Polar Outreach for Kids!

Have you ever wondered what 200,000 king penguins sound like? Or what your backyard would look like covered in glaciers? Perhaps you've pondered how a polar bear might go about sneaking up on a seal hauled out on an ice floe?  Or how an Inuit living in modern day Greenland has adapted to a cash-based economy?   

An elephant seal snores the day away on the shores of South Georgia in the Southern Ocean. 

Hi!  I'm Katie, and I guide eco tours in Antarctica, Greenland, Churchill and Svalbard.  These are questions that many of us don't consider from our heated homes in temperate latitudes.  I'd like bring these distant and remote regions to life for kids in Oregon and Washington.  

A polar bear enjoys the remnants of a seal carcass on the sea ice around 82 degrees North latitude, north of Norway.  

Please consider joining me in inspiring curiosity in our kids about the polar regions of our planet.  Let's see what curious kids might embrace, and let's empower them to positively impact our planet.  

An East Greenland celebration showcases the best of the local cuisine: dried fish (char), locally foraged sorrel salad, and dried ringed seal meat.  

What will the funds go toward?
Your contribution will go to an interpretive kit that has several educational goodies like a polar bear skull replica, claws from polar bears, grizzly bears, and seals, a globe (Antarctica doesn't get the respect it deserves on maps, no matter the projection!), and maybe more.

I've spoken with several classrooms already using photos and videos from these regions, and received enthusiasm from students and teachers alike.  Those tools are free and I will continue to use them, but to really resonate with the kids I'd like to get more hands on.  The students are hungry for more!

Younger kids in particular are hard to connect with via a power point presentation, but letting them hold and inspect a polar bear skull (replica!) will go far to making these regions increasingly *real* to them.  

Charismatic gentoo penguins on the Antarctic shores. 

Why is this important?
Bringing the polar regions to our kids is important because these parts of the planet belong to all of us.  I want the kids of today to "meet" the poles while they are young, so that it lingers in their heads and hearts as a place that really belongs to them  

We've studied the impact of ecotourism - whether real or virtual - and it's a net positive for the planet.  By connecting kids with the poles while they're young, I hope to inspire a lifelong curiosity and commitment to protecting these regions.  

The polar regions of our planet belongs to each of us - not just the Shackletons of the world.  If we really want to positively impact the planet, we need to have a connection with these remote and distant parts of the planet as well.  

Jousting elephant seals fight for dominance.

Thank you for helping me bring the beauty and importance of the poles to the students in our communities.  I promise to work hard to make each of these dollars matter.  I hope that together we can inspire at least one, if not hundreds of kids, to engage with our planet in an impactful and positive way. 

Thank you!  

A hard day's work on the shores of the Antarctica peninsula.