January 22, 2009 - 7:03am
Vancouver Island University student L-A Shibish will soon be leaving for the Antarctic as part of an international student expedition celebrating International Polar Year (IPY), a large scientific program focused on the Arctic and Antarctic.
International Polar Year includes over 200 projects with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. Shibish will be one of 80 students from all over the world taking part.
“I’m in disbelief that I am actually going to Antarctica,” said Shibish. “I’m ecstatic. I feel humbled and fortunate to have this opportunity.”
Shibish is a second year student in the Tourism Studies Diploma program at VIU. When she heard about the expedition, she was excited about the possibility of raising global awareness about the changes occurring in Antarctica.
“Growing up on a farm, I developed a deep affinity for nature,” said Shibish. “I feel an urgent sense of responsibility for the protection of sensitive and fragile environments and their wildlife. I believe there are few environments more fragile than those of the world’s poles where the effects of climate change and human activity are magnified. I was attracted to the IPY Expedition by the opportunity to work with and learn from an international team of researchers, educators, scientists and university students and to see if I can discover a way to meaningfully contribute to raising awareness of the issues confronting Antarctica.”
The expedition leaves from Ushuaia, Argentina on February 14. Once in Antarctic waters, students will make frequent trips to the Antarctic mainland via Zodiac inflatables from the main ship. These landings will be supplemented by lectures and lab exercises aboard the expedition vessel.
“While in Antarctica, we will be investigating the impact of tourism, both positive and negative, in this environmentally sensitive area,” said Shibish. “We’ll make visual inspections when we land, check for debris and signs of damage to vegetation from human activity and observe any behaviour changes in the wildlife.”
Shibish also hopes to investigate 'best practice' scenarios in regard to tour operators in remote, coastal communities, and conduct a survey of the other student participants to explore their motivations to take part in the expedition, as well as their perceptions and attitudes towards sustainable tourism and preservation of fragile eco-systems, skills she learned in a research methods class at VIU.
“That class taught me how to properly conduct a survey, survey ethics, sampling strategies and about results reporting for research. I wouldn’t be able to participate in this expedition if it wasn’t for the background knowledge I have received in my tourism classes. My VIU education has given me the confidence required to undertake this challenge and to know that I have the ability to contribute to positive change in this world.”
Shibish is looking forward to coming back and sharing her experience through a multi-media presentation.
“I hope to learn, first hand, about the reality of what is happening in the world's last great wilderness, and then be able to use that knowledge to educate others,” she said. “I am a kinetic learner and I hope to be able to use all my senses to fully absorb the expedition experience.”
Shibish departs for this trip of a lifetime on February 12. In the meantime, she is still trying to raise funds towards some of the expeditions $9500 in expenses, either in monetary or in-kind donations. Interested sponsors or donors can contact L-A Shibish at lashibish@hotmail.com
Tags: In the Community
