Students on Ice: With a little help from my friends

It might sound a bit cliché, but I really couldn’t do this without you: my colleagues who took the time to give me their advice and the fleece vests off their backs; my friends and family who dug through their closets to equip me with a huge array of used gear so that I could keep my trip as green – and cheap! – as possible; and all of the people in our online community who share our stories and support us every day.
I’ll miss all of you. But I’m about to make some new friends, including Geoff Green and his incredible team at Students on Ice, the experienced educators, researchers, artists and advocates on board the ship, and 71 absolutely inspiring students who will be the environmental leaders of the future.
I’m especially excited to meet four young women who are being sponsored by WWF: two from Nunavut, and two from Greenland.
Gelena Koonark, from Pond Inlet, Nunavut says that hip-hop is her “thang,” and dreams of traveling the world to teach others about Nunavut and climate change. Doreen Kanayuk of Pangnirtung, Nunavut has honed her outdoor skills as a Junior Canadian Ranger, and is eager to learn more about the animals that depend on the Arctic ecosystem to thrive. Liv Inuk Lynge of Narsaq, Greenland wants to study anthropology. “I am aware that the country of my upbringing, the world which I know so well, is threatened by the way in which we treat the earth,” she says. Ania Heide Olsvig Drechsel of Nuuk, Greenland has wanted to work with wildlife since she was a child, and wants to work with other young people to make a difference in environmental issues.
Learn more about the students taking this journey here. And stay tuned as we begin posting daily updates on this blog!