Cape Farewell 2008 youth expedition

	28 international school students to do arts and science projects in the Arctic

28 school students from six countries around the world were on an extraordinary journey from 7th to 20th September 2008: They embarked on the Cape Farewell Youth Expedition from Iceland to Baffin Island in Northern Canada.

The 2008 expedition saw school students from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, India and the UK participating. Organised in collaboration with the British Council, the students acted as youth ambassadors for their schools and communities. From the Arctic they each completed art and science projects and talked live to their schools, communicating the global impact of climate change to their local communities.

After training in Toronto followed by air transfer to Iceland, the expedition departed from Reykjavik (Iceland) on 7th September, rounding Cape Farewell on the southern tip of Greenland and arriving at Iqaluit (Baffin Island) on 20th September.

The two German students on board were Nico Angerstein from Bad Nenndorf and Louise Willneff from Eberswalde.

Joining the 28 students were 18 adult mentors, scientists, educators and staff. Moreover, the ship’s master and crew of 30, including a doctor, were active members of the expedition and highly experienced in Arctic voyages.

The ship is MV Academik Shokalskiy, a Russian research vessel built in 1983 and modernized to high standards of safety, accommodation, food preparation and other services. The ship is small, nimble, and ice-strengthened, capable of reaching the nooks and crannies that many larger ships cannot. She is the perfect vessel for research and play, equipped with a lecture hall, library, lounge, sauna, open bridge, kayaks and zodiacs. The ship spends its summers sailing the Arctic and winters in Antarctica.

The 2008 Youth Expedition followed the success of the 2007 expedition to the High Arctic. Cape Farewell's first Youth Expedition in September 2007 saw 13 students from England, Germany and Canada travel aboard the Noorderlicht to Svalbard in the Arctic. Whilst in the Arctic, the students completed landmark Art/Science projects before returning to their local schools and communities to talk about their experiences and raise awareness about the impact of climate change in the Arctic.

Watch Let's go to Canada, Eberswalde TV's piece on Louise Willneff and the Eberswalde Green Team in July 2008