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Riham Feshir

U of M professor leads arctic trek, shares stories

Aaron Doering , center, and Chris Ripken
Explorers and educators Aaron Doering, center, and Chris Ripken are half of a four-person team in the midst of a 170-mile trek across the arctic. Here, they begin work with a bear fence to give it a test run in Arctic Bay, Canada, last week.
Courtesy LT Media Lab

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A University of Minnesota professor is in the midst of a 170-mile trek across the arctic, sharing tidbits about life in the polar region in real time with the rest of the world.

Aaron Doering is leading a team of three others, including one Minnesota high school teacher, a film producer and a creative director. The team started nearly two weeks ago and is on the arctic sea ice Friday.

"Instead of focusing on climate change, stuff that can be debated," Doering said, "what I've decided to do is focus on some of the positive solutions that people are doing in their local communities around the world."

Doering is still on the very north end of the Baffin Island between Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet. It's a small, Inuit community of about 900 people in the region of Nunavut, Canada.

Arctic Bay, Canada
A four-person expedition team spent three days in Arctic Bay, Canada, seen here in this April 20, 2016, photograph. The team reached arctic sea ice Friday.
Courtesy LT Media Lab

He says residents are trying to adapt to the changing climate by bringing back their traditional way of living. Many of the youth still go out caribou hunting with their fathers, while others learn to sew their own parkas in a classroom.

One of the biggest issues is diminishing food supply and high import prices.

"Even one apple is going to cost $5," Doering said. "It's extremely high."

Doering and the team are snowshoeing and skiing across treacherous terrains, pulling behind them a 200-pound sled with a tent and in it everything they need to survive.

The tent includes food and technology equipment to provide daily video updates on social media and the website The Changing Earth.

Discussing the route
An arctic expedition led by University of Minnesota professor Aaron Doering, second from left, began nearly two weeks ago. Here, members of the team and locals discuss the route in Arctic Bay, Canada, last week.
Courtesy LT Media Lab

Doering is a professor in the department of curriculum and instruction. His research focuses on online and mobile teaching and learning, adventure learning and technology integration in K-12 classrooms.

The team is editing video and audio right in the tent. They're using the hashtag #choose2care and urging others across the world to share what they're learning as they become more environmentally literate.

"I want people to be inspired about how they can make a difference in their own community," Doering said.