Arctic blast

David Joles, Star Tribune

Hopkins junior Georgia Lucas will see polar bears like the ones on Como Zoo’s banner during a weeklong leadership camp at the Arctic Circle.

A Hopkins High School junior is headed to the Arctic Circle to help save the polar bears.

By JOY PETERSEN, Special to the Star Tribune

Last update: September 30, 2009 - 11:08 AM

A dozen students from three countries flew to the frozen reaches of Canada on Sunday, and Hopkins High School junior Georgia Lucas was among them, destined for the Arctic Circle.

Their goal isn't recreation. It's conservation.

Through the nonprofit organization Polar Bears International, Lucas is participating in a weeklong leadership camp to observe polar bears where they live. The organization is seeking to improve polar bear habitat globally by 2014.

Though Lucas said cross-country skiing has equipped her with plenty of long underwear, she's not one for camping out. "I'm not a huge fan of roughing it, but I'll manage."

In Churchill, Manitoba, Lucas and others are staying in Tundra Buggy Lodges, which are traveling rooms on wheels that hold explorers up above the Arctic surface.

Through Sunday, Lucas will be blogging, photographing and learning about conservation efforts while observing polar bears up close.

Lucas has experience studying wildlife up close since she began volunteering in the summer of 2005 at the Como Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul.

She wanted something to do during the summer and realized she could turn some interesting knowledge she had accumulated while watching Animal Planet into valuable insights in her part-time volunteer work. So Lucas began at the zoo as a Nature Walk volunteer.

She learned about the Arctic camp through the zoo, and this year she is Como's "Arctic Ambassador."

Matt Reinartz, marketing and public relations manager for Como, said that when the zoo heard about the organization, it wanted to partner with the program right away. "We have polar bears here, so we're heavily involved in conservation issues."

The zoo plans to open an exhibit in 2010 featuring a new polar bear area that is four times the size of the current exhibit.

After meeting a set of requirements, filling out an application with a four-page essay and proving to a three-person panel that she did indeed have what it takes to be an Arctic Ambassador, Lucas was given her ticket to the Arctic.

It costs $15,000 for each student to participate in the excursion, and Polar Bears International paid the bill. Como Zoo paid for Lucas' tickets to and from Canada.

"I didn't have to pay anything other than buying a new pair of boots," Lucas said.

After the expedition, her involvement with the conservation effort will just be beginning. The program will send Lucas to schools, churches and other zoos to talk about her experience for the next 12 months. Lucas said she's excited about the opportunity.

She already was doing her part to make her home a greener place. Patricia Lucas, Georgia's mom, said she often finds the lamps unplugged when she goes to turn them on. "We need to negotiate some sort of living compromises," Patricia said, but she said she's proud that her daughter goes the extra mile.

She said the lessons Georgia will learn will be priceless and unforgettable.

"I don't see this getting lost in some sort of a scrapbook somewhere."

Joy Petersen is a Minneapolis freelance writer.

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