Two women have returned from their journey in the most northern part of Norway’s Arctic, where they spent a total of 18 months over the past two years living in isolation to gather data for scientists and research organizations.
Sunniva Sorby and Hilde Fålun Strøm describe themselves as “citizen scientists,†which Sorby says applies to those who study anything in the world and pass their findings on to scientists.
The pair, who had planned this project for years, lived in a cabin that had no running water and was only powered by solar and wind power. The cabin was located in Norway’s Arctic region of Svalbard, where the closest community was 140 kilometres away.
Sorby and Strøm started their journey in 2019, and while their stay was intended to last nine months, the two decided to extend it for a total of 18 months due to COVID-19. Sorby and Strøm first stayed in the Arctic for a year, and later returned to complete their journey between October 2020 to May 2021.
“It was a lot of food and provision, it was tools. But probably most of all we had to prepare ourselves,†Strøm, who is based in Norway, told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday. “We did a lot of practical things – chopping wood and picking up ice and snow for water – everything was manual. It was a very basic life.â€
Sorby said although they were isolated during their time in the Arctic, they weren’t alone.
“We had over 100 polar bear encounters and a couple of them close range, a lot closer than anybody might be reasonably comfortable with,†Sorby, who is based in British Columbia, told CTV’s Your Morning as she described one encounter when she was within a metre of a polar bear.
The two collected data for nine organizations, including NASA and the Norwegian Polar Institute. And, on top of their research, they connected with students around the world on the topic of climate change.
“We did school talks with classrooms from all over the world, and we were able to [do this] from this little tiny house without electricity and running water,†said Strøm. “We were able to connect with 100,000 school kids all over the world.â€
Strøm and Sorby have shared their experiences in a blog called “Hearts in the Ice,†and are also coming out with a book later this summer. The two are also planning their next project, which is to become citizen scientists in Canada’s Arctic.
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