Lectures in the 2011-2012 Series

Yukon Butterflies: Beauty in the North
Crispin Guppy, Biologist
M.Sc., RPBio., PBio
Sunday, December 4, 2011, 7:30 pm Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, Whitehorse
Monday, December 5, 2011, 7:30 pm Northern Lights Centre, Watson Lake

Did you know over ninety species of butterflies are known from the Yukon? Post-glacial colonization of southern areas by butterflies of the eastern boreal forests, the southern grasslands, and the west coast accounts for much of the diversity, while the northern Yukon has a variety of Beringian species, many of which have expanded their range into the mountains further south. Some of the species being found in the Yukon are new to science.

Join Cris Guppy as he gives an overview of this amazing diversity of Yukon butterflies, the wide range of habitats they use here, and the different ways they have adapted to northern climates.

On Yukon time: 700 million years of changing landscapes
JoAnne Nelson
Senior Project Geologist, BC Geological Survey
Sunday, November 20, 2011 7:30 pm Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, Whitehorse

Geological history is like a very long movie, in which our own lives take up more or less a single frame. Hidden in that remote past is a dramatic story - of continents colliding and rifting apart again, and of volcanic island chains crossing oceans to collide with farther shores. Caught in the endless cycle of change, living creatures have always coped, adapted, and evolved, have found their nests and niches on the ever-shifting ground. This talk takes a journey through the last 700 million years in evolution of Yukon landscapes, from the birth of the Pacific Ocean to the continuing pull of its oceanic plates on the edge of our land today.

Wind Energy in Canada: the basics, the resource and the opportunity
Peter Taylor
Professor of Atmospheric Science and Applied Mathematics, York University
Thursday, October 6, 2011, 7:30 pm Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, Whitehorse

Currently wind provides about 2% of Canada’s electricity needs. How do we harness this power? And is it worth expanding on our wind energy potential? Join Peter Taylor for a look at the physics of wind energy and wind turbines, and how it can be applied in Canada.

As part of his presentation he will be showing the film, "Wind Energy in Canada - Physics, Planning and Politics" - a joint venture between a group of atmospheric scientists and engineers, and York University's Film program, soon to be available for distribution to schools and other interested groups.

YSI events are free and open to all.