A phone call from the top of the world
Speaking with alumna Niki Trudeau, who is on a satellite phone on the deck of an expedition vessel somewhere off the southern tip of Baffin island, it's clear that her work with the organization Students on Ice is immensely rewarding.
"One of the biggest things about being in the polar regions, in a place where climate change is really happening and happening quickly, is that it makes you realize how interconnected everything is," says Trudeau, a graduate of both uOttawa's human kinetics program and its teacher education program.
Trudeau's experience has included seeing "how the oceans here are connected to the rest of the world, how the sea ice and the changes that we're seeing in the Arctic are connected to what we're doing down in the south in our communities," along with "bringing together people from all over the world and seeing how so many of these issues are common everywhere."
No stranger to harsh environments, Trudeau actually credits a winter camping class she took while in her fourth year of undergraduate studies for her current position as Outreach and Participant Coordinator with Students on Ice.
"The winter camping trip really opened my eyes to the possibilities of experiential education and alternative teaching methods," says Trudeau, who has made three trips to the Arctic and two to the Antarctic over the last two years. "So, I decided to go into teacher's college at uOttawa. The summer after teacher's college I bumped into one of my professors, Lisa Glithero, who's also doing her PhD at the university, and she said `you know, I think you would be good at Students on Ice.' You should meet Geoff Greene, the founder and executive director." Two weeks after her initial call with Greene, Trudeau was up on Baffin Island, on her first Students on Ice expedition.
"As a Canadian, as an educator and as a learner too, what's really impacted me is learning about Inuit culture and traditions and how their culture is really shaped by the landscape here. I think that has really stood out for me here," says Trudeau. "And of course, the glaciers and icebergs, I don't think I'll ever get tired of them. I can see a few off in the distance now and no two icebergs look alike – they're beautiful sculptures."
The University of Ottawa will also be well represented in February 2011, when professor Luke Copeland will teach a Glaciology course on board the Students on Ice Antarctic University expedition.
By Dave Weatherall
Photos credits: Lee Narraway, Students on Ice
Published: September, 2010