Empowering Arctic guides

For most people, visiting the Arctic is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one of the most beautiful and wildlife-rich regions on Earth, with sightings of polar bears high on most guests’ bucket list. The professional guides on these expeditions share their knowledge and love of the Arctic and feel a powerful responsibility to send visitors home with actions they can take to protect this fragile ecosystem.

“Being an expedition leader and guiding is what I love,” says Hilde Fålun Strøm, Arctic guide, explorer and Polar Bears International’s ambassador-at-large. “This is a place that I deeply care about, and to share it with guests is such a privilege. To see them fall in love with the natural world up in Svalbard or wherever they are is important to me, because I think it's easier to protect something if you care.”

To ensure that Arctic guides are equipped with the most accurate and up-to-date information on polar bears and their sea ice home, Strøm has been supporting PBI’s work to develop resources exclusively for those guiding in the region. The Polar Bear Handbook for Arctic Guides, written by PBI experts, is designed to help guides answer questions from guests about every aspect of polar bear biology, ecology and conservation. It will be updated annually in response to guide feedback, new scientific findings and emerging conservation challenges. 

Complementing this work, PBI hosted our first of two new annual webinars for guides in April exploring their critical role in polar bear conservation, the research behind PBI’s conservation efforts in Svalbard and how guides can foster nuanced conversations about climate change and sensible climate action.

To date, hundreds of guides have joined the network, downloaded the Handbook and taken part in the first webinar. They’re part of a fast-growing network of trusted messengers reaching the audiences who care most about the future of polar bears.

Strøm is often struck by visitors’ emotional response to the fragile beauty of the Arctic and its wildlife.

“Any time we’re sailing in an area where we might expect to see polar bears, and we get a chance to actually do so, that’s always a highlight for me as a guide,” she says. “And all the wildlife we see is very special. And the nature more generally, the remoteness, it’s so different. I’ve seen guests moved to tears because they’re blown away with the nature they’ve experienced. So, yeah, it’s really a privilege to be a guide.”

At the same time, she continues, while guests obviously want to have a good time and make special memories, it is important for her that they leave with an understanding of what is at stake for polar bears and the Arctic ecosystem.

“The median temperature on Svalbard has risen by 10° F (5° C) since I moved here in 1995,” she explains. “And we need big shifts in our society to address that. In addition, I personally really like to connect with people heart to heart when they're visiting the Arctic. I believe that if we can open people's hearts, we can make sure they feel the connection to the natural world. I do believe that action done by individuals collectively is going to move the needle.”