Thursday consisted of three different parts:
1) A majority of the day was spent out on the Tundra Buggy. We saw this beautiful arctic fox. Its gorgeous coat was snow white, and we watched the fox for a decent amount of time. Then, we saw a polar bear! He obviously wasn’t in the mood for the paparazzi because he quickly made his way down the bank along a body of water he had been napping by. On his way the bear would stop out of curiosity, look at us, and then keep moving. The group then stopped for a quick lunch and started heading back towards the Tundra Buggy Lodge. Once we got to camp we spotted a bear that been hanging around camp, and he was also taking a nap. Our buggy pulled up next to the napping bear, and he casually lifted his head to look at us, and then returned to his sleep. Seeing all the wildlife, plants, trees, mosses, and lichens just proves there is so much more to the tundra than people think.
2) We had a video conference with Robert Buchanan, the president of Polar Bears International. Basically, he told the teens that our generation had a big responsibility. The thing that impacted me most was when he said “We have nothing to take with us, we can only leave things behind.” I want future generations to be able to see what I saw this past week, but that might not be possible without our help. It gave every teen a lot to think about.
3) The day ended with our “awards” and readings of poems. First, the teens sang a song that was dedicated to the staff, and written by me! Next, we had special awards for everyone, and I won “the most memorable laugh”. We closed with poems and things people had written during the week; some were comical and others were serious.
Friday will be spent in town, and then we fly out of Churchill that night! Teen Leadership Camp is coming to a close so soon.