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NUNAVUT/GREENLAND
Venturing on and off a vessel traversing the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, students from around the world, including some from Nunavut, learned about cultural and environmental change in the Arctic from July 29 until Aug. 13.

Arctic Bay's Amanda Akeeagok, pictured in Iqaluit at the end of July, was among 75 students from eight countries who travelled from Iqaluit to Greenland aboard the Academic Ioffe as part of an expedition that ran from July 29 until Aug. 13. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

"It was unexplainable," said Amanda Akeeogak, an Arctic Bay youth who took part in the Students on Ice expedition.

Students on Ice has been taking place each year since 2000, and this year's trip was titled

the Voyage of Discovery and Transformation, according to Mark Brooks, the media and communications manager for Students on Ice. Thirty of the students were from across the North; there to learn and there to help expose the southern and international students to the cultures of the North.

"It's not only important to have the Northern students so that other students are exposed to students who live in the North," said Brooks, "but it's also great for the Northern students to ... meet with their southern counterparts and meet with international students.

"There's a real cultural exchange there, which is a very important part of the expeditions that we do."

The workshops conducted on the trip revolved around subjects such as climate change, oceanography, landscape geomorphology and Northern culture and arts. Among the staff guiding the trip were scientists, educators, journalists and artists, who also conducted workshops with the youths.

"They give workshops in their domain and the students are free to choose the kinds of things they want to learn about."

Though Brooks said "no day is typical" aboard the Academic Ioffe, the vessel which served as base for the students, each day would start early, with a breakfast and briefing. After that, a student's day could include heading out on a Zodiac to an island for a hike, or a workshop onboard the Ioffe, or an encounter with Arctic wildlife. Students would have about an hour each day to themselves to hang out on deck or write in their journals. Then, after supper, there could be more workshops or presentations.

"We like to keep the itinerary very full," said Brooks.

The ship left Iqaluit and went up the east coast of Baffin Island, across the Davis Strait and up the west coast of Greenland before it headed back.

Akeeagok said her favourite part of the trip was meeting all of her peers from around the world, and said she enjoyed learning about global warming and different cultures. At one point in the trip, Akeeagok said they saw eight polar bears in one day.

Brooks said the organization has seen nearly 2,000 students go on similar adventures throughout its 10 years, and the students are often very much affected by what they learn.

"We always encourage them to let us know what they're up to, what they're doing and how this experience may have influenced them, helped them, or maybe altered the direction they want to take in their life."

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