Volunteering in the Arctic, investigating climate change
| country: | Arctic Circle, Canada |
| location: | Arctic Circle Northern Lights |
| departures: | 2008: 5 Jul, 4 Oct 2009: 15 Feb, 28 Feb |
| price: | From £1350 - £3195 (11 days) excluding flights. We can help arrange flights |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.
Global warming is here, and, at the edge of the Arctic, its impacts are felt first and most dramatically. Here the world's peatlands run in a strip several hundred kilometers wide around the globe and contain as much as 30 percent of all terrestrial carbon, locked in permafrost. If current warming thaws the permafrost, the peat could release its carbon in the form of methane, a far more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and increase the atmosphere's heat-holding capacity by a factor of seven. Conversely, current warming also might stimulate plant growth, so vegetation would absorb carbon dioxide and cool the planet. What happens to the peat here could have enormous consequences for every living thing on Earth.
To find out which way the carbon flow is going, teams over the past two summers set up equal numbers of tundra and treeline forest research plots to measure how much carbon the peat system holds now, so that scientists can monitor changes as they occur.
Through a pioneering project led by Dr. Peter Kershaw (University of Alberta) and Mike Goodyear (Churchill Northern Studies Centre), you'll continue building the database. Travelling by snowmobile in February, you'll measure snowpack thickness, density, hardness, and temperature; collect winter-active insects under the snow; identify crystals; and conduct lab work. In June-August, teams will count rabbit pellets, mosses, lichens, and fox, moose, and caribou tracks; trap small mammals; census squirrels and birds; and, back at the lab, sort plant and peat samples.
This is a unique opportunity to experience the edge of the Arctic in its most dramatic season—winter—with researchers eager to share their knowledge. February teams will learn to build an igloo and sleep in it comfortably when the temperature outside is –33°C. Weather is capricious, with fierce winds, but full Arctic suits are available for rent. The CNSC offers good food and dorm accommodations (bunkbeds and gender-specific bathrooms), dramatic scenery, and a dome for watching the Northern Lights. Summer teams will enjoy more amiable (11°–16°C) temperatures.
Global warming is here, and, at the edge of the Arctic, its impacts are felt first and most dramatically. Here the world's peatlands run in a strip several hundred kilometers wide around the globe and contain as much as 30 percent of all terrestrial carbon, locked in permafrost. If current warming thaws the permafrost, the peat could release its carbon in the form of methane, a far more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and increase the atmosphere's heat-holding capacity by a factor of seven. Conversely, current warming also might stimulate plant growth, so vegetation would absorb carbon dioxide and cool the planet. What happens to the peat here could have enormous consequences for every living thing on Earth.
To find out which way the carbon flow is going, teams over the past two summers set up equal numbers of tundra and treeline forest research plots to measure how much carbon the peat system holds now, so that scientists can monitor changes as they occur.
Through a pioneering project led by Dr. Peter Kershaw (University of Alberta) and Mike Goodyear (Churchill Northern Studies Centre), you'll continue building the database. Travelling by snowmobile in February, you'll measure snowpack thickness, density, hardness, and temperature; collect winter-active insects under the snow; identify crystals; and conduct lab work. In June-August, teams will count rabbit pellets, mosses, lichens, and fox, moose, and caribou tracks; trap small mammals; census squirrels and birds; and, back at the lab, sort plant and peat samples.
field conditions
This is a unique opportunity to experience the edge of the Arctic in its most dramatic season—winter—with researchers eager to share their knowledge. February teams will learn to build an igloo and sleep in it comfortably when the temperature outside is –33°C. Weather is capricious, with fierce winds, but full Arctic suits are available for rent. The CNSC offers good food and dorm accommodations (bunkbeds and gender-specific bathrooms), dramatic scenery, and a dome for watching the Northern Lights. Summer teams will enjoy more amiable (11°–16°C) temperatures.travellers' tales
The most memorable part of my holiday was lying down on the snow in the fresh air (-37) and watching the Northern Lights dancing all over the sky. (more)
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you are looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Welcome to the Climate Change at Arctic’s Edge expedition, a multi-disciplinary research effort initiated in 1999. The short-term goal of this project is to establish a network of study plots representative of the dominant ecosystems in the Hudson Bay Lowlands (including those disturbed by human activities). Most of the preliminary work has established monitoring programs on these 13 long-term study plots. Results from these initial efforts will be used to meet the long-term objective of quantifying environmental responses associated with climate change in the region. Our efforts are directed at benchmarking current conditions in order to evaluate predicted future changes.
Between the long days of data collection and lab work, we make time for the team members to take in some of the local attractions. There is a surprising variety of activities available - beluga whale watching in the mouth of the Churchill River, tundra buggy touring in search of the elusive (at the time of year we are there) polar bear, mountain bike riding along raised beach ridges, touring the Eskimo museum’s amazing collection of Inuit art, or trekking over the sea ice to the ship wreck on Bird Cove. In addition, we take time out to catch sunsets, check out unusual bird sightings, caribou and other wildlife, participate in local festivals (including the Canada Day Bay dip among the ice floes), enjoy the flowers and generally soak up as much of the local environment as time will permit. The Principal Investigator strives for a balance between science and providing opportunities for team members to immerse themselves in this unique environment. How this organisation makes a difference: We are a not-for-profit international environmental organisation committed to conserving the diversity and integrity of life on earth to meet the needs of current and future generations. On any one of our 130 projects round the world, you are certainly not a tourist. You will be working as a field assistant helping world renowned scientists on real environmental projects and learning about conservation issues. We give people the knowledge and the motivation to do something positive towards helping the environment, regardless of experience and background. The data that you will help to collect will be used to inform conservation decision makers around the world. Since 1971 our research has led to: - the discovery of 2000 new species - the creation of new national parks, reserves and protected areas - the collection of crucial data leading to better-informed conservation decisions. We are aware that many people travel to their project by air and recognise the impact of this on the environment. In an effort to minimise this, we have teamed up with an organisation that offsets emissions from your flights by funding renewable energy, energy efficient and forest restoration projects around the world. |
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