Wanderlust brought Brooklyn Ambis to McMaster and served up a plate of fermented shark.

Brooklyn was in high school researching universities when she discovered EXPLORE 3IS3 at Mac. It’s a third-year interdisciplinary science field camp that turns Iceland into a living lab. While she’d travelled far and wide, the land of fire and ice was on Brooklyn’s bucket list.

Brooklyn accepted her offer to McMaster and quickly made another discovery – she has a passion and aptitude for ecology and environmental science.

Everything the third-year Life Sciences student had studied in her courses came to life in Iceland. She knew what to expect but was still amazed from the moment she disembarked from the red eye flight into Keflavik with 25 classmates.

“It felt like we’d landed on Mars. Iceland is unlike anything I’ve ever seen – way more dramatic than I’d anticipated. Every type of natural wonder was within an hour’s drive.”

The students studied every one of those wonders, from volcanoes and lava fields to glaciers, waterfalls, mountains and lush valleys.

Their 12 days in Iceland started with a stop in Grindavik, a coastal fishing town that Brooklyn had just studied in a natural disasters course. The students had special permission to be there – the town had been evacuated back in March due to volcanic activity. Most of the 4,000 residents don’t plan to return and police advise anyone entering the town to exercise extreme caution – there’s a risk of the ground opening up beyond areas that are already fenced off. The students shared a meal with residents who gave first-hand accounts of the evacuation and talked about the uncertain future of their town.

For Brooklyn, the highlight of their Icelandic adventure was a 35-minute ferry ride to Westman Islands and a hike up the Eldfell volcano. Formed in 1973, the volcano erupted for six months, covered the island in ash, wiped out hundreds of homes and poured lava into the harbour. A year later, most of the residents returned. “You can see the entire island from the volcano and the damage caused by eruption. It’s a stark reminder of nature’s power and the resilience of the Icelandic people.”

Everything Brooklyn had learned in her courses was within arm’s reach and under her feet that day. Seeing a circus of puffins and a pod of orcas was an added bonus. “I’ve dreamed of seeing orcas since I was a little kid so that was a really exciting moment.”

The students stayed in hostels that Brooklyn said felt like five-star hotels. She had her best meal in the Hlemmur Food Hall in Reykjavik (a bowl of rare beef pho). Her most adventurous meal was Hákarl, a national dish and acquired taste. You take a rotting Greenland shark, cure it with a fermentation process and hang it to dry in an open air shed for six months. Brooklyn says it had a soft, rubbery texture and a strong fish taste. “I’m glad I got to try it but I’m not sure I’ll be putting it on a charcuterie board any time soon.”

Like Iceland, the EXPLORE course exceeded Brooklyn’s expectations and left a lasting impression. “I had the opportunity to learn what I love most with some of the most amazing people I’ve yet to meet at McMaster. When we left on the trip, most of us were complete strangers. When we arrived home, we felt like family.”

Brooklyn says associate professor Chad Harvey with the School of Interdisciplinary Science deserves special mention. “Dr. Harvey is one of the most kind and empathetic professors I’ve ever had. He truly cares about each and every student and creates a learning environment that encourages us to be curious, push ourselves and not shy away from making mistakes. He’s an outstanding educator – and an awesome tour guide.”

Story originally posted in the Summer Edition of Science Matters