Shelby will study wild polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, through the Science Leadership Camp for teens, sponsored by Polar Bears International (PBI). Read her previous blog, Arctic Ambassador Prepares for Adventure.

Good day!

Yesterday was very bizzare. I woke up in my own bed at 3 a.m. with my cat sleeping by my side in good ol’ California, but I fell asleep in the most perfect bed in Winnipeg. Traveling across two time zones, and arriving in Winnipeg at 11 a.m. Pacific time seemed crazy to me!

I love the people here at PBI Science Leadership Camp! Everyone is so sweet and charming. Last night I fell asleep feeling that I had known everyone forever. We all get along very well, and have so much fun.

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face. This morning, there were three wonderful guest speakers. It was a joy to hear what they all had to say, but I really enjoyed hearing from Ms. Heidi Cook. She is actually a member of the Cree community, one of the First Nations of Canada. Heidi had a lot to say about her people and the effect of climate change and global warming on the people of the Arctic. I felt bad because I asked her so many questions, but I learned a lot.

One of the most interesting things about the Cree is their Medicine Wheel. It is a circle drawn with four divisons, and each part is a different color. There are many different themes for the wheels. There is one for health, the divisons are Spiritual, Mental, Physical, and Emotional. Others include:elements, seasons, people, and more. They all connect and balance each other. When she applied the concept of the balance of the medicine wheel to the current way we interact with the environment, she personally realized and brought to our attention that there is definitely not a balance between the four elements of air, earth, water, and fire. It was a surprising thing that she pointed out that we are dominated by fire””the burning of fossil fuels. Hearing about different perspectives on many issues is a big part of this Leadership Camp. Hearing Ms. Cook’s perspective was unexpected and sure gave me some food for thought.

We actually head to Churchill tomorrow! We have been told it is a rather long flight on a small plane””but the views are supposed to be gorgeous.

Shelby S. is the San Diego Zoo’s Arctic Ambassador.

Read a blog from Kathy Myers, who is accompanying Shelby on this adventure.

Posted in Conservation, Default, Field Studies, General | Link to this post

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