Pavlos

"Umki is a traditional Chukchi name for a girl that means Polar Bear. The Chukotka region in Russia has a motto, "The Land of Real People!" Scientists have recognized that indigenous people have a special bond to nature and animals There are wonderful stories of elders talking to and learning from whales when the whales talk to them in their dreams. I bet you have a special bond with animals too. I hope you will continue to explore the natural world and especially the land, people and animals who live above 66 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, the Arctic Circle.

You could start learning more at this website from the Arctic Council:

https://caff.is/education

Thanks for joining Pavlos on his adventure and keep exploring!

Tom Armbruster visited the Arctic in Alaska, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Russia as a "Polar Affairs Officer" at the U.S. State Department. He helped the U.S. become a founding member of the Arctic Council, an international body dedicated to solving problems for the people of the Arctic.

Along the way, he slept in an ice cave in Greenland as part of an Arctic survival course and kayaked in the Arctic sea. Tom is a retired United States Foreign Service Officer who was Ambassador to the Marshall Islands from 2012-2016. (He had to go somewhere to warm up.) He is married to Kathy and they live with their dog Skipjack. Born in an Italian city called Livorno, Martina spent her childhood skinning her knees, falling down from the bike and drawing a lot, encouraged by her grandma who used to give her a lot of crayons!
After she discovered a passion for comic books, she decided to study to become an illustrator at the "Accademia delle Arti Figurative" in Firenze and later to move to the UK and Finland where she started freelancing as a children's books illustrator.

In winter 2020 she attended the professional illustration training course at "The Animation Workshop" in Denmark, Viborg, where she is currently freelancing while drinking a lot of coffee.