8 February 2016 Return to the North

The Return of the Crazy, Not So Young Girl

The lure of studying an arctic ecosystem has tantalized me ever since my first visit to Alaska over thirty years ago, when as a young, crazy girl, I tramped through the Brooks Range, hitched-hiked the Alaska highway from Skagway to Anchorage and tried my hands at a fish hatchery on the Kenai Peninsula. I applied to PolarTREC with the hope of returning to this North land, to soak in both beauty and ecology.

And Also….

As an environmental scientist and educator, I have been deeply concerned about how climate change is impacting the earth's ecosystems. I am hopeful that the experiences gained through my PolarTREC expedition can inspire my students and community to want to understand polar ecosystems and the critical role they play in climate change science.

PolarTREC, Here I Come!

Yesterday, I arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska, for the PolarTREC orientation, expecting cold, cloudy, dark and a bit gloomy. To my surprise, the day though dawning later than I am used to in New Mexico, was anything but cloudy and gloomy. Bright sunshine, nippy air and new friends greeted me. The excitement of expedition filled the room as we introduced ourselves and the 15 various adventures we would soon be preparing ourselves for.

Night Sparkles

After fatigue set in from the long flight, the short sleep, the intense meet and greet, the firehose of information, my new friend D.J. texted me that the Northern lights were sparkling the skies.