Features

People usually associate the North Pole with freezing temperature and glaciers. However, Terry PANG, a student of Higher Diploma in International Business at the IVE, who joined the student expedition to the North Pole witnessed that the North Pole was no longer a picture of crystal ice sheet as imagined and only to find it melting away quickly leaving behind rocks and muddy land. This unforgettable scene inspired him to introspect the human impact on nature.
 
Terry joined the North Pole expedition in September for 17 days. During the expedition, he gained so many unforgettable experiences but the most unimaginable one was to find out that ice sheets can hardly be seen in the North Pole. “Global warming speeded up the melting of glaciers, I could only see glaciers at the highland but not around the shore,” said Terry. Besides, global warming also endangered polar bears in a way that they could hardly prey for food on chunks of floating ice, which might cause them to attack human because of hunger. Although Terry had a chance to observe polar bears, experts reminded him to maintain a safety distance with them. Apart from observing the lives of fauna in the land of extremes, Terry and his teammates have to study the human impact on the nature of the North Pole by groups. The subject under study for Terry this time was the change in water temperature and the oxygen level at the pebble beaches. The experience gained in the North Pole steeled his resolve to pursue environmental protection and energy saving when came back to Hong Kong as far as his personal routine was concerned. He also proactively conveys environmental messages to his family and friends.
 
The student expedition also visited the village of Arctic indigenous inhabitants. Before the visit, Terry thought that they might live primitively in igloos and hunt for food. Surprisingly, the houses there were well equipped with heaters and internet service. There are also post office, church and supermarket in the village. On the day of Mid-Autumn festival, Terry was exhilarated to see another fascinating scene. “I suddenly saw the Northern Lights when I was enjoying the moonlight on the deck with other students. It was really amazing,” said Terry.
 
IVE students joined expedition to the Poles two years in a row. Including the 2 other students who traveled to the South Pole last year, all 3 of them each received full sponsorship of $100,000 for the trip. With such a valuable experience, they were determined to promote environmental protection to the public and urge teenagers to join hands for the Earth.