December 7th

Day 3 of ArcticNet

Throughout the day, all those interested made their way over to the Conference Center. Walking into the event, I was surrounded with the cool blues and greys of the many posters of arctic studies. The first topical session began at 10:30. During topical sessions, there are a multitude of themes to choose from, in which there are five or six talks of various undergraduate and graduate projects or scientific groups. For example, the second wildlife session included talks about muskoxen, polar bears, lemmings and foxes. Today, I went to sessions on marine biology, food and water issues and sustainable living.

For lunch, the ISAMR folk met up at the chinese food banquet. Following that, were two more topical sessions with a coffee break in the middle. Then came the most exciting part of the day; the poster session. Grace and I stood by the poster for one of our summer projects, research on the regeneration of burnt bogs. Many others stood by the fall trip poster about polar bear identification, or ‘whiskerprinting’. We talked to a multitude of researchers of whom we learnt even more about our topics. One woman told Grace and I about how in Alaska, there is also an issue with increasing wildfires. Another talked to us about the importance of the lichen, which was burnt in the fire, to the caribou. All in all, we are extremely grateful to have been given the chance to be a part of the ArticNet poster session.

After having spoken to many old and new friends (and grabbing some free loot), we went across the skywalk to the banquet. Without a doubt, it was one of the fanciest events that I have ever been to. We chatted over soup and salmon and steak and cheesecake, while the adults took sips of wine. Stunning pictures of the arctic were displayed throughout the room. It was a great time and a fabulous end to the evening.

Marissa Claire Hamlin

Kelvin High School, 2019