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Fall Polar week celebrations by IPRN
On the occasion of the International Polar Week observed the world over by Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), WII-ENVIS centre in collaboration with Indian Polar Research Network (APECSIndia) and Dolphin Institute of Biomedical and Natural Sciences organized a one-day event on 24 September 2015 at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). The event featured talks from scientists and researchers working in the Himalayan landscape and Antarctica. A photography workshop and bird and plant identification nature walk was also held as the side-events. The event was attended by around 80 graduate and post-graduate students from the Dolphin Institute, several researchers, faculty members and staff of the Wildlife Institute of India.The event was initiated with a brief introduction of the organizers by IPRN members, Rupa and Gitanjali. Dr. Vinod B Mathur (Director, WII) inaugurated the event by providing a background on the research in the Polar Regions by WII and significance of these studies for the youth.
The first presentation of the event was on Conservation Strategies for Himalayan Biodiversity by eminent botanist and alpine ecologist Dr. Gopal S Rawat (Senior Professor, WII). Dr Rawat introduced the diverse faunal and floral forms found in the Himalayas to the audience and issues affecting their conservation. He talked in depth about the ecosystem services provided by these species in the greater Himalayan region stressing on the areas where research in needed. He extolled the youth to come forward as professional in the field to address issues such as alien invasive species and illegal trade.
The second talk of the day was by IPRN Vice-president Anant Pande (Senior Research Fellow, WII) titled Life in the Freezer on the varied life forms found in Antarctica including the humans. Anant explained about the challenges faced by scientists and support staff in Antarctica while working in extreme conditions. He talked about the variety of species diversity in the cold desert of Antarctica many of which are relatively unknown to the general public.
The last presentation of the day was an interactive workshop on Basics of Photography by Mr. Sougata Sadhukhan. Sougata introduced the basic concepts of capturing the best photographs using simple examples from daily life. He explained in detail the usage of aperture, framing and rules for making the best use of one’s equipment.
The participants of the event were taken on a nature walk in the serene campus of Wildlife Institute of India. The walk was led by Monika Kaushik (Ornithologist) and Amit Kumar (IPRN member, UGC Senior Research Fellow) for identification of birds and plants found in the Himalayan foothills respectively. Monika showed several species of birds to the participants while creating a checklist for future reference and explaining the importance of common species in our life. The participants were also exposed to developing skills and right equipment needed to identify birds. Amit displayed the common but relatively lesser known species of plants found in the region. He elucidated the distinguishing characters of medicinal herbs and grasses to the forestry students of the Dolphin Institute. The trail walk was enjoyed by all the participating students and researchers while also learning new skills in the field.
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Polar Week Activities around the world
Events for Fall Polar Week 2015 Name of Event Description of Event Date/Time Location Science Forum: Academics, Research, and Jobs in the North: Perspectives from Early Career Scientists This forum is designed to spread awareness about science research and employment in the Yukon Territory, based on insight provided by four early career scientists: Jocelyn Joe-Strack, Meagan Grabowski, Stefan Gronsdahl, and Frank Annau.
Food and refreshments provided by Summit Environmental Consulting.
September 22, 6pm-7:30pm Skookum Jim Friendship Centre, 3159 3rd Avenue, Whitehorse, Yukon Portuguese Polar Week Scientists going to schools to give lectures and share experiences
The Polar Science photograph exhibition “ In the limits of Science” that are being presented in different places- schools, Universities, shopping centres
Oct. 4-10 *check back for details Indian Polar Research Network Polar Week celebration Sept 24 US APECS Reddit Science AMA US APECS is partnering with the UK Polar Network to host an AMA ("Ask Me Anything") on Reddit Science. Reddit is often described as the "front page of the internet" and AMAs are threads that host experts on specific topics that reply to questions from other "redditors." Science AMAs are hugely popular - hosting people like Steven Hawking - and generate a lot of internet traffic, so this will be a great way to help spread the importance of polar science and your research across the world! Sept 20 Learn more and sign up here: http://tiny.cc/PolarWeekAMA APECS Francophone Polar Week APECS-France is on track for another successful Polar Week, full of webinars on the themes of climate change, polar worlds and the COP 21! These webinars will be live-broadcast > 120 schools in France from Sept. 21 -27. Classes from all age groups are signing up for presentations and an artistic activity from now until the equinox, with the goal of connecting youth with early-career polar researchers to inspire the citizens and researchers of tomorrow. Also, for this first time APECS-France is collaborating with APECS-Canada to expand the event to other French speakers and audiences! Sept 21 - 27 For more information about the event, check out the programme and events on the APECS-France website: http://www.apecs-france.org/l-educatif-et-les-poles/la-semaine-polaire. #TweetYourThesis on Twitter Starting at midnight (GMT), every hour a different APECS member from our international community will tweet about their thesis (#TweetYourThesis) and answer questions from others in the "twitterverse." This is an exciting way to share your important polar research to a global audience of over 315 million active users and make connections with other professionals in your field! (You can even schedule your tweets in advance to save time!)
Learn more and sign up here: http://tiny.cc/TweetYourThesis
Thursday, September 24 Online- Twitter
Even if you can't take part in this event, please retweet #TweetYourThesis posts or tweet your own content using the #PolarWeek tag!