Afternoon:
1:00 p.m. Welcome & Introductions. Our Group Leader will greet everyone and provide an overview of the program including Zoom protocols. We’ll then get to know our fellow Road Scholars with group introductions. 1:25 p.m. Lecture. In this overview of the Arctic environment, we will learn about climatic conditions, what it takes to live here, and the main characters on land. We’ll be introduced to Arctic dwellers such as lemmings, Arctic hares, caribou, musk ox, Arctic foxes, and wolves. 1:55 p.m. Break. 2:05 p.m. Virtual landing. After a brief presentation about Paleoeskimo, Thule, and Inuit cultures past and present, we will “visit” Radstock Bay and Resolute, where we can see Proto-Inuit dwellings and houses thousand years old. We’ll also see Pond Inlet where a local resident will share some characteristics of their culture such as typical music, dance, food, and answer any questions we may have. 2:45 p.m. Interactive Q&A session. 3:00 p.m. Break. 3:10 p.m. Virtual landing. Before we “explore” the Northwest Passage, we will have a short presentation about the attempts to find a northern way from the Atlantic to the Pacific. These include the famous Franklin’s Expedition as well as that of Amundsen on Gjoa. We will then experience a landing at Beechey Island and visit Cambridge Bay. We’ll see the ship Gjoa, go on a Zodiac cruise in Transition Bay, and a landing in Johansen Bay. These sites offer a good chance to see some of the local wildlife. We’ll finish our field trip with a Zodiac study cruise amid the monumental cliffs of Stanford Fjord on the eastern side of Baffin Island. 3:45 p.m. Interactive Q&A. 3:55 p.m. Wrap-up and notes for tomorrow. 4:00 p.m. Today’s session will end.