Good thing for senior Haley Schaeffer that her mode of transportation was tall enough that the polar bears could not reach her, as she stopped to survey the area and as they stood on their hind legs peering up at her. Looking into the polar bears’ eyes was amazing for Schaeffer.

She rode around Churchill, Manitoba in a tundra buggy, an all-terrain vehicle, to view wildlife, for photographing and observing polar bears and other Arctic animals.

“The first polar bear we saw we nicknamed ‘Pretty Girl’. When we looked into her eyes, you could see pure hope. Because that’s all they can do until it freezes,” Schaeffer said.

The trip’s objective was to inform teens like Schaeffer of the urgency to get the message about climate change out there.

“It [the trip] was eye opening and awe inspiring,” Schaeffer said.

Not many teenagers can juggle long days of volunteering and loads of homework, on top of missing weeks of school to go on trips to exciting places, such as the Amazon and the Arctic and live to tell the tale.

Schaeffer though arrived home on Oct. 6 and jumped right back into her school work and the comfort of her hometown.

“The bounce to home was rough in the sense that we could be doing so much more to reduce our impact,” Schaeffer said.

While Schaeffer was extremely excited for the trip, one thing lingered in the back of her mind: some teachers would not give her the work she would be missing before she left on her trip.

“I’m a little worried about all the homework I’ll be missing for my IB classes,” Schaeffer said.

Though a few of Schaeffer’s grades dropped for awhile, they are back to normal now.

Parents Dan and Cathy Schaeffer are very proud of Haley and all of her work. They are supportive, though a little skeptical.

“Initially I was a little skeptical,” Dan said. “I was scared for her safety, but eventually I realized that she was responsible, and I feel much better about her going on these trips.”

Schaeffer’s week was not only based on polar bears, but on studying climate change in general and learning how to communicate with people about the urgency of the issue.

Compared to her trip to the Amazon in June 2010, this trip to Churchill had more of a leadership aspect to it than just enjoying the scenery, besides the major climate difference.

“This one was based more on communication obstacles and getting people to listen about climate change,” Cathy said.

Her trip was paid for by the Oregon Zoo, where she has put in an estimated 1600 volunteer hours through Zoo Teens, a program at the zoo.

Schaeffer applied for the opportunity to go on the trip during her junior year. She had to fill out a paper questionnaire and put together a 15-minute presentation about involvement on an issue she had been working on. In other words, it took a lot of work.

Students here may have seen stickers pasted on paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms at school that say “these come from trees.” Schaeffer started this as part of her project. The stickers reduce up to 100 pounds of paper per year.

Schaeffer has also given presentations at elementary schools to teach students about climate change. She has presented at Hall Elementary School, East Gresham Elementary School and Powell Valley Elementary School.

Oregon Zoo volunteer coordinator Amanda Greenvoss has supervised Schaeffer’s work in and out of the zoo over the past three years.

Greenvoss has noticed a few particular things about Schaeffer that stand out from others.

“You can see that she has passion and thinks about the overall picture of climate change and is always wanting to take action,” Greenvoss said.

While Greenvoss plays as more of a supervisor to most volunteers, she has known Schaeffer for three years now, therefore their relationship goes deeper.

“With most students, I’m their direct supervisor. With Haley, I’m basically acting as her cheerleader,” Greenvoss said.

Although the camp was a great learning experience, the polar bears were a sight to see.

The teens worked with various guides from the camp and they certainly made an impression on Schaeffer.

“Our guides were amazing. They knew so much and were so willing to share their knowledge. They could spot small birds from hundreds of yards away. They had magnificent stories and humor with everything we saw,” Schaeffer said.

Schaeffer’s volunteering and trips are not merely a hobby of hers, as she would also like to pursue this as a career.

“I don’t know if I’d specifically want to work with polar bears, but I definitely want to do fieldwork and conservation,” Schaeffer said.

Schaeffer’s trip to Churchill was both motivating and inspiring. She wants everyone to be aware of climate change, that it is still fixable, but it is an urgent matter.

“We can all do our part by doing small things,” Schaeffer said. “It might not be comfortable, but it is definitely worth it.”

Schaeffer got involved in work with climate change simply because she knows it is a problem that everyone must face and that people can not rely on the next generation to fix the problem.

“If we are part of the problem, we must be part of the solution as well,” Schaeffer said.