"A time for polar bears" - special encounters in the tundra
By Irene Schiedges
The Polar Bear Project: a cooperation between zoo, Polar Bears International (PBI) and school.
"... to be close enough to a wild polar bear to feel his breath. I´m sure that this moment will influence all my life."
—Christopher, 17 years old, Science Leadership Camp, Churchill; 2005
There are moments in everybody’s life that influence his future action and work. Sometimes they are only short instants; sometimes we realize the meaning of these situations at some remote period. The sentence of this young American pupil from San Diego, a participant of the "Science Leadership Camp" at Hudson Bay in 2005, reflects such an experience and makes the aim of the project visible.
The following article highlights the problematic background of the "Polar Bear Project", takes up the actual situation of polar bears at Hudson Bay/Manitoba (see also Kolter: Churchill – a time window to the world of polar bears, this journal) and introduces the organisation of Polar Bears International (PBI). Account of impressions from the student camps in October 2004 and 2005 is given and at the same time the educational training at the high schools around Cologne which take part in the project is explained. Finally suggestions are made to open up a perspective to work on the subject in zoos and schools in the future.
Read the full pdf here.
"... to be close enough to a wild polar bear to feel his breath. I´m sure that this moment will influence all my life."
—Christopher, 17 years old, Science Leadership Camp, Churchill; 2005
There are moments in everybody’s life that influence his future action and work. Sometimes they are only short instants; sometimes we realize the meaning of these situations at some remote period. The sentence of this young American pupil from San Diego, a participant of the "Science Leadership Camp" at Hudson Bay in 2005, reflects such an experience and makes the aim of the project visible.
The following article highlights the problematic background of the "Polar Bear Project", takes up the actual situation of polar bears at Hudson Bay/Manitoba (see also Kolter: Churchill – a time window to the world of polar bears, this journal) and introduces the organisation of Polar Bears International (PBI). Account of impressions from the student camps in October 2004 and 2005 is given and at the same time the educational training at the high schools around Cologne which take part in the project is explained. Finally suggestions are made to open up a perspective to work on the subject in zoos and schools in the future.
Read the full pdf here.
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