Polar Bear Leadership Camp launched in 2004 and has been running every year since then. Organized by the Polar Bear International, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the polar bear and its habitat, it pairs 23 high school students with 7-8 teachers from all over the world and flies them to Churchill, Manitoba. There, the visitors join a team of scientists and work to research the field, collect data and help with organization and management.
Once the group arrives in Churchill, all the conveniences of modern life are soon left behind. The first two days are spent understanding conservation programs and learning about the ways the government is working to protect bears in areas where human/bear interaction has become common, like in towns bordering the bears habitat. Soon after, the group leaves for the wilderness aboard a Tundra Buggy Lodge, a unique mobile car that can reach well into the bears’ habitat without interfering with their natural behaviour. Here, students get a chance to see and record the animals’ activities. Living aboard the Buggy is an adventure in itself, since there is no restroom and the accommodations are basic and “rough.” Still, visitors rave about it as they leave. The rustic conditions of the place are what give the visit such a sense of adventure and uniqueness.
Since the camp’s main aim is to propagate the word about conservation, particularly the protection of polar bears, students are expected to go home and share what they have learned in this journey. To help them do that, scientists and organizers of the Camp encourage kids to become “Ambassadors of the Artic” and organize their own lectures to help inform others. They’re also given access to an online journal where they can post their impressions of the trip and help others get started in the journey to protect the great polar bear.
For those coming back from Polar Bear Leadership Camp, the adventure doesn’t end with the trip.
All images © Daniel J. Cox