a research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to study a new method of sequestering heavy metals for mine site restoration.

Soil scientist, Dr. Katherine Stewart, and water chemist, Dr. Amelie Janin have combined disciplines to examine how to prevent the transfer of heavy metals to plants and water by using leonardite, a naturally occurring carbon-rich mineral. The scientists predict that heavy metals in mine tailings will bond to the leonardite, preventing plant absorption and water transportation of the metals. They also hypothesize that the leonardite will assist in revegetation by retaining nutrients and moisture in the soil, conditions beneficial for plant growth.

WHITEHORSE – Dr. Ellen Bielawski believes that if scientists understand Indigenous Knowledge they will produce stronger analyses and interpretations of the North than if they restrict themselves only to western scientific methods.

“Science doesn’t have all the answers. Closing our minds to other forms of knowledge is not a good way to seek solutions to our problems. The world is complicated, and knowledge is like any other resource – the greater diversity in the different ways of knowing, the more we are enriched by it,” said Bielawski.

The Yukon College-based University of Alberta professor teaches in the Northern Environmental and Conservation Sciences (ENCS) degree program with the aim of encouraging future scientists to consider Indigenous Knowledge and the social context of their work.

WHITEHORSE – The Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining (CNIM) at Yukon College celebrated seven Yukon students graduating yesterday from its new Introduction to Underground Mining Operations program. The ceremony was attended by Education Minister Elaine Taylor, Alaska Labour and Workforce Development Commissioner Dianne Blumer, Yukon College President Dr. Karen Barnes, University of Alaska President Pat Gamble, and representatives from the Yukon mining industry.

“I am proud to offer my congratulations to these Yukon graduates for successfully completing the Underground Mining Operations program offered through the Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining,” said Education Minister Elaine Taylor. “This is one of many training opportunities supported by the Yukon government’s five-year, $11.4 million investment in CNIM to help provide jobs for Yukoners and ensure the labour market has the skilled workers it needs.”

WHITEHORSE - When asked what he thinks of Yukon College, Culinary Arts student George Rivard says, “I love it. I have a hands-on program that challenges me every day and leaves lots of room for creativity and teamwork. My instructors’ doors are always open so I feel supported and inspired here.”

Rivard is not alone. Many Yukon College students share his feelings. The College recently surveyed 272 of the students in credit programs during the fall 2013 term and found that 97 per cent would agree with the phrase “Yukon College is a good learning environment.”

Field Notes and Friends, an exhibit by Yukon artist Nicole Bauberger of 30 oil paintings and 44 encaustic panels from her 100 Dresses projects opens on Thursday March 6 at the Hilltop Bistro at Yukon College. The opening is from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with Bauberger in attendance.

The opening is part of a triple bill of exhibit openings, entitled Art Crawl on the Hill, happening that night. Next door at the Yukon Arts Centre, beginning at 5:30 p.m., The Rose Parade by Rosemary Scanlon (Yukon), Salutation by Helen O’Connor (Yukon), and Foundling by Michèle Karch-Ackerman (Ontario) will be opening in the Public Art Gallery. Opening in the Community Gallery is Encounters with the Sublime: Kluane National Park through the lenses of Bradford Washburn and Sebastian Salgado, presented in partnership by Parks Canada, the Yukon Arts Centre, and the Village of Haines Junction.

Yukon College and Alexco Resource Corp. have secured a PhD student to study the removal of heavy metals from water. This partnership will enhance the traditional PhD model by combining high level science with business skill development; with great benefit to the student, industry, and the Yukon Territory.

PhD student, Guillaume Nielsen, of the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique will be co-supervised by Yukon College’s NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Mine Life Cycle, Dr. Amelie Janin. Nielsen will support the Chair’s goal of building Yukon’s capacity for environmental remediation in partnership with industry and Yukon College’s Centre for Northern Innovation and Mining (CNIM).

Bird biologist, Dave Mossop has put another feather in his cap. His research on Arctic birds over the past 40 years has become a valuable asset to a newly established circumpolar monitoring network, the Tundra Conservation Network.

The Network was created in response to research that suggests a perceived decline in Arctic bird populations in the circumpolar North. Mossop represents Canada in a network that includes all eight nations in the Arctic region.

Mossop has collected data on the Gyrfalcon (jer-fol-ken) and ptarmigan (tar-mi-gen) for nearly four decades. In the late 1990’s he began to see stresses in their populations and upon reaching out to the circumpolar research community he discovered there were similar results around the globe.