Diverse species and culture awaits
Iqaluit high school students to travel to the Galapagos Islands this month
Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Monday, April 21 2014
IQALUIT
After three years of running rummage sales, catering events and serving at a canteen, Inuksuk High School's Green Club members are headed to the Galapagos Islands.
The collection of 19 islands inspired Charles Darwin back in 1835, and they have certainly piqued the interest of the group, including club founder Kara Ashley.
"I'm excited to witness all the diverse species and all the different wildlife.
When we get there, we are going to be seeing different species stuck in different evolutionary stages, which is just an incredible thing to do," said the 17-year-old student. "I'm excited about the language, but nervous about the language barrier. It should be fun to interact with the locals."
The 15 members, along with three chaperones from the school, start their adventure in Ottawa where they will be meeting with Arctic researchers to learn more about their own environment. They will also be visiting the Museum of Civilization and the Museum of Nature.
The group was expected to arrive in Toronto April 17 and then fly on to their first stop, - Quito, Ecuador - to do some sightseeing.
The group will travel to the Island of Santa Cruz where they will visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. The following day they will go by boat to the Island of San Cristobal to see "true Galapagos wildlife" including iguanas, blue-footed boobies and sea lions. Then it's on to Floreana Island the next day to hike and search for tortoises.
The group will spend a few days on mainland Ecuador before journeying back to Iqaluit, where they expect to arrive April 28, most likely looking tanned and tired out.
The total cost of the trip is $120,000 and students managed to raise an impressive $48,000.
"The group is really dedicated," said educator and chaperone Pascale Baillargeon. "The kids have been running fundraisers so parents didn't have to run a whole bunch of bingos."
The Green Club got started when three students came to Baillargeon after the Ocean Innovation conference in 2011.
They felt it was important to start an environmentally-focused club since they live by the ocean. The idea for the trip came later and, once word got out, the club grew. Students must be members of the club in order to go on the trip.
Students going on the trip were encouraged to take an evening course focused on the science of the Galapagos Islands. Once a week, they would delve into topics such as the science of the islands, speciation (the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise), what defines a species and geology.
Participants received Career and Technology Studies (CTS) credits for taking the course.
For 18-year-old Izaac Wilman, the most captivating area they covered was the origin of the islands.
"They were formed through volcanic eruptions in the Pacific Ocean. They've gotten smaller as time goes by due to erosion from water and what not," said Wilman. "That's something I thought was really interesting and would really like to learn more about while I'm there."
