20 July

Visit to the University of Tromso’s

Herbarium section with researcher Heini Rämä The building houses some 280 000 objects, mostly from northern Norway and the circumpolar boreal and arctic regions. About 90% of the collections are already digitised and can be searched through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the Centre for Biodiversity Information (CBI) portals of the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC), as well as the TROM search portal of the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC). The TROM herbarium has collections of vascular plants, bryophytes, algae, lichens and fungi. In addition, there are smaller collections that have not yet been recorded, e.g. seeds, pollen, other botanical objects and ethnobotanical items, as well as DNA samples. Approximately 8 000 plant collections from the Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden are included in a separate database.
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Visit to the Arctic University Museum

This museum offers science-based exhibits updated with the latest research. From fossils and rocks to wildlife and changing nature, the “TellUs” and “UnNaturally” nature exhibits provide comprehensive information about the history of our planet Earth, as well as the evolution and adaptation of birds and animals in the northern regions. A giant ichthyosaur fossil, a whale skeleton and a massive gold nugget are among the museum’s highlights.
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Sound walk

With Inga Bardsen Tollefsen, sound researcher and conductor, in the Kvaløysletta and Kaldfjord region. The aim of the walk was to listen to the natural and modified sound of non-invasive organic farming. The term “sound walk” was first used by members of the World Soundscape Project under the direction of composer R. Murray Schafer in Vancouver in the 1970s, and our coordinator worked hard to create a rhythm and attention to sounds with Nordic timbres and specificities.

21 July

Hiking the Sherpa Steps trail

The hike follows a clearly marked trail that includes 1300 stone steps painstakingly constructed by Nepalese Sherpas. Beginning with a serene walk through dense forest, the hike passes halfway through the hike into an area where no trees grow, offering views of the breathtaking natural beauty of the Arctic Circle. The adventure persists until you reach an altitude of 421 metres.
Along the way, we stopped for an imaginative guided ethnography exercise called Plant Meditation

22 July

Sound walk along the coast, following the directions in the brochure provided by Arctic Auditories. It ended at the Arctic University Museum with a discussion in which a series of questions about the environment and bird life in the area, asked at the start of the walk, were taken back to provide possible answers and personal reflections.

Audio and video recordings in two areas of the city, an overcrowded area where life is heavily affected by traffic and terraces, and a natural area where gulls spawn and
and teach their young to fly.

23 July

Working session to draw up the exhibition plan and timetable.

Group visit to the Polar Museum in Tromsø
After being established as the “Gateway to the Arctic” in the late 19th century, Tromsø became a base for many polar expeditions. The Polar Museum preserves and recounts this aspect of Tromsø’s and the Arctic’s history. The Polar Museum’s permanent exhibitions cover seal hunting, winter hunting, the stories of famous hunters such as Henry Rudi and Wanny Wolstad, the expeditions of Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen. Wonderfully set in an 1830s warehouse, stored on the waterfront.

Trip to Presvannnet for new audio and video recordings.

24 July 

Visit to the Northern Norway Science Centre – exhibitions and planetarium
The institution aims to improve understanding of the universe, weather phenomena in climate, energy, physics and the human body. Through interactive exhibitions you can explore the different layers of the atmosphere in the Northern Lights lift, the force of the wind experienced by a skier descending the valley or the energy production needed for different daily activities.

The exhibits and texts available in the institute reflect the northern location, energy and environment, the sky, the climate and the human body.

The science centre is also home to Norway’s largest planetarium, where the aurora is never missing and no other natural phenomenon does better to be presented in a 360° dome theatre. During our visit to the planetarium we watched the film Extreme Aurora.

25 July

Departure