Expedition Update:
Aug. 13 - Cumberland Peninsula & Padloping Island

Years ago, when we started organizing our Arctic expeditions, one of the most important jobs was to check the ice charts everyday with the Canadian Ice Service. We still do it everyday, but year after year, we've seen the overall sea ice coverage diminshing and retreating north. Ten years ago, most of Hudson Bay was still frozen till the end of July and sailing to Churchill on anything other than a full icebreaker would've been nearly impossible till August.

Today, the team went looking for ice, but came up short - there was no shortage of beautiful icebergs, bergie bits, and growlers - but no sign of the big sheets of pack ice they expected to see. This did not prevent them naturally, for having a fabulous expedition day! At about 8:30 am they ship crossed the Arctic Circle in the morning and it was all hands on deck for a special Circle crossing ceremony on the bow - and later the team made an impromtu and great landing at a little place called Padloping Island! Read on...

Participant Journals!

From: Nicholas Chong

For the tenth day, Geoff, our expedition leader, woke us up through the P.A. system with the exact same line “Good morning Student’s on Ice, today is another beautiful day. A new great adventure awakes you! Time to get up, breakfast will be served soon.” And for the tenth time, I woke up knowing two things: it would be another amazing day, different from the day before, and breakfast would also be just as scrumptious as the mornings before.

The day’s excitement started early today as the students finally passed through the Arctic Circle. At around 7:45 our vessel made it through the Arctic Circle with students on the outside deck jumping vigorously. Even the late risers found themselves cheering while the early birds had enough energy to run a couple of marathons. As the excitement settled down, students made their way to the dining room to eat breakfast and prepare themselves for the many other adventures to come. After filling our stomachs with the taste bud arousing bacon, Denis gave us a presentation on Mars – a planet that space scientists are concentrating on studying. Following the informative and interesting presentation, another presentation followed. For a second lecture, several students were given the chance to finish fine oil paintings they had started painting earlier. After the lecture ended and the artists finished painting, the students brought great satisfaction to their hunger through the delicious pizza.

After this full morning, we all loaded on to the zodiacs to explore Padloping Island. As some students climbed to a small mountain on the island, many other students created an inuksuk, a collaborative effort. After about three hours, students enjoyed the view, took group pictures, and created more beautiful inuksuks. As the students became wary and hungry again, the zodiacs brought us back to the vessels where the students ate our usual stomach-pleasing dinner and began to settle down.

As the end of the night neared, the students had a briefing recapping daily events and preparing them for the adventures to come. The day was capped with songs, dances, and videos.

From: Omar Beg

Yesterday I touched, licked and ate my first iceberg at Kekerten Island, an old abandoned whaling station.  But today was even better because for the first time I touched snow, made a (deformed) snow angel and had a snowball fight! This all happened on our visit to a place called Padloping Island. 

We started this visit with a hike from the beach where we could see the remains (garbage, debris) of a US military settlement. Our educators told us that the people here were just ordered to leave, so the remains were left without a care to its impacts. The irony is that the government hasn’t bothered to clean it up after all these years. 

As we continued our hike up to a ridge, we made inukshuks, had a group photo and a big group hug with Geoff in between. After this we broke up into groups and either continued hiking, just chilled at the ridge or returned to the ship. I went on the hike in order to reach the SNOW!  We had a great time, and when we came back to the ship we had a conservation workshop, dinner and a sort of musical briefing! Tomorrow we are searching for 9/10 ice! 

[FYI - 9/10 ice refers to sea coverage – 9/10 means that the sea is 9/10 covered in pack ice.]

From: BJ Bodnar: Climate change awareness update - Disappearing glaciers

Both students and chaperones were able to bear witness to one of the most important pieces of physical evidence validating the occurrence of climate change during our visit to Auyuittuq National Park. The Park is lined with many different sizes and types of glaciers on almost all sides, and during our hike to the Arctic Circle, we were able to see a number of them. We were also able to see the areas marking the former expanse of the glaciers, contrasted with their current, clearly receded positions. Fortunately for me, it didn’t require an extensive background in scientific methodology to notice that there were large-scale changes happening at a clearly accelerated rate. During the three hour walk back from the circle, I was accompanied by the head park warden, and he shared with me how the park has visibly changed within the last few years. Some of the most noticeable examples included glacial retreats of over 100 feet within the last decades, and valley glaciers that have disappeared from view altogether.

Perhaps most startling about this trend was the fact that every year, season after season, the cycle was continuing, and even getting worse. It is hard to imagine these immense areas of ice disappearing altogether, but I’m sure I would have said the same thing 30 years ago about areas where only rock and gravel remain today. For me, the scale of the melt was hard to believe, and even harder to accept.

The Inuit word Auyuittuq can be translated as “ice that never melts”. The only way that I can describe the melting event occurring at the park right now is unnatural. Things are changing faster and more drastically then I had originally envisioned, and science aside, common sense dictates that something is out of balance.  

Keep your stick on the ice (if there’s any left)

From: Jason Koblogina

My name is Jason Koblogina.  I am from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.  I am 16 years old and this fall I am going into grade 11 at Kiilinik High School. 

One day, I was at work and got a fax about the Students on Ice expedition. I called Reina, the SOI participant coordinator and asked for an application for the trip.  I filled out the form and faxed it back to Reina the following day (which was Monday).  The next day I found out that I got accepted for the trip, so I resigned from my job as a radio announcer and DJ. I was so excited about this opportunity, not everyone gets this kind of opportunity, so I could not wait to come on the trip. 

Time has gone by so fast, we now have only 3 days left and then we all go our separate ways in life.  It has been so nice to meet new people from all over Canada, but also from Russia, China, United States, India, United Kingdom and Germany.

The trip has been unbelievable!  The first day in Ottawa was too hot, the weather was way too much for me, this may be weird but I actually missed the cold back home.  Our trip really began when we got on our chartered flight from Ottawa to Churchill, Manitoba.  We spent the afternoon in Churchill looking for polar bears and just touring the community.  After our tour of the community we went for a zodiac cruise in the ocean to look for whales, we were lucky enough to find Belugas.  We saw many belugas, including mothers with their young.  That was amazing for me because I had never seen a whale in my life.  That same evening we got on the Lyubov Orlova, which is the ship we are currently living on.  The second day we were so lucky, because we saw orcas in the Hudson Bay.

A big highlight of my trip so far was visiting Walrus Island where we saw lots of walruses as well as a couple polar bears having a delicious, healthy meal (of walrus).  The bears were so adorable.  The walruses were also unbelievable.  They were so stinky from farting, burping and pooping - it was an awful smell!  Before this day I had never seen an actual walrus!

From: Rosie and Kristen 

Ode to Rubber Boots

How I love thee rubber boots

And how you keep me dry.

You keep the water from my toes.

You are as nice as pie.

How I love thee awesome wellies

And the freedom I get from wearing thee.

With you I can walk in dirt and muck;

I could even walk through cat pee.

How I love thee cool galoshes

And how you squish, squishidy squish.

What fabulous sounds you make as I walk,

Especially if I step on a fish.

How I love thee Wellingtons.

You are my soul, my love, my life.

Marry me please, Wellingtons;

You carry me through struggles and strife.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Rex Lo 

During the past week and a half, we’ve been living on the Lyubov Orlova, our home and vessel. Every morning, the students and staff are woken up by the P.A. system at a ridiculously early time for a summer’s day. But, after I have actually woken up and read the ‘Daily Ice Cap’ (our daily newspaper), I realize that the day ahead will be packed with many things fun and educational to do, whether it be a lecture or a hike, etc.