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Business, Economics, Education, Entrepreneurs,
Environment, Science and Technology
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Student Walkabout
Canadian Students ready for a voyage of a lifetime!
North Dumfries/Cambridge - The wait is over. With the help of rare Charitable Research Reserve, one student from Southwood Secondary School in Cambridge, Ontario and another from Carson Graham Secondary School in North Vancouver, British Columbia have learned they have been selected to go on a voyage of a lifetime!
Chisomo Mchaina, Grade 10, and Alejandra Henao, Grade 11, will join students from around the world and top scientists, artists and educators on Cape Farewell's 2008 Youth Expedition to the Arctic, from Reykjavik, Iceland to Baffin Island, Canada. Southwood teacher, Christopher Giesler will also be part of the voyage.
The Expedition is an international climate change awareness program that brings together 28 high school students from Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Ireland, India, and Germany, with top scientists, artists, and educators. The project is designed to raise awareness of climate change and to equip young people to be Climate Change Ambassadors at home and abroad.
“We're excited that these students will have the opportunity to bring their fresh perspectives and enthusiasm to the international issue of climate change,” says Patti Leather, Executive Director, rare, who continues, “and we are proud to help them represent their schools, communities and rare.”
Both students were chosen from a group of five who were short-listed by over thirty of their peers at each school. Chisomo is a grade ten student who excels in both academics and athletics, while Alejandro is a talented artist. Like their fellow voyagers, they share a passion for the environment and a commitment to a healthier world.
They will represent their schools and communities to the world through live webcasts and daily blogs, making experiments and projects accessible to schools across the country. This will link rare's local education efforts to national and international efforts, and put Canadian students at the forefront of action on climate change.
The voyage launches in September 2008 and incorporates art and science projects. Science projects will be developed in areas such as climatology, oceanography, geomorphology and biogeography. Art projects will be developed in genres such as film and photography, fine arts, performing arts and literature.
British filmmaker Colin Izod, internationally acclaimed dancer Subathra Subramaniam and biogeographer Dr. Rebecca Zalatan of the British Council will co-lead the expedition. Logistics will be handled by Adventure Canada of Mississauga, Ont. Scientists on board will include geomorphologist Dr. Chris Burn of Ottawa's Carleton University and oceanographer Dr. Bruno Tremblay of McGill University. Illustrator/author Geneviève Côté of Montreal, who recently won a Governor General's award for children's book illustration, will be co-leading the voyage's art programme.
Founded in 2001, the rare Charitable Research Reserve was created to sustain the land in perpetuity, and conveys the message that everyone has a role to play in serving and nurturing our environment if we wish a future living in harmony with nature.
Located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers and within the designated Blair-Bechtel-Cruickston Environmentally Sensitive Landscape, rare is not only a beautiful landscape but includes trees more than 230 years old and provides over 24 habitat types - including 6 of 8 pre-settlement landscapes - that are home to a diversity of organisms some of which are species at risk regionally, provincially, nationally and globally.
Its lands - including upland and lowland deciduous forests with some old growth and replacement woods, floodplains, upland croplands, cliffs, and alvars - provide a natural laboratory for scientific study that feeds a Chain of Learning, involving students of all ages and community members.
The charity is in the middle of a $17 million campaign to preserve the land, renovate the historic buildings and offer programs to the public. Guided walks and tours on rare's trails and lectures are held throughout the year and scientific research, along with companion education programs for even the youngest students, is ongoing at a number of sites on the property.
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