Students on Ice Wraps up its Tour of the Arctic
Students on ice 2011 Arctic group
© Lee Narraway
August has been a month of Arctic marvels for our Educational Officer Isabelle Du Four, who boarded the Clipper Adventurer to join the Students on Ice expedition as it travelled around the north. From July 23rd to August 7th, the ship-based educational expedition took an international crew of 70 students and their accompanying team of scientists, artists, educators, and aboriginal elders to Iceland, Greenland and the northern reaches of Canada.
Since 2000, Students on Ice has offered over 1,600 students from around the world the once in a lifetime opportunity to discover the incredible world of the poles, while learning more about the changes the regions and their people are facing. Among this year's participants, 30% were northern aboriginal youth.
Flying into Reykjavik (Iceland) from around the world, the students spent their first days of the expedition touring through the country, even taking time to visit the head of state at the Presidential Palace. On July 26th, the expedition team was taken to Thingvellir, a geological wonder where an immense rift shows the North American and Eurasian continental plates slowly separating from each other.
Rounding up the tour of Iceland, the Students on Ice team boarded the Adventurer on their way to Greenland, attending their first lectures on board ship. While not being able to see the shores of Greenland through the fog, the students had the chance to see blue and Minke whales off the bow of the ship. At Prins Christians Sund, the students were also able to see for themselves the footprint left by glacial retreat on the Greenland coast.
The Greenland leg of the trip ended with an event hosted by the people of Nanortalik. The next day, the Adventurer embarked on the last leg of the expedition, heading for the coast of Labrador (Canada). After a short celebration at Torngat Mountains Base Camp, a summer base camp located on Inuit land, the team flew back to Ottawa on August 7th.
For Isabelle, the Students on Ice 2011 Expedition was the opportunity to contribute to the educational programme with presentations and workshops. Basing herself upon her Class Zero Emisson experience, Isabelle co-organized a series of workshops with scientists, allowing students to perform experiments related to climate change.
“We were entering a fjord and were able to go 4 miles deeper than the charts indicated. We were on top of the location where the glacier was in 1966, and were able to see climate change with our own eyes. It was truly a shocking image, one we will not soon forget.” said Bridget Graham of Ontario.
For the students, Students on Ice was a unique experience, one without television, internet, or cell phones. This inspirational experience has doubtlessly inspired the students ambassadors to take action, with some of them sharing their personal highlights at the Welcome Home Celebration at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
“It showed me that this isn’t a faraway culture,” said Michael Gardiner of Newfoundland. “(The aboriginal elders) are a living, breathing part of Canada.”
“I’m thinking to become a leader in my hometown, and get our Inuit culture back,” said Darcy Kuppaq of Hall Beach, Nunavut.
