Aiden and Shayelin were thrilled to have supported and joined the Students On Ice team on their Ocean Conservation Expedition! This journey brought together researchers, community leaders, artists, youth and more together in the name of collaboration and conservation.

TAKE A MINUTE TO READ ABOUT their week long experience!

The Ocean Conservation Expedition aboard the Polar Prince, with Students On Ice (SOI), took us to the Passamaquoddy Bay, Whale Cove in Grand Manan, Southern Wolf Islands archipelago, Campobello Island, the Musquash Marine Protected Area including the Musquash river up to the old shipwrecks, and back to the Saint John Harbour.

Throughout the expedition, we were able to assist in setting and retrieving lobster traps with Passamaquoddy Recognition Group; the lobsters collected will be analyzed for the presence of microplastics within their digestive tracts.

We also deployed various types of drifters that will be carried by ocean currents, tracking winds, currents, and other climate related data throughout the Bay.

Aiden learned from, and assisted with, Acadia University grad students and the Canadian Wildlife Service on their bird and marine mammal surveys. These surveys are used to create an inventory of the creatures encountered throughout the expedition.

We also conducted a surface water trawl to analyze microplastic presence within the Musquash Marine Protected Area. Shayelin even had the opportunity participate in ECO Canada’s new BEAHR training module for indigenous youth that focused on marine ecology and conservation, adding her own knowledge and experiences to the training sessions.

We loved every moment spent on the Polar Prince, but our favourite memories were seeing how engaged the youth were in the research taking place onboard. It was inspiring to see how willing they were to try new things and put themselves out there; it encouraged us to do the same. This is exactly the kind of connection and relationship building we need in ocean conservation efforts. Onboard, we often discussed how this type of conservation is not something that can be done by one person alone, but by everyone working together, whether it be through science and research, connecting with people through art, or a love for the ocean.

The youth were not the only ones learning while on the expedition, we both learned just as much from them, the artists, zodiac drivers, and other researchers during our short stay aboard the Polar Prince. All of these varying perspectives and knowledge on different subjects really added to deep conversations about ocean conservation, what is being done, what can be done, and what needs to be done. This trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity that did not go underappreciated by either of us or the other people onboard.