top of page
Hudson bay coast northern field school
An immersive field program that takes you to the northern town of Churchill, Manitoba and to Wapusk National Park
What participants are saying ...
 "Nester 1 has been the highlight of my university experience. I have learned more in six days than I have learned in three years worth of courses" - Heather S, 2010 |  "My expectations for this course were high. I wanted to gain new knowledge, hands on experience in field work, create and analyze my own experiment within the Sub-Arctic region, see new landscapes, animals and historical sites while being able to share similar interests and passions with new people. Now, a lot of people would tell you not to set your hopes high in case they don’t get fulfilled, but clearly they have not experienced a trip to Wapusk National Park." - Christine Q, 2012 |
|---|---|
 "Sharing this awe-inspiring experience with people of all ages and background brought the experience to a higher level of understanding than I had anticipated; everyone in the camp offered unique perspectives and challenging notions on a multitude of topics." - Sue M, 2010 |  "This experience links to so many of the themes that have been present through my education including climate change, using traditional knowledge together with scientific research, and human influence on the environment caused by our lifestyle." - Chelsea O, 2015 |
 "It was the best classroom in Manitoba." - Dale P, 2009 |
About the Program
About Experiential Learning
 "This course is a course like no other. Nothing taught in a classroom could ever come close to teaching me what I’ve learned out in Wapusk National Park. You can read up on the tundra all you like, but until you’ve actually seen it, walked across it, and spent some time discovering its secrets you cannot even begin to comprehend it." - Lauren L, 2015 |  "I liked getting down and dirty actually learning hands on knee deep in the fen. I feel like this was definitely the part of the trip that got me interested in learning more about fieldwork in the future." - Christina F, 2012 |
|---|---|
 "Permafrost was a concept drawn out on a chalk board until I got to actually interact with it out in the field." - Michael L, 2009 |  "Every day we became acquainted with the vegetation that covers the land, so much that I can say I am now able to recognize and name at least 17 plant species that occur in the park." - Leanne H, 2007 |
 "Investigating the ground on your hands and knees reveals a whole new botanical world. It is truly amazing how hardy a tiny butterwort can be in the face of the elements. Instead of just walking along the rugged surface, try digging your hand into the peat hummock you are standing on. Feel the chill of permafrost on your fingers." - Kaitlin W, 2007 |
About the Park
 "The beauty of the Park was beyond my wildest expectations of my time here in Northern Manitoba. I have traveled extensively in my life and have seen many systems at work but this one will forever leave an imprint in my mind." - Trevor J, 2008 |  "After spending seven days in Wapusk National Park, it was apparent that it was unlike any other park I have visited. The landscape is free of boardwalks or interpretative signs. Here you learn by hiking, touching and being." - Sarah F, 2008 |
|---|---|
 "The time I spent in Wapusk made me think of how perfectly the world works without human interference. The pristine, undeveloped nature of the place is a rare glimpse at what the world was like before it became a playground for humans..." - Aimee S, 2013 |  "You feel this overwhelming desire just to walk, not in an effort to conquer the landscape but just to struggle to find the source of this pull you feel." - Ashleigh W, 2011 |
 "In pictures and on television the landscape looks very vast and barren, large charismatic mammals quickly capture the viewer´s attention. But being here, hiking through the park and looking at vegetation, experiencing the landscape, the quickly changing weather, the smells and the endless skies, my impression has greatly changed. There is so much to discover and so many exciting details, like the smell of Labrador tea or the sound of sandhill crane calls." - Kim G, 2014 |  "This park is full of knowledge, and enriches your whole self. You could spend every day of your life out there, and you would still see things that would surprise you, and continue to learn things from the land. This place facilitates mindfulness. " - Megan P, 2015 |
 "The subtle beauty of the park, found in the smallest places, reveals itself only to those who undertake its challenges." - Sydney T, 2011 |
About the Experience
 "I took this course, not for the credits or to further my career, but for an experience of a lifetime as a 30th birthday gift to myself, and it has been the best decision I ever made." - Shelley S, 2009 |  "I was pressured in the most supportive way to make mistakes and learn from them, take part in experiences that only happen to a person once in a life time, and make a connection with a beautiful, new landscape. On top of that I was able to form inimitable relationships with those who experienced the ups and downs of remote fieldwork with me." - Rachel K, 2014 |
|---|---|
