Hi there!

In our multi-annual work at Spitsbergen, we have just completed a chapter and started the next exciting important part.

As previously announced in iMessenger "We are Sailing" (Issue No: 4:2020), we informed about a field group who would dismantle the unique Field Station | Naturae Observatio | Martin's Eye. A station which for a long period has made extensive scientific data collection – a total of 2,074,053 observations – in one of the few true wildernesses that remain on our common planet Earth. This mission was successful despite difficult odds such as the ongoing pandemic, travel restrictions and of course the weather in the Arctic Ocean.

Our work is now continuing on a broad front to manage and develop this scientific enterprise, created within the BRIDGE BUILDER EXPEDITIONS SPITSBERGEN. In the newly published INITIAL FIELD REPORT you are invited to read about this year's work and the exciting development including the publicise project over the coming years.

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BOOKSHOP IS OPEN

In 2006, The IK Foundation published the book BEAR ISLAND | The story of an isolated Arctic island - exploration, people, culture and nature. This is one of very few comprehensive books on the island, which was evident from the presentations made at The Royal Geographical Society in London and on the boat deck of the ship Fram at The Fram – Polar Exploration Museum in Oslo. The author, Dag Hagenæs-Kjelldahl, is one of the few one-time residents who for much of his life has documented and studied the natural and cultural history of Bear Island.

He laid the foundation for the local museum on the island, thus saving parts of the area's interesting and multifaceted history. The 400-page book is a classic for those interested in the history of the Svalbard archipelago.

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