Community engagement and outreach were prioritized throughout 2024. KLRS met with local First Nation governments (KFN, CAFN, WRFN) and participated in many community events to foster relationships and listen to feedback. Many new initiatives at KLRS were put in place in 2024, including community nights, education and outreach collaborations, schedule and season updates, creating a consultation document for researchers, and sharing a fieldwork map with locals to outline research areas.
May 11, 2024
KLRS kicked off the 2024 season with a Community BBQ. We were grateful to have KFN citizens Amber Berard Althouse lead a traditional plant walk and Pauly Sias lead a cultural interpretation of the Kluane/Silver City area.
August 24, 2024
The KLRS annual open house was held in August. Researchers provided posters for their 2024 fieldwork, KFN’s Dr. Alyce Johnson gave a presentation “Mapping Knowledge of Place”, and Artist in Residence Bettina Matzkuhn led a collaborative textile art project. The St. Elias Lions Club prepared a BBQ dinner with KLRS’ Chef, and Capital Helicopters donated a scenic flight door prize.
KLRS hosted weekly community nights all summer to help bridge the gap between researchers and surrounding communities, including research talks and hiring local Indigenous artists, interpreters, scholars, and storytellers. Highlights are included below.
KLRS invited local schools from Destruction Bay, Haines Junction, and Whitehorse to visit the station. The Station Manager and visiting researchers led presentations and hands-on activities to teach students about natural sciences.
Kluane Lake School primary students from Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay, Yukon, joined researchers and staff from KLRS, the Kluane Climate Futures team, and Parks Canada for a day of science and fun. After scouting for sheep at Thechàl Dhâl visitor centre, the group hiked onto the sand flats in the Ä'äy Chù Valley to see weather station and sediment collection equipment from the Université de Montréal. After lunch at KLRS, the kids learned about glaciers and the drone used to map sand dunes in the Ä'äy Chù Valley.
A grade six class from the St. Elias Community School in Haines Junction, Yukon, visited KLRS in May to explore the area and learn about the Kluane Icefields with Station Manager Kim Hatcher and geomorphology intern Malo Landrain from Université Grenoble Alpes. After learning about dhal (mountains) and Tan Shį̂ʼ or Tan Ta (glaciers), the students made models on the beach with sand and lake ice. Following a hike along the shore and lunch, the kids made “glacier gak” to learn about the physical properties of glacier ice.
The Experiential Science 11 program from the Wood Street Centre in Whitehorse came out to KLRS for a tour. The students mapped out the station and learned about all the scientific tools and systems we use at our facility. Several researchers also taught the class about their work in the area.
KLRS hosted a group of youth campers from CAFN Youth Center, BGC Yukon, and Yukon University. Glaciologists Dr. Brittany Main (UWaterloo), Dr. Gwenn Flowers (SFU), and Dr. Dorota Medrzycka (UOttawa), and geologist Kim Hatcher (KLRS Station Manager), facilitated hands on activities to teach the kids about studying glaciers. Highlights included “dress like a polar scientist” relay race, team rope and crevasse rescue, making glacial landforms, learning about glaciology field gear (ice screws, ice axes, and crampons), and testing electrical conductivity of water from different sources.
A new cohort of grade 11 students in the Experiential Sciences course at Wood Street Centre in Whitehorse visited us during their first field trip of the school year. The class learned about different scientific instruments at KLRS, including our recently upgraded weather station, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) base station, sun photometer, and seismometer.
Primary and secondary students from Kluane Lake School returned to KLRS in the fall. Amanda O’Connor (Yukon Geological Survey) and Kim Hatcher (KLRS Station Manager) led geology activities to teach the kids about the rock cycle, plate tectonics, mapping, and earthquakes. The students created their own geologic maps and built structures to try and withstand shaking from pseudo-earthquakes.
KLRS staff were happy to participate in many events hosted in nearby communities (Haines Junction, Burwash Landing, and Destruction Bay) throughout the year.
KLRS had a table at several local events:
KLRS presented at the following meetings:
KLRS attended many FN events, including:
CAFN’s Heritage, Lands & Resources Open House at Da Kų Cultural Centre on December 3, 2024
March 13, 2024
KLRS partnered with CAFN, Boys and Girls Club (BGC), and Yukon University, to bring STEM programming to local youth during spring break. KLRS’ Station Manager led activities teaching youth about tan shį̂ (glaciers) at the Ända Tà Youth Centre during spring break.
