Life Trove: Creating video lessons on location in the Arctic

What we came to the Arctic to do

Our primary purpose for coming to the Arctic was to put together a series of videos, filmed on location, that will form part of a unique series of lessons for Upschool that educates children all over the world for free about the wonders of the Arctic and the importance of sustainability, environmental conservation and doing whatever we can to tackle climate change. The lessons will allow children to relate the learnings to their own home environment and support them in taking their own actions to make a tangible difference in their own communities.

Aurora are a very environmentally aware company and a passionate champion of wild and remote places and so this fits in closely with their values and ethos. We simply couldn't have asked for a better partner. They have done all they can to make it possible and to help us along the way.

Here is Gavin introducing the Arctic course that will be available in October ...

Each of us in the team has an area of expertise that fits into the mix. Gavin is the ultimate teacher. Richard, co-founder of Upschool with Gavin, has a wealth of experience as a videographer. Tanya is a writer and editor. As photographer, my role is to take photos for use in the the Upschool blog, media articles and lesson resources. I also fulfil a role as researcher.

What lessons are we teaching on the Arctic?

Lessons we are covering include:

Geography of the Arctic and its constantly changing landscape
Arctic climate and why it matters to us all
Sea ice and why it is so important that it doesn't all melt
Glacial landforms and why they matter
The Arctic food chain and how it's all connected
The flora of the Arctic
The wildlife of the Arctic with a focus on Polar Bears
Arctic birds, with a focus on the Arctic Tern
The indigenous people of the Arctic and what we can learn from their connection to nature and sustainable practices
Resource exploitation in the Arctic (and elsewhere) and why its not sustainable
What each of us can do in our communities to make a difference

Here is a lesson overview that Gavin put together that provides more detail.

Making video lessons on location in the Arctic

Before we came to the Arctic, I helped Gavin do a lot of research on the topics we were planning to cover. There is a huge amount to know and the research for some lessons covered many pages. Gavin has a vast knowledge of many things, especially geography, but, even to him, it must have felt a little daunting to have to become an expert on so much in such a little period of time and have all the knowledge at his finger tips when doing the lesson videos.

Then we got onto the ship and the first thing that struck us was the wealth of expertise on the ship. Aurora hires incredibly high calibre experts on a wide array of topics to do lectures on the ship and help guide zodiac and shore expeditions.

For example, on our expedition, there was...

Ulyana: Ice scientist and glaciologist
Jocelyn: Botanist and naturalist
Danielle: Marine biologist
Snowy: Ornithologist
Ben: Historian and indigenous peoples expert
Daniel: Climate expert

We had always planned to interview the experts but we decided to go one step further and turn the video component of the lessons into more of an interview and discussion format with Gavin asking relevant questions and the experts providing fascinating answers. Many of the experts have been involved in teaching or lecturing in the past and all are really passionate and eloquent. And all the experts, when we explained the concept, were really excited at the chance to get their message out to children.

So that what we did!

Whenever we went out on zodiac expeditions, Aurora allocated our team our very own zodiac and allowed us to decide which expert we wanted to come with us that day. Many of our interview lessons were done on the zodiac with relevant backdrops. For example, when Gavin introduced the subject of polar bears, he had a real polar bear behind his shoulder as he had always envisioned! Other lessons were done on land during our shore landings.

It all worked really well and it's been a wonderful solution all round. Gavin did not need to pretend to be an expert on everything and it took a lot of pressure off him. The children will get to experience a wide variety of different teachers and personalities, all passionate and inspiring, so it adds to the interest of the lessons. And Aurora gets to showcase the depth of high calibre expertise that it makes available to its passengers on each expedition.