 "...we came upon a group of three bull caribou on a beach ridge. They didn’t seem to mind our presence as we sat on the ground and watched them. They are such iconic animals and to see them carry on their day without being too alarmed made me think that humans are as much a part of the environment as anything." - Justin V, 2012 |  "I have been amazed by how much a land that was so foreign to me on that first day could teach me so much in such a little amount of time. I feel that the time I spent at Wapusk National Park has truly restored my once tired mind and body. The stress of everyday life vanished during my stay at Nester One, and all I had to do was take in the sheer beauty of the landscape to feel at peace." - Kathleen H, 2015 |
 " I'm glad that in my first day at Nester One I had observed a Polar Bear, Caribou, Arctic Fox and Hare and saw the Northern Lights because it allowed me to move beyond a check list of "sights" and allowed me to truly learn what it means to be in Wapusk." - Ted M, 2008 |  "My most vivid memory of the trip was stepping out of the kitchen after a hard night of work. It was late, I was tired – I imagine it was likely 2:30 am. I looked up, and I thought I saw a streak of green in the sky. It was the northern lights – the first I’d seen in years. Everything was quiet, still. I felt like I was the only person in the world." - Jill N, 2010 |
 "It is more than a unique landscape with charismatic mammal super stars. It is the people who chose to live here, who seem to have a strong sense of community and connection to the land, it is the stories and legends, the way of life, the animals, plants and connectedness, the colors and smells and sounds." - Kim G, 2014 |
About the Research
 "We need programs like this in university because it gives you a taste of what real research is like in the field. The weather is unpredictable and you never know when a bear sighting or fog may disrupt your sampling. The experience in Wapusk has taught me to be more flexible in my research plans and to improvise when needed. This is a far cry from the strict experiments we do in labs ... which doesn't really prepare you for the real world of environmental research." - Tamara S, 2009 |  "One of my favourite memories will probably be the knowledge of plants I gained throughout the week. I went from not being able to name a single arctic plant that grows on the tundra to being able to name at least 80% of what I see by common name...There is such a huge difference between looking through pictures in a book and labeling them to actually getting down in the dirt, feeling, and discussing them with my peers." - Darian W, 2014 |
|---|---|
 "The highlight of my experience was tromping over the land doing vegetation quadrats with classmates; laughing and learning at the same time. What I have learned about doing field research over the course of the week in Wapusk is invaluable. I never would have expected to be so excited about vegetation quadrats, but I can genuinely say I could have spent the entire week doing that work and would have been completely content." - Kari Z, 2015 |  "It was incredible to experience the variety of different research questions being investigated, and for many of us these initial investigations only led to further questions and curiosities about the land." - Katie H, 2023 |
 "Complexity can be overwhelming but it can also mean that change starts small. Our work in the park was valued and this made me believe that what I contribute is meaningful." - Alexandra C, 2023 |
About Personal Growth
 "I was always indifferent about being a Canadian, and I always felt more Dutch, which is where my mom was born. But after we walked to the Tetons, and Heather MacLeod told us about the rich history of the Dene, Cree, and Hudson’s Bay Company, I have never been so proud to be Canadian." - Sarah W, 2015 |  "I have been waiting tirelessly through my twenties to find my place in the world, and here, in foggy Wapusk, having not showered in days, I realized this is what I am meant to do. I am meant to finish my degree this year, and do a masters program. I felt elated." - Sarah W, 2015 |
|---|---|
 "The skills I learned will help me not only with my future academic ambitions but the experience has impassioned me again after years of sitting in classrooms taking notes. It reminded me why I wanted to be in this field and what I am working toward." - Tamara S, 2009 |  "The relationships formed and the amount of knowledge gained from staying at camp is intangible. It cannot all be written down or described but being surrounded by so many different and interesting people really gave me some new perspectives and let me see the world around me through a different lens...This trip reinforced for me the path I am taking in life right now, educating myself to live and work in the North." - Jess T, 2010 |
 "The most valuable resource I’ve gained from this course is understanding “Learning by Doing”. As an aspiring educator, I learned that a good teacher is one who has had real life experiences. I want to engage students and connect them to life outside the classroom. After all, school is about providing students with the fundamental skills they can use, while beginning to sculpt an adult they can be." - Darren F, 2015 |  "I feel that this visit to Wapusk National Park has now grounded me for the rest of my career in environmental science. Environmental studies are my passion and this has never been as clear to me as it is after spending time in Wapusk National Park." - Chelsea O, 2015 |
