Last week, Will Steger visited Hawley Elementary and Hawley High School to speak with students about his adventures and what the Hawley students have been learning about climate change. First, he met with a third grade class that has been participating in our Minnesota's Changing Climate project. The students were all very excited to meet Will and asked many questions about his expeditions, the effects of climate change on their region and climate change solutions. WDAY news in Fargo featured a great piece on this classroom visit. Will then gave a presentation to Hawley High School as well as members of the public. Students saw the impacts of climate change that Will has experienced firsthand and heard interesting tales from his expeditions. These students also asked a range of questions including how Will stayed motivated when facing such odds. Will responded that it was always his determination and drive that kept him going during difficult circumstances. This visit was a wonderful opportunity to visit a different region of the state and share Will's stories and knowledge with another group of students. Thanks to our wonderful hosts!

Will made a visit to Proctor during the first week of January to speak to the students of Jedlicka Middle School and Proctor High School and to hear from Leah Moore's eighth grade students.  After his presentation students asked him questions that ranged from "What is the coolest thing you saw in the Arctic?," to "What have you done to help fight climate change?." 

Following the presentation we had the opportunity to go outside and do some journal observations with the eighth graders that included recording the temperature, cloud cover and natural history observation.  To conclude the visit Will spent some time inside with the eighth graders taking questions and hearing from them what they have learned so far using Minnesota's Changing Climate.  Many thanks to Ms. Moore's class and the Proctor community for such a warm welcome and keep up the great work!

On November 18, Will Steger's second day of school visits started at Roseville Area Middle School where Will gave presentations on his experiences in the Arctic and the impacts of climate change to two groups of eighth graders. Since Roseville Area Middle School is a participant in the Parks Climate Challenge program, each presentation began by showing the top public service announcements that students had created about the Mississippi River. It was fun to see these informative and creative videos. Will then spoke to students and answered many of their thoughtful questions. Students were very interested in Will's experiences on expeditions as well as the changes that he had observed over the years.

Next, we went to MetroTech Career Academy where Will met with the environmental science class and environmental club as a small group and then spoke to the whole high school. In the small group meeting, students presented the action projects that they had been working on to find solutions to a variety of environmental issues as a part of the Minnesota's Changing Climate curriculum. Students and staff at MetroTech had also completed a survey assessing their carbon footprint, what they already do to engage in solutions, what are barriers to more action and what they will do differently in the future. They had gathered some excellent data, and it was exciting to see the wonderful ideas that these students had for their action plans!

Thanks again to our fantastic hosts, and we look forward to seeing more examples throughout this year of what students are creating as part of our Minnesota's Changing Climate program!

On November 10, Will Steger visited two metro area schools and spoke to them about his experiences in the Arctic, the importance of observation and keeping journals and the effects of climate change. The first visit was to Crosby Farm Park with middle school students from Friends School of Minnesota. Students did tree coring and sampling at different sites in the park to collect data about the trees in the area. Friends School of Minnesota visits this site monthly to collect a variety of data throughout the year. They have been doing this program for over 10 years, which gives students the opportunity to learn about the importance of longitudinal data. It will be an excellent opportunity for these students to compare their data with this previously collected data at the end of the year. At Salem Hills Elementary, Will spoke to a third grade class, answered their questions and took them outside to write in the journals that they have been keeping this year. It was wonderful to see students collecting data, observing outdoors and exploring their environment just as Will did when he was young. Students were very familiar with Will and his work, and it was exciting to see the work that students have done and are continuing to do with the Minnesota's Changing Climate curriculum and online classroom.

Thanks to our wonderful hosts and we are looking forward to more school visits with Will this year!

We spent our final day on our Alaska tour in Fairbanks exploring solutions to climate change. We toured the Permafrost Tunnel, originally built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to store vehicles outside of the extreme cold temperatures that define the interior of Alaska. Now, the tunnel is used primarily by engineers and arctic scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to study permafrost. The tunnel temperature is consistently held at about zero and has a putrid smell from thousands of years of earth decomposing. Together with a group of about 16, including faith and environmental non-profit leaders from the Fairbanks community, we toured the tunnel and learned about the various layers of permafrost.