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In June 2009, Living Earth opened its office in Barrow, North Slope, Alaska. Living Earth US works in partnership with Living Earth Foundation to coordinate community dialogue programmes across the North Slope.
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The teacher exchange visit planned for April 2010 was postponed after a group of six teachers from across the North Slope Borough were forced to turn back and head for home in the face of the volcanic eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull. However, the Scottish schools were not defeated, and whilst pupils at Banchory Academy got creative making a short film about their school and community to share with their Alaskan peers, Alford Primary held a day of storytelling and comic book creation based around the Doric tale ‘The Skinny Coo’. The Alaskan teachers will have the opportunity to appreciate the fruits of all this labour during their rescheduled visit in September. |
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Find out more about the Alaska- Aberdeen school exchange programme here...
Living Earth attends Arctic Frontiers Conference – ‘Living in the High North’...
From the 24th to the 29th January 2010 scientists, policy makers, government officials and NGOs from Norway, Denmark, Canada, the US, Russia, Iceland, Greenland and even China, gathered in Tromso, Norway to discuss the social, environmental, political and scientific challenges facing those living in the high North. Indigenous voices from across the Arctic Circle played a key role in both scientific and policy discussions, and Living Earth contributed to discussion about strategies for strengthening those voices further and building capacity utilising the ‘Long Conversation’ model of community dialogue. |
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Read Living Earth's report on the event here...
Living Earth builds partnerships between Alaskan and Scottish schools...
Between 25th September and 4th October 2009, six teachers from Aberdeen and two community development artists visited the North Slope as part of Living Earth's ongoing Polar Pairs Exchange Programme. In addition to sharing teaching resources and ideas, the Aberdonians were able to experience an important part of the Inpuiaq culture as the whale hunting season got underway. Find out more about the Polar Pairs programme here... |
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Living Earth attends Arctic Economic Development Summit...
In July 2009, Living Earth attended the Arctic Economic Development Summit held in Point Hope. The summit, which had the theme: 'Two Regions, One People, No Boundaries', brought together regional representatives from North Slope Borough and Northwest Arctic Borough. Key discussions focused on how to achieve locally owned development that both benefits communites and reflects their traditional values. |
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Polar Pairs School Exchange Programme features in TESS...
The Polar Pairs School Exchange Programme was recently the subject of an article in the 'Times Educational Supplement Scotland (TESS)'. The article: 'Cool Runnings with Alaskan Schools' discusses the benefits of the programme, which is enabling participants to develop a stronger sense of their own cultural identity as well as increasing their understanding of their counterparts' ways of life.
Read the full article here.
Find out more about the programme here.
Teachers from the North Slope, Alaska explore Aberdeenshire schools...
April 26th to May 2nd 2009 saw the latest exchange trip in Living Earth's Polar Pairs School Exchange Programme as six teachers from the North Slope visited their counterparts in Aberdeenshire. The trip was designed to build upon the areas of shared concern that had been identified through previous visits. Participants were encouraged to share their experiences and to pool their knowledge, working together to develop solutions to the challenges that they face in their daily work.
Read a full report of the trip here.
Living Earth launches Polar Pairs website...
In November 2008, Living Earth launched www.polarpairs.org, a social networking website for participants of the ongoing Polar Pairs School Exchange programme. The website is intended to enable teachers and education professionals from Aberdeenshire and Alaska to easily share their experiences, teaching resources and classroom ideas and to keep in touch with colleagues that they have met on the exchanges.
Learn more about this exciting programme by visiting the Polar Pairs website here.
The fourth visit in the Polar Pairs Exchange takes place as Scottish teachers travel to Alaska...
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Living Earth organised the fourth visit of its ongoing Polars Pairs School Exchange programme which seeks to build links between schools and their wider communities in Alaska and Aberdeen. Five teachers from Aberdeenshire visited the North Slope from 1st to 9th November 2008, where they were invited to share experiences with their Alaskan counterparts, exploring the differences between their school systems and developing new classroom ideas. Read a full report of this visit here. |
Indigenous language visit to the UK...
In June 2008, Living Earth organised a tour of indigenous language programmes in the UK for three education professionals from the North Slope. Led by a representative from the North Slope Borough School District, the visit included a four day programme hosted by the University of Wales, followed by three days at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Gaelic college in Scotland. Those involved learned a great deal about the strategic planning for language programmes as well as gaining new classroom ideas. The visit also provided an deeper insight for those based in the UK of the passion behind the issue of rescuing the local language, Inupiaq.
North Slope teachers and education professionals pay a visit to Aberdeen...
From 20th May to 30th May 2008, five teachers from schools on the North Slope were invited to visit local Aberdeenshire schools as part of the ongoing Polar Pairs School Exchange programme. The North Slope visitors were matched up with different teachers and departments in the host schools. They were able not only to co-teach lessons in the Scottish Curriculum, but also participated in extra curricular activities such as a Health Day and were able to explore the local area. Feedback from the visit was highly positive and the teachers noted that they gained confidence teaching new subjects and new methods, working in a very different environment.
Read the full report of this visit here.
To learn more about Living Earth's work in Alaska, please contact Laura Whitby.
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Alaska in a Nutshell
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