Svanoy trip

This is the translation of the very same e-mail that I sent to my family when we came back from Svanoy. I wanted to rescue it since our feelings at that time were on explosion due to the graduation of our second years.

Tuesday 25/05/2010

Back from Svanoy! The truth is that we have enjoyed it a lot; I don´t know why our second years were so pessimistic about it...

After the terrible Saturday, crying and crying after half of the family left, on Sunday we were getting ready, packing some lunch, our bags, and getting into a very nice boat that after one hour brought us to the island of Svanoy.

The trip to get there was already wonderful since we got to see the open sea, and a huge rainbow crossed the fjord from one side to the other.

The purpose of this trip is to provide Environmental Systems and Biology students with a real field to collect data for our lab reports. However, being the trip scheduled right after graduation I also believe that it´s just a way to make us forget about sad moments, go off campus, and make the bounding among co-years stronger. (I think that all these aims have been fulfilled).

The island is in the western coast of Norway, north of where we are. Its population is just of 75 inhabitants, and most of them live there just in the summer.

Once we got to the island we went up the deer center, where we have spent most of our time. They have a farm there, but also a reception for visitors, a dining hall, an exhibition...

After lunch we went down to the shore, divide ourselves in different groups, and started collecting the data in the intertidal zone for our lab reports. We made some measurements, calculations, identification of species, counting... We were lucky since it was not raining, but the rocks where slippery and more than once people fell down.

I had great fun with my group. The cooperation and the strategies of team work were excellent, so each of us specialized on doing a certain task. The mood was excellent and we encouraged each other to try new things, as for some of the students, touching all kinds of species was not of their pleasure at the beginning....

For dinner we had an amazing time with a barbecue outside. The feeling of the summer time! Teachers and staff helped in the cooking, and the weather was just perfect to be outside. We had more than enough food, and everybody looked happy and cheerful. What a change in the expression of our faces just in 24 hours!

Afterwards, we walked to the school where we slept. The path went by the forest, and in a 3km walk we enjoyed surrounded by nature, talking and laughing together.

This was the old school, but since there are not enough children on the island anymore, now they use it for this type of short activities. In the biggest room we placed all our sleeping bags and the 70 of us slept there.

We had some activities there, playing football or just talking in the kitchen, but tiredness accumulated from the previous days was stronger than us, and soon we all slept.

Next morning we woke up at 7a.m. After cleaning and packing again we walked back to the deer center where we had breakfast.

Environmental Systems students went with the owner of the farm to see the animal in their environment and we also got to feed them with our hands. We learnt about the type of soil in the area, the division of land, the type of food that they are given, the importance of seasonality, the process that the lives of these animals will follow... We were talking for hours, and the students found it so interesting that kept asking questions. I think I am able to write an EE on deer farming!

After lunch we learnt with the wife of the farmer about sheep farming on the island, another interesting case study for our biome.

Afterwards it was time for our community service, cleaning an area and collecting wood that was previously cut. A big group and organization made the task simpler, and we managed to finish early, giving us sometime to walk around the island and enjoy the fantastic environment.

Finally dinner, and back to campus with the boat. The way back was insanely funny since we decided to stay in the deck of the boat and when we got to open sea that was exactly like a roller coaster.

It was also a wonderful trip, enjoying the beautiful landscape of the fjords that is usually seen in touristic guides and brochures.

Getting back to campus meant going back to reality, and our faces were not that cheerful anymore when we entered our rooms again and we found them half empty.  

However, I am very thankful for this fantastic short trip to Svanoy. It has more than fulfilled my expectations: we had fun, enjoyed nature, got to know even more some people, learnt about team work, acquire so much knowledge regarding farming, deer, salmon or sheep in the area; it increased our environmental awareness, and the awakening of our curiosity to get to know about the environment surrounding us.

Hope you are all doing well over there.

Love from the fjord,

Irene