Through Alcoa's partnership with the Earthwatch Institute, Alcoa volunteers have the opportunity to work alongside Earthwatch scientists on critical environmental research projects around the world – helping to unlock solutions to some of the biggest sustainability challenges of our time.  more
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Alina Blyum's Diary
August 7, 2009: We reach the lake
We finally made it! By the end of the week we reached our final destination on the bog - the glacial lake. Every raised bog typically has a lake in the middle that dates back to the Ice Age. After 2.4 km of walking on the bog, there we were, looking at the cleanest, most beautiful lake I've ever seen. And the sense of accomplishment cannot be underestimated. We also realised how vegetation changed as moved deeper in the bog. In the beginning we mostly enjoyed eating blueberries but closer to the middle we found many more blackberries (which actually...
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Alina Blyum's Diary
August 6, 2009: Rain
Today we made it further into the bog. I didn't realize it would be so difficult to move forward. First you have to cut trees along the bog profile (poor guys!), put wooden pickets to mark the distance and then walk along the profile till the next sample plot. Walking on the bog is quite strenuous and requires physical fitness, but the feeling of beeing part of the team and the presence of fellow Earthwatchers ready to help you is amazing! I worked with Fabio today counting small trees, identifying their approximate age and height. Then I proceeded with a...
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Vicky Tang's Diary
August 14, 2009: Homeward
On our final day, we get a hearty breakfast of oats, fried field mushrooms, fried potatoes and the ubiquitous pickled cucumber. We head upstairs to pack samples. Even with the whole group involved, it takes us almost an hour to retie all the bags. We collect our socks, pack our bags, the bus and thank our hosts. We get in the bus for the journey back to minsk. We stop for lunch at the defence line near Polatsk. There are remenants of the trenches to be seen. We also stop at Khaytn, a village burned to the ground during World...
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Vicky Tang's Diary
August 13, 2009: Picnic dinner
Final day on the bog today. Natasha plans to only conduct one plot today, so we start a bit later to compensate for the late finish yesterday. We have breakfast at 9 am. Even though we have all enjoyed our time on the bog, we are also glad this is the final day. As a reward for our hard work, we are taken to a Partisan camp by a lake to enjoy our dinner tonight. The camp was used by local groups providing resistance to the invading Soviet forces. They built underground houses, banyas and kitchens. We explore the dwellings...
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Alcoa's 2009 Earthwatch Fellows and Expeditions
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Archived Earthwatch Diaries
Read the diaries of Alcoa employees who participated in past Earthwatch expeditions.
2008
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