A student from Baccalieu Collegiate will join 14 of his peers from across the country for an 11-day adventure in the high Arctic that will focus on the impacts of climate change. Kyle White from Old Perlican is one of this year�s winners of the Northern Experience Contest, sponsored by the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC), who will participate in an educational expedition to Resolute and Eureka, Nunavut, beginning on April 17.

"Our climate is steadily changing, particularly in the Arctic where permafrost is melting, glaciers are receding and sea ice is disappearing," said the Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Environment and Conservation. "The opportunity for Kyle to witness firsthand the research that is being done in this area will be an invaluable learning experience for him, and I congratulate him on his winning entry."

The Northern Experience Program is an opportunity for students in grades 11 and 12 to experience Canada�s high Arctic region. Participants will be accompanied by CANDAC members and will spend 11 days learning about the culture, history, and scientific significance of the area with an emphasis on climate change and its impacts. Based on the quality of their submissions, 15 students and six teachers from across Canada were chosen for this expedition.

Resolute is a small Inuit community in Nunavut, located on Cornwallis Island on the Northwest Passage, and has a population of approximately 230 people. Eureka is a remote weather station, located about 1,100 kilometres from the North Pole, and is the northernmost civilian research community in the world. While Eureka doesn�t have a permanent population, it has approximately eight staff on a continuous rotational basis.

"Kyle has developed a high interest in world geography and, in particular, issues surrounding global climate change," said David Barrett, social studies teacher at Baccalieu Collegiate. "He will work well with all team members and will enjoy sharing the knowledge he gains in the Arctic with other students and community members."

The organization known as CANDAC comprises university researchers and government scientists studying how the atmosphere over Canada is changing. Their efforts are currently focused on measurement programs in place at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) located at Eureka.

"I look forward to meeting with Kyle after his expedition to learn about his experience in the Arctic and the type of research that is underway in Eureka on this extremely significant topic," said Minister Johnson. "I am sure he will be a wonderful conduit of climate change information for his school and community in general."

For more information on the Northern Experience Program, visit www.candac.ca

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Media contact:

Melony O�Neill
Director of Communications
Department of Environment and Conservation
709-729-2575, 689-0928
moneill@gov.nl.ca