"Climate change is a reality. Caused by us all, it is a cultural, social and economic problem and must move beyond scientific debate. Cape Farewell is committed to the notion that artists can engage the public in this issue, through creative insight and vision."
David Buckland, 2007
Welcome to Longyearbyen... the northernmost town on Earth.
Svalbard is a place which has been part of my teaching for many years, going back to the Cape Farewell pack, partly written by Fred Martin, and accompanying the long-running Cape Farewell project.
David Buckland is the Director of the Cape Farewell Project. This has taken many scientists and artists and musicians to the Arctic.
Also check out Ben Vidmar, who is growing food on Svalbard. His website has a lot more information on the project which involves Polar Permaculture.
Check out this video as well.
I couldn't let an opportunity go by to make use of a personal connection.
My colleague Claire is visiting Svalbard this summer, and one outcome from that will be a new resource which I am fleshing out at the moment.
This will be available in the new school year.
Thanks to those who have already contributed ideas for a Svalbard word cloud, and some personal memories of having visited Svalbard. Svalbard was in the news for a sad reason a few days ago, with the discovery of hundreds of dead reindeer.
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