CARMEL VALLEY – Like most people, 16-year-old Ronit Abramson has seen polar bears in the wild only on TV. But in a few weeks she'll see the real thing.

On Sept. 29, the high school junior is headed for Churchill, Manitoba, a remote Canadian town on the western shore of Hudson Bay. The outpost is near a gathering place for polar bears that wait each fall for the bay to freeze over so they can return to the sea ice to hunt seals.

Ronit, a student at Canyon Crest Academy in Carmel Valley, has won a coveted spot in an annual polar bear expedition to the Canadian tundra. The 10-day trip is sponsored by the San Diego Zoo and hosted by the conservation group Polar Bears International.

She will be one of 16 teenagers from around the world who will participate in the Polar Bears International Leadership Camp 2007. Ronit was selected by the zoo based on an essay contest and an interview during the summer.

The teenagers, from the United States, Canada, Denmark and Australia, will return to their home countries as Arctic Ambassadors and be expected to educate their peers and the public about polar bear conservation and other environmental issues in the Arctic. They'll do this by giving presentations at their schools, writing in their school newspapers, speaking to Rotary Clubs and other activities.


“I'm really excited to meet teens around the world who are just as interested in these issues as I am,” said Ronit (pronounced Ron-eet). “Seeing polar bears in their natural environment will be really different from (seeing them in) captivity. I can't wait to see that comparison.”

Polar bears in the wild are threatened by pollution, poaching and rapid warming, scientists around the world have reported. The bears' continued survival depends on their access to seals, their primary prey. As global temperatures warm, Arctic sea ice in Hudson Bay and elsewhere is melting, keeping the bears from their historic hunting grounds.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the polar bear as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

“Here these animals have lived for a quarter of a million years . . . and the ice is now literally melting underneath their feet,” said Robert Buchanan, president of Polar Bears International.

The organization established the leadership camp to make teenagers more aware of the bears' plight.


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“The most powerful tool we have is kids teaching other kids,” Buchanan said. “We consistently get letters from parents and teachers and grandparents that their kids come back entirely different, with a broader understanding of the world.”

During their trip, the teenagers will meet with members of the Cree Nation to learn about native culture, biologists and wildlife managers who track polar bear populations, among other people.

They will spend several days at the edge of Hudson Bay where the bears congregate each fall. They'll be housed in a “tundra buggy lodge,” a large vehicle akin to a mobile home but elevated on huge wheels. The height keeps the occupants out of the reach of curious bears who come to investigate.

The teenagers will attend lectures in the lodge, and, under the guidance of wildlife biologists, they will embark on a handful of field trips – one of them by helicopter to an abandoned polar bear den.

The trip to Canada will be more than a passing adventure for Ronit, a recent winner at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair for a study of how chemicals from discarded pharmaceutical drugs might be traced in lakes, rivers and in the water supply. She said she's keenly interested in learning more about how a warming Arctic is altering life there.

Wendy Slijk, a teacher at Canyon Crest who counseled Ronit for her science fair project, said the teenager displays a maturity that makes her stand out.

“She's like a high school kid going on about 40,” Slijk said.

Ronit loves the outdoors. Raised in Minnesota before moving to California in 2000, Ronit has fond childhood memories of summers filled with hiking, rock climbing, camping and canoeing. Today she loves visiting Yosemite National Park.

“This is a program that allows teenagers to actually get right into it with those researching . . . global warming,” Ronit said. “And the polar bears are this amazing species that people can relate to.”

During her trip, Ronit will write a blog on the Zoo's Web site, www.sandiegozoo.org, beginning shortly after she arrives in Canada. She will also file journal entries on the Web site of Polar Bears International, www.polarbearsinternational.org.

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