As an elementary school girl and animal lover, my favorite place to go on the weekends was the Roger Williams Park Zoo. I began to volunteer at the Zoo four years ago. The last two years, I have served the zebras, cheetah, aoudads, cranes, and desert tortoises of the Plains of Africa exhibit as a Junior Keeper, which requires me to wake up early every Saturday to be at the Zoo before 8 a.m.

This year, at the age of 16, all those early mornings paid off, as I was selected to represent the Roger Williams Park Zoo as an Arctic Ambassador at the Polar Bears International (PBI) Leadership Camp in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

It was April of my sophomore year at St. Mary Academy–Bay View when I received an invitation to apply for this indescribable trip to study polar bears in their natural habitat and the affects of global warming on their survival. We were required to write an essay and go through a series of interviews with some of the Zoo’s directors. In July I received the call informing me that I had been chosen. I was in complete disbelief.

After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, I was finally off. I flew to Winnipeg on Oct. 9 and was greeted by Carolyn Buchanan, the wife of Robert Buchanan, the President of PBI. At 5 a.m. the following day, the 16 Arctic Ambassadors from the U.S and Canada and nine facilitators boarded a tiny plane to Churchill. When we arrived it was frigid and hailing as we walked around the small town, visiting the post office and Visitor’s Center until we boarded a Tundra Buggy to take us to the tundra. A Tundra Buggy is like a bus on ten-foot tall wheels so that people can observe the bears without any threat from the bears.

On our drive to the Tundra Buggy Lodge, where we lived for five days, we were quickly preoccupied when we spotted two male polar bears and a mother bear with two cubs. The next five days were straight out of a fantasy. We drove around the tundra observing polar bear behavior, sat through intriguing presentations by our facilitators, flew in helicopters over the tundra, and investigated the inside of a polar bear den. We saw a total of 11 different bears, one of which actually slept outside of our lodge for three days, as well as ptarmigan, arctic fox, arctic hares, and a snowy owl.

A memorable moment was the morning of Day Four, all of us awakened by Robert Buchanan singing “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.” I instinctively looked out my window and there was a young male polar bear staring right back at me. He was only five feet away, and his expression looked troubled. Then I remembered why we were there, to learn how to save bears from extinction. I vowed then and there to do whatever it takes.

Words cannot begin to describe my experience, living out on the tundra among the wild polar bears. Seeing them in their natural habitat was truly an honor. Although my trip was miraculous, it was not all polar bear hugs. We learned from our facilitators the effect that global warming has on these bears and how it has already diminished their population. There are about 900 polar bears in Churchill and only 20,000 bears remaining in the entire world. You may think this is a large number, but did you know that bears are expected to go extinct within a decade? Because of global warming, there is little or no ice on the lakes and bays of northern Manitoba. The bears rely on the ice to hunt, mate, and build dens for their cubs.

The solution is simple. Practice conservation. Turn off your lights, unplug your cell phone charger, plant a tree, ride a bike rather than driving, or air dry your dishes and clothes. Each of these simple actions will reduce your carbon footprint, conserve energy, and save money.

I was sent on this once-in-a-lifetime experience so that I could absorb these facts, return home, and pass all of the information to my community. I challenge every one of you to spread my message to 10 people and tell them to do the same. Together, by doing small things that will barely affect our lives, we can save the polar bears. For more information on how to help go to www.polarbearsinternational.org.

I was 13 years old when a volunteer opportunity arose at the Roger Williams Park Zoo and I jumped at the chance. Today, more than ever, I am committed to studying the needs of animals and finding ways to encourage people everywhere to help keep polar bears and other threatened species on the planet.

Molly Alves, at junior at Bay View, was selected to represent Roger Williams Park Zoo at a camp sponsored by the organization Polar Bears International (PBI).