 "It is not often that you have an experience that fundamentally changes who you are...The first sunrise of our trip was spent alone at the top of the observation tower, in the freezing wind, watching the sun breach the horizon and slowly understanding how lucky I was to witness and understand the necessity of places relatively untouched by people, and the sheer strength and healing power they contain." - Lauren R, 2015 |  "On a more personal level, Wapusk will always be the place that rekindled my aspirations to go to grad school. It was as much a function of the park as it was the people in it. Spending time on a project reminded me of why I got involved in botany in the first place" - Jeff B, 2010 |
About the Lifestyle
 "The park has a way of allowing people to open up and learn from one another in a way I have never experienced before. We all come from different programs and different backgrounds and so we all bring our unique perspectives to the table, but we debated and learned with each other so easily it was startling. I believe part of it is the feeling of freedom to express ones self in a safe environment." - Lauren R, 2015 |  "We are more engaged with the land when wildlife dictate our movements, because we are travelling as equals under the sun; we are more attuned to the changing weather when it determines whether or not we can complete some sampling. I find great value in experiencing this way of living, because it is humbling. We are only some of the enormous multitude of organisms and processes acting on this land." - Sydney T, 2011 |
|---|---|
 "The experience was such a contrast to my hurried and fast-paced life back in Winnipeg. I enjoyed stepping away from the electronic distractions that we encounter on an everyday basis. It was refreshing not to have a television or cell phone continually. Most amazingly I found myself not even missing them. The experience gave me a renewed appreciation for nature and living simply." - Jennie D, 2010 |  "It is deeply therapeutic to mental, physical and spiritual health to live in a place that is not governed by industrial mandate. Nature is not driven by economic theory, and provides profound wealth in other forms of capital than the elusive and abstract construct of monetary wealth." - Ryan K, 2015 |
 "...while you are looking out on the land as far as the eye can see, a sense of appreciation comes to you. Your worries in life disappear and you begin to hear yourself think again. Wapusk National Park has a way of mesmerizing you, with the wildlife, plant life, and history of the land. It allows you to capture your imagination once more and explore the knowledge and connection to the land that many of us have lost long ago." - Christina L, 2012 |  "There is a calmness in Wapusk that you cannot find anywhere else. Not having to answer texts and emails, was quite amazing. I found myself waking up early, and watching the sunrise, and listening to the sandhill cranes squawk in the background. I have never pitched and slept in a tent before coming to Nester One. I had the best sleep every night I was there." - Sarah W, 2015 |
 "The Wapusk experience brings you back to the basics, and reminds you of the things you can live without and that which is important. I missed my family, my animals, and my home while I was away, but a lot of other aspects of my lifestyle I did not, and I need to remember that when I leave." - Lauren L, 2015 |
About the Camp
 "Being situated in a fenced compound in the middle of polar bear country, I felt a total role reversal in the wildlife viewing experience...When bears approached the fence, it seemed as if we humans were animals being viewed in a zoo. As for the camp itself, I enjoyed its rustic nature and felt very comfortable. The facility met all of my needs and anything more modern would have taken away from my experience." - Jill L, 2007 |  "Nester 1 field station was a very cozy and comfortable place to spend one’s nights in the park, and even on days when large, curious white visitors made leaving the compound not an option there was still plenty to see from the viewing tower." - Tereza T, 2008 |
|---|---|
 "It is easy to feel the small amount of spirit each person has left at this camp, and I was thrilled to think I was being given the same opportunity." - Karlynn D, 2015 |  "It was this gifted opportunity to disconnect from the fast- paced rush found in the city, and if that came at the cost of modern conveniences, it was a price we were all willing to pay to experience life on that landscape." - Katie H, 2023 |
About the Weather
 "... on that first day Mother Wapusk brought us a sun hot enough to make us swim in the lakes, and a rain strong enough to send us sprinting back to our shelter." - Karlynn D, 2015 |  "The sheer force of the rain hitting my back was thrilling and terrifying, as if to testify that in some places on this earth I am of no more consequence than any animal, and I too must abide by the natural laws that govern how they live and die." - Lauren R, 2015 |
|---|---|
 "Even the wind will be a memory I will keep close." - Sarah M, 2008 |  "Even though our tents were almost blown away in some of the strongest winds I have every experienced, I found it extremely fun to experience such sporadic weather; even when measuring the permafrost active layer thickness is pouring rain." - Sameeha J, 2018 |
bottom of page