KINNGAIT/CAPE DORSET - Sam Pudlat School recently purchased a weather station so students and staff can track the impact of climate change on Cape Dorset and other Northern communities.

Sam Pudlat School teachers Kathy Pelletier, left, and Lisa Kelly prepare the weather station for installation in Cape Dorset. Students are to track the weather to better understand climate change. - photo courtesy of David Webber

To be operational this March, the weather station valued in excess of $1,000 consists, among other things, of a console, a rain collector and sensors to detect temperature, humidity and wind speed. The station will interface with the school's computer network so students can check the current weather conditions every morning. Archived data will be compared with Environment Canada climate normals, said principal David Webber.

"We just think it's really important that the children not only understand the concepts of weather but they also understand the implications of weather change and climate change on their lives," he said. "We can graph the normal amount of precipitation with the precipitation in the last 12 months. We can graph maximum and minimum temperatures, snowfall amounts, ice thicknesses and so on."

Kindergarten students will learn the basics, such as looking at the screen for a sunny or snowy icon, for instance, and make the connection by looking out the window, said Webber. He added as the students get older, they will plot and graph data, discover patterns and learn the terminology of weather, for instance.

The idea came from a discussion among teachers, as Webber said one commented students should be tracking the weather as the North is affected by climate change. He added another commented on the importance of having relevant information for teaching how to graph and plot data.

"If I was to give you some information about the City of Winnipeg and ask you to plot that or graph it, it's not really very interesting," he said. "But if I was to give you some data about the conditions right here at this school and in this community, then it would mean a lot more to you."

When the students reach high school, Webber said the goal is to have students look at the impact climate change is having on their community by making predictions and interpreting trends based on the data collected by the weather station.

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