Countries: CA

Wheat harvesting and prairie living are the focus of this episode as we venture across the vast prairies. We travel by truck to a grain elevator and discover how wheat becomes flour and finally bread. Then we head to Moose Jaw to learn about the little endangered burrowing owl. In Jay’s Gee! Ology he demonstrates how weather and geology combine to form some of Canada’s most fertile soil.

We discover how young people are still interested in Inuit traditions by meeting up with some young throat singers, drummers and athletes. We also get to try a little caribou stew. A trip out on the tundra with Canadian Wildlife Service officer, Johnny Nowdluk teaches us about how animals keep warm in the harsh environment, and about how much the Inuit depend on and respect the local wildlife. In Jay’s Gee! Ology, Jay investigates the effect that wind chill has on our perception of temperature.

Starting off in Yellowknife, young cross-country ski champ Sarah Stephen takes us for a discovery tour. We check out some landmarks like the Bush Pilots Monument and a small houseboat community on the Lake. At Sirius Diamonds, Jamie and Jennifer discover how chunks of rock are cut and polished into some of the world’s finest diamonds. A quick flight takes us to the town of Fort Resolution on the south side Great Slave Lake. Here biologists with the Hook Lake Bison Recovery Project are breeding a disease-free herd of bison in an attempt to strengthen the population of one of North America’s largest land mammals. In Jay’s Gee! Ology, he demonstrates how diamonds are formed and make it up to the earth’s surface.

Starting off in Yellowknife, young cross-country ski champ Sarah Stephen takes us for a discovery tour. We check out some landmarks like the Bush Pilots Monument and a small houseboat community on the Lake. At Sirius Diamonds, Jamie and Jennifer discover how chunks of rock are cut and polished into some of the world’s finest diamonds. A quick flight takes us to the town of Fort Resolution on the south side Great Slave Lake. Here biologists with the Hook Lake Bison Recovery Project are breeding a disease-free herd of bison in an attempt to strengthen the population of one of North America’s largest land mammals. In Jay’s Gee! Ology, he demonstrates how diamonds are formed and make it up to the earth’s surface.

We explore the rich culture, lifestyle and landscape of this small inlet. We meet up with a young Inuit student who talks about how she is keeping the Inuktituk language alive: through hip-hop music. Then local historian, Theresie Tungalik, takes us out to the Meliadine Territorial Park where an archeological site provides evidence of how the ancient Thule people lived. Theresie explains that in a lot of ways, life has not changed dramatically over thousands of years. Finally a visit to the Matchbox Gallery gives Jamie and Jennifer a chance to learn about the art of traditional ceramics. In Jay’s Gee! Ology he explains the difference between the North Pole and the North Magnetic pole.

It’s high Polar Bear time in Churchill, Manitoba. These incredible animals are waiting for the ice to freeze on Hudson Bay before heading out in search of food. We hang out with Kyle Wolkoski, who helps out at his family’s Polar-buggy business. We go on Bear Patrol and visit the Polar Bar Jail with Manitoba conservation officer Pat Cronin to learn about what the town does to live with the bears this time of year. In Jay’s Gee! Ology he explains how salt effects the freezing point of water.

We explore Manitoba’s capital of Winnipeg with curling champ Elisabeth Peters, before heading to the rink for a lesson in how the game is played. At the Prairie Storm Prediction Centre, we learn why Manitoba has such extreme weather and what can be done to predict what’s coming. Just outside Winnipeg, the Mariash Quarry provides a peak at Manitoba’s ancient history as seen through layers of fossils deposited over 440 million years ago! In Jay’s Gee! Ology he explains how tornadoes are formed.

Our hosts pitch their tents on the grounds of one of the largest rodeos in the world – or the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, as it’s also known – the Calgary Stampede. They check out the Rodeo’s Chuck Wagon Village where they experience the thrill of chuck wagon racing. Then they set up camp at Indian Village where they learn about the history and customs of the Treaty Seven. Then they head up north of the stampede to the Composting Technology Centre at the Olds College Centre for Innovation to find out what happens to all the rodeo leftovers.

Our hosts discover the spills and thrills of white-water rafting on the Smoky River as they head to Jasper to explore the Canadian Rockies. They join up with a grizzly bear researcher and head off by helicopter to track grizzly’s in Jasper National Park of Canada. Then they climb aboard a Snocoach and head to the middle of one of Canada’s largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle – the Columbia Icefield glaciers.