So here I am in Fairbanks, Alaska, at the PolarTREC Orientation with 15 other teachers that will be traveling to the Arctic or the Antarctic over the next year, beginning my preparations to return to Russia with the Kuril Biocomplexity Project. Last summer I worked with scientists from the University of Washington and Russia on this project as a TREC teacher.
I know that I am INCREDIBLY fortunate to have this opportunity. While I feel that last year was very successful, I am definitely looking forward to building on that experience both this summer in the field and within my classroom and community afterwards by starting "further ahead” this year. As I talk with the other PolarTREC teachers, some of whom only found out last week that they will be traveling to Alaska, Greenland, the Bering Sea or McMurdo Base in Antarctica for weeks or months, I realize that knowing what to expect in the field (for the MOST part since a ship has not been arranged yet for the expedition….) and how to "do” things (like download and manage my pictures, post a journal and email it all by satellite phone) that there will be higher expectations for me this summer. I imagine that both Dr. Ben Fitzhugh and Dr. Jody Bourgeois, the project Principal Investigators, are counting on me to be a "fully contributing” member of the team from the outset and that ARCUS is expecting bigger and better things from me as well. I don’t know if these thoughts/fears are true or not…..but as an "experienced” TREC teacher with two field seasons under my belt, how could they not be?
I know one way that last year’s experience will change how I do things this year however….. I will pack half of all of my clothes in EACH of my bags so that this year, I can ENJOY shopping for FUN things in the Russian Bazaar!
I’m also looking forward to using more of the tools that I have available to me such as making more narrated video clips with the digital camera, audio clips and interviews with my very tiny and cute recorder and involving my students virtually in some sort of data collection that I can do at one of the sites that we visit. I plan to work with Dr. Mike Etnier, a zooarchaeologist working on the project, and Bre MacInnes, a geology graduate student, to develop some sort of investigation(s) that my class can be involved in while I am in the field.
Well, my apprehensions and anticipations about this upcoming summer aside, I am more than anything excited about the upcoming trip. I know that there will be up times and down times, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
PolarTREC Orientation
So what are all of the PolarTREC teachers doing here in Fairbanks? We’re in school! The new teachers need to learn how to use their computers, cameras and recorders, how to navigate the Virtual Base Camp to post pictures, journals and answer questions. All of this on top of trying to figure out how to stay warm, pack and eventually to do science in the field as well! It is a bit overwhelming at times. As one of the "experts”, I have mostly been a teacher.
Last night, after dinner, we went to the Fairbanks Ice Park where the World Ice Art Championships are held. We walked through the park, viewing the ice sculptures, some of which had been created from a SINGLE block of ice, and sliding down the slides!
Fairbanks Ice Park Entrance
Ice Park Entrance
Entrance to the Fairbanks Ice Park that the PolarTREC Teachers visited one night at the March Orientation. (Photo taken by Brandon Gillette)
Sliding at the Ice Park.
Ms Nikula takes a slide
Misty Nikula slides down the kiddie ice slide at the Fairbanks Ice Park. (Photo taken by Brandon Gillette)
Polar Bear Ice Carving
Polar Bear Ice Carving
A close up of a polar bear face, one of the ice carvings at the Fairbanks Ice Park.
Intricate Ice Sculpture
Intricate Ice Sculpture
An intricate ice sculpture at the Fairbanks Ice Park. (Photo taken by Brandon Gillette)
The temperature was about 8 F and while we HAD tried to layer properly and wear all of our warmest clothes, after about 45 minutes, our toes and fingers was getting very cold so we decided to head back. On Sunday, I will be headed back to Bellingham and the rest of the school year, including finishing up Science Inquiry Projects with my students and our big Plate Tectonics/Rocks & Minerals/Ocean Currents and Ocean Topography Unit! There are a lot of preparations and details to be figured out in the next three months and I can’t wait!
Signing off from the Land of the Midnight Sun –
Ms Nikula