The APECS Field Schools Project seeks to be a community of connected field schools concerned with the polar regions, the cryosphere, and climate change, designed for undergraduates, and early academics and researchers. Schools designed for secondary students are also encouraged to participate. This community is being developed through a discussion forum, a Google Earth layer, and information about various schools, courses, and workshops on the APECS website. Participants will be able to stay connected as a group and share their experiences with other field groups.

Field schools wishing to participate in the APECS Field School Network should have a focus on the polar regions and techniques used for collecting and processing data from these regions and the larger
cryosphere. Of particular interest are schools and courses that include small investigations conducted by participants. The materials from these schools, outcomes, and results can be posted on the APECS Field School Network website for discussion with other field schools and the wider APECS community.

A Google Earth layer will facilitate the uploading of photos and multimedia materials, providing an exciting way for participants to interact with those who have already been or are waiting to participate
in a field school. It will also serve as an ideal archive for field school experiences. Field schools that choose to participate in this project will be fully endorsed by APECS and IPY. APECS will aid in
publicizing the schools and provide the infrastructure for dialog exchange throughout the 2009 field school period and beyond.

If you are interested in linking your field school, workshop, short course, or other project to the APECS Field School Network, please send the following information to Harry Borlase:

  • Course description,
  • Date of occurrence,
  • Location of field school, including geographic coordinates (longitude and latitude),
  • Application deadline,
  • Website, and
  • Contact information.
Given that field schools are due to start in the coming months, APECS hopes to have all information posted and software developed by the beginning of February. A current list of 2009 field schools is available at: http://arcticportal.org/apecs/field-schools/2009.  

For further information, please contact:
Harry Borlase