For the third year, Polar Bears International (PBI) welcomed kids in Churchill, Canada to summer camp — at no cost to the participants and their families.
The town of Churchill is famous for its polar bears, and it’s a base for many of our research and outreach efforts. For decades, the town has been incredibly supportive of PBI’s conservation efforts. In return, we want to be good neighbours — especially for the young people who will shape Churchill’s future. Each year since 2023, we’ve been offering summer camps for local youth ages 5-13. The camp is completely free to participants, thanks to a generous grant from Canadian bank CIBC.
Amanda Chambers has been working as a camp counselor with PBI for the past two years. Her background in biology, with a focus on ecology and environmental science, led her to PBI. “I'm very interested in animals and the north, so this camp is a perfect fit.”
Amanda shared with us some of the highlights from this summer’s camp:
Q: Can you give us some background on the camps? When did they take place and how did you get the word out?
We had one week for younger kids and one for the older kids. They would come from 9am to 3.30 p.m, just like regular classes, and get to do all sorts of different activities during the day. Some were in the Polar Bears International House, and others all around the town of Churchill.
To promote it, we put posters up in all the major centres in Churchill, as well as the town Facebook page. Plus, we have great connections with people who work in the school as well, like Georgina Berg. Georgina has been a friend to PBI for years, and co-led a groundbreaking study on Indigenous knowledge of human-polar bear coexistence.
Q: What kind of activities did you do?
A theme of the camp was “Churchill Is” — focusing on what Churchill means to each of the students.
With the younger kids, we did a lot of art activities. The kids especially loved painting! There were a couple of off-site trips as well, to the play centre and the beach.
The older kids did a lot of team-building games. In one, they were blindfolded and they had to navigate an obstacle course with each others’ guidance. We also did some tie-dye and collected fireweed to make fireweed lemonade. They filmed a video and made art pieces representing what Churchill is to them. The kids got to show off their connections to this place in a way that we don't typically see.
