Temperature: 9 °F / -13 °C
Wind: 13 MPH / 20 KPH
Cloud Cover: Low clouds with light snow
Sunrise: 4:50 a.m.
Sunset: 10:18 p.m.

We had just started feeling homesick for Minnesota when five high school seniors and their teacher, Craig Johnson, from the School of Environmental Studies (SES) in Apple Valley, Minnesota, arrived in town. Bright-eyed and observant, the group has come to Clyde River as the first part of an exchange with students at the Quluaq High School. We met up with each other during a local igloo-building contest, and bonded over our love of winter and the north. No strangers to cold weather, the group seems quite at home in the wind and snow.

 

Over the next eight days the students, Allison Mills, Dalen Butler, Chris Anderson, Jeff Cook and Joe Heins hope to immerse themselves in the Clyde River Community and Inuit culture. I joined the group for a pancake breakfast to hear more about their project and goals for the trip. Allison was thoughtful and articulate when asked about her perspective on the exchange. "We are here to experience the culture for ourselves," she explained. "We want to work with the goals of the Will Steger Foundation and look at climate change through a cultural context. This is the lens we're using."

Each student has been placed with a family in town for the duration of their stay. They hope to learn as much as they can through interviewing elders in the community and spending time with students their own age. All of their observations will be documented in two students blogs: 'Baffin Exchange' and 'Arctic Speak'. Look for a link to the blogs on the left column of the GW101 home page.

The group also hopes to pave the way for four Clyde River High School students to visit Minnesota and SES next September. The students would be accompanied by a teacher and interpreter from the Clyde River community, and would stay with SES host families.

Each of the five students has chosen a focus for their visit. Joe has built his senior project around the student exchange and will be working closely with Allison to meet the Clyde River students and build rapport between them and students at SES. Jeff and Daylon are responsible for audio and video recordings of interviews in the village. Chris has been working on the exchange since its inception and has recently secured an internship with the Will Steger Foundation in Minneapolis, MN.

The Will Steger Foundation has been working with the School of Environmental Studies for over a year, planning for this student exchange and collaborating on the first annual Will Steger Foundation Institute for Climate Change Education (held at the school in 2006). SES has a strong history of environmental education and experiential learning, and provides an excellent model of youth leadership and action. We are proud to partner with them on past, present and future projects.

We want to extend a warm welcome to Craig, Allison, Joe, Jeff, Daylon and Chris. We appreciate the unique perspective they bring, and know we will reach a wider audience because of their good work and dedication. We encourage you to visit their blogs to experience Clyde River and the issue of climate change from a youth perspective!

Abby



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