Leaving the Arctic for Sweet Home, California
Posted at 12:11 pm October 8, 2006 by Shelby S.Shelby studied wild polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, through the Science Leadership Camp for teens, sponsored by Polar Bears International (PBI). Read her previous blog entry, A Helicopter View from the Top of the World!
Hello everybody!
Today has been a bittersweet day. I think the only highlight of today was that it snowed in Churchill right before we left. Of course, I freaked out and ran around laughing. And I guess that another highlight was the fact we all actually realized how much of a family we truly are.
Saying goodbye was a very hard thing to do this morning. I really love these people, and they are all so unique and wonderful it would take a novel for me to explain how each of them is great.
I cannot believe that this trip is over, but then again it is just the beginning. I know I will see them again, maybe not soon enough, but I will stay in touch. Plus, I have this feeling of home in the Arctic. Go figure, the California “sunshine surfer girl,” as I have been called more than once on this trip, finds comfort out in the freezing Arctic.
Throughout this trip I have heard from so many people whose daily lives have been affected by climate change, learned so much from my peers and teachers, and felt the bone-chilling wind brush across my face that I can’t help but feel a passion to share this experience with so many people.
Thank you so much for all your support! And remember: you CAN make a difference in this world. Either by turning off your lights when you leave a room or use your car less and walk more. Not only can you help the polar bears, but you can help people at home and up north.
Thank you once again!
Shelby S. is the San Diego Zoo’s Arctic Ambassador.
Watch the Zoo’s polar bears daily on Polar Cam.
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October 10th, 2006 at 8:15 pm
It sounds like your whole trip was amazing! And thank you for keeping us up to date and letting us know how cool your trip was!
October 17th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
Shelby,
Thanks for sharing your experience so vividly with all of us. Your experience will be multiplied many thousands of times as you share it in print, in the documentary, and in person for all those privileged to hear you speak.
May the experience you have just had be a life decision point for you and keep you motivated and inspired throughout your life. Your journey is just beginning and you have many miles to discover.
Keep us all posted on your future experiences and how we can share them in print, or video, or on the internet.
Thanks for an outstanding job!