Day 1 of the Grand Polar Bear Adventure

Before I get into my own experiences, I’d like to share a bit of background on these trips.
This is the third year that WWF has helped arrange for key corporate partners to visit Churchill and its famous polar bears.  We call these “seeing is believing” experiences.  Nothing quite brings the real impact of climate change and the perilous position of the polar bear to life like seeing first-hand what is happening in the Arctic.
WWF has found that these trips are a valuable way to inspire our corporate partners to take their efforts and commitment to the next level (in fact, it was a similar trip that inspired our Arctic Home campaign with Coca-Cola).
So, over the next week, WWF’s polar bear experts and other team members (like yours truly!) will be joined in Churchill by Coca-Cola and RSA.
We’ll use this incredibly opportunity to show the folks that make decisions just what polar bears are facing today – the receding sea ice, the increasing encounters with human communities, the unpredictable weather.  And we’ll give them a chance to hear from northerners about the impact of climate change on their lives and livelihoods.  It’s a unique opportunity to show our partners how they are helping, and can continue to help us make a difference, and why it’s so important that we take action now.
In support of these goals (and to satisfy my growing polar bear obsession), I came to Winnipeg today.  It’s my first time here and really seems like a great town – they even have a polar bear sculpture in the lobby of our hotel!

Main and Portage in Winnipeg (c)Riannon John/WWF-Canada
The WWF team had a great evening with our partners from Coke and leading WWF board members, as well as new friends Elisha Dacey from Metro and Sarah Kelsey from the Huffington Post (who will be sharing their experiences on the trip – make sure you check out their blogs and stories!).  With some help from Hailey and David, our fabulous Frontiers North guides, we got revved and ready for our trip north (we fly to Churchill very early tomorrow morning) and tried to sort out just how many layers we need to wear tomorrow.  I’m well set in my amazing Canada Goose coat, which is insanely warm.  And the extra sugar from this sweet present from Coke is sure to help me stay cozy!

 
We meet tomorrow at 5:45 a.m. (I told you it was very early!) and launch straight into a tour of Churchill, followed by a polar bear lift and helicopter tour, so stay tuned for more updates in the days to come!