August 15, 2008
Monumental Island: 
Photo by Lee Narraway
Under blue skies, the team made their final expedition landing today at Monumental Island! And what an extraordinary landing it was!
Located off the south east corner of Baffin Island, Monumental is one of our all-time favourite places on earth. The seas around Monumental can get choppy, but a wet, rollicking zodiac ride is just the ticket to see one of the Arctic's greatest islands. Steep cliffs, rugged scenery, beautiful beaches - and tons of wildlife - Monumental has a little of everything to please every expedition team member! As you will see from today's journals -- the team had a terrific adventure!
Tonight, the ship turned into Frobisher Bay and began the long cruise back to Iqaluit. After a Captain's Dinner - where the team will have an opportunity to thank the ship's fabulous officers and crew. Not much has been written about the crew on board the Lyubov Orlova (aka Polar Ambassador) but Students on Ice has been chartering this vessel for years, and as the students can attest, the men and women working on the ship are professional, friendly and downright wonderful. It is a great ship.
After dinner, there will be briefings, and wrap up workshops to help the team make sense of the many, many extraordinary experiences of the trip.
Most importantly, the team will continue discussing ways to apply the lessons learned over the past two weeks to their lives and to their communities when they return home.
Photo by Lee Narraway
Student Journals
Rohit Mehta, Student
Final Thoughts
Tonight, we will spend our final night on the ship, before the group begins heading home tomorrow. We have shared this ship with some of the planet’s finest people, and it’s been a learning experience every day. From hearing about each other’s environmental initiatives back home, to learning about sea ice and climate change in workshops, I have constantly been learning. I have also had the chance to hike up towards glaciers, witness breathtaking geology, and have conversations with a diverse group of leaders, experts, and students. I have been able to discuss real and radical solutions to climate change and big picture ideas over meals. I have even gotten to see wildlife and plant species that I would have never known existed in the Arctic.
During an activity on the impressions we had during the expedition, I reflected and realized that there is so much love on this ship. I am so glad to call Students on Ice my family, and I am thrilled to continue in lifelong sharing with my sisters and brothers.
This experience has connected me with Mother Nature, and has given me hope for the future. I highly recommend that youth go on journeys like this one, because it teaches us more than what our classrooms can offer. I have learned how to be a good team member, and have gained interpersonal and leadership skills. I have also learned to appreciate nature and water, as they have displayed themselves very majestically over this journey. I feel very strongly about exposing youth coming from big cities like mine, where we are often very disconnected from our local environment, nevertheless other parts of the world.
The potential for today’s youth to take actions and steps towards solving climate change is huge, and I feel lucky to be a part of this motivational movement. We are already making significant changes in educating others, and building a growing movement of activists and leaders. I owe big thanks to Geoff Green for starting Students on Ice, and like him, I hope to leave a legacy as I begin a new, lifelong expedition. 
Photo by Lee Narraway
Max Liddle, Student
Today was our last full day on the ship and all I have to say is: “Wow!” What better way to wrap up our whole experience than to take one last Zodiac cruise around Monumental Island. First of all, there were relatively big swells when we were in the Zodiacs, so that made it really, really fun. Second, as soon as we got to the island, we saw a polar bear. I got some great footage of him leaping from land and diving into the water. Finally, to cap it all off we turned the corner and saw a bunch of walruses. As we continued around the island we kept sighting more and more groups of them until we wound up back where we had started. All in all I had a wonderful last day on the ship and am looking forward to returning home to share my experience with all of you!
This will most likely be the last journal that you get from me because we are leaving the ship tomorrow morning and that means there won’t be access to a computer for the rest of the trip.
See you soon,
Max Liddle
Photo by Lee Narraway
Michaela Lurger, Student
Heute ist unser letzter Tag am Schiff, wir sind schon alle am packen und so langsam kommt Aufbruchstimmung auf. Einige Highlights habe ich dennoch zu erzählen: Gestern Abend, eingentlich schliefen wir schon alle, klopfte es an unserer Tür. Es war Nicki, ein Staffmember, die mir sagte ich solle mich schnell anziehen denn draussen sehe mann Nordlichter. Es was dass erste mal, dass ich Nordlichter sah- Wahnsinn!! Es funkelte überall grün und gelb, ausserdem hatten wir Vollmond. Was für eine Nacht!
Heute Vormittag machten wir noch eine letzte Zodiakfahrt zu Monumental Island, die bekannt dafür ist, dass sich viele Walrösser dort aufhalten. Es dauerte nur einige Minuten und wir fuhren geradewechs auf eine Herde von Walrössern zu. Überall rund um die Insel tumelten sich diese riessigen Tiere. Wir kamen ihnen so nahe, ich konnte sie Luft holen hören. Zwischen den Horden sah man auch immer wieder kleine Babys herumschwimmen. Doch nicht genug dass wir denn Walrössern so nahe kommen durften, nein auch ein junger Eisbär kletterte vor uns die Insel hoch. Für mich war dies der perfekte Abschluss einer grossartigen Erfahrung in meinem Leben. Diese zwei Wochen haben mich geprägt und ich will sie nicht missen. Ich habe viele Freunde, Erlebnisse und Eindrücke gewonnen die diesen Trip für mich einmalig gemacht haben. Morgen werden wir noch den Vormittag in Iqualuit verbringen und ein Barbeque an Land geniessen. Danach fliegen wir zurück nach Ottawa und am Sonntag beginnt meine Reise nach Hause. Bis Daheim!
Danke an alle die mir diesen Trip ermöglicht haben! Michaela
Photo by Lee Narraway
Nora Bales August 15, 2008
What a day! Rather, so far amazing, and I predict that it will continue to get better and better as the day wears on. We, the Tundra group that is, started the day by watching a film on caribou migration in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve. The video was filmed by a newly married couple that decided to follow the caribou migration from the arctic coast, near Old Crow in the Yukon, down to the Wildlife Reserve in Alaska. The trip totaled 130-140 something days. Upon returning from their journey, the couple went to the White House and spoke with several officials about not drilling for oil in Alaska, because they would drill right on the caribou’s calving grounds. 
Photo by Lee Narraway
Alexandra Polasko, Student
Even though I have been to many other countries with other youth organizations, there is something special about the Student on Ice Arctic Expedition. It is my last day on the ship and I have realized that the Arctic has a certain magic about it. My past few weeks have given me the honor and opportunity to open my eyes, heart, and soul. My eyes have been opened to not only appreciate new kinds of beauty, but to see myself differently.
Photo by Lee Narraway
Stay Tuned for Further Updates!
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