“When kangaroos wake up in the morning they always say good day, bounce bounce bounce bouce bounce bounce is what they say…”
This morning we started out with the charming song above and a yummy breakfast of English muffins and scrambled eggs. Today was all about acquiring the right knowledge to get our messages across effectively. To help us do this we started off with a presentation by Krista Wright, vice president of PBI, who talked to us about PBI and all the resources available to us teens. We watched a tear-jerking movie called I’m a Polar Bear and My Name is Bjorn about the ice melting and the effects on polar bears.
After multiple practices we felt we were ready to speak with Olivia’s peers in Memphis, Tennessee, over a conference call and answer their questions about polar bears and climate change. It was fascinating to see so many students so far away interested in what we are doing here in the Arctic. As we sat through presentations and Skype calls, a lazy bear tossed and turned in the shrubs outside while the wind hit its fur.
Later, we learned the true meaning of leadership, how to become leaders, and how to help others become one. Following that presentation, Emily Goldstein, a past Project Polar Bear contest winner, spoke to us about her experiences becoming the leader she is today. Between breaks, using what we learned from Emily, we began to come out of our shells and laughed, danced, cracked jokes, and smiles.
Hundreds of amazing ideas were thrown out with great enthusiasm while discussing project ideas. We talked about the format of a forward action plan and began forming our own. For example, Charlie is recycling school supplies of all levels and sending them to Haiti. Katie suggested the GOOS bin which stands for good on one side. These are bins placed in classrooms where students can take pieces of paper that have only been used on one side and reuse them. These are two good ideas out of many others that were shared today.
At this point our lazy bear had moved on from camp and went off elsewhere. To finish off a productive day, we wolfed down some pasta and salad just in time for a skype call with Marissa Krouse, a Keeper Leadership Camp grad, who spoke to us about two other great projects that evolved from previous PBI camps: Acres for the Atmosphere and Trees for You and Me. She told us we could branch out to get our own institutions planting trees. We also gave her an update on our no shower challenge and at that point she told us she hadn’t showered that night either! It was nice to know we weren’t alone in our challenge to reduce the amount of water we use that affects the CO2. With that, our day was complete and the lights went off!
By Charlie-Elizabeth Nadeau, Alex Ruhl, Katie Spreekmeester, and Caroline Bass.
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