Norwegian School of Sport Sciences/Norges Idrettshøgskole

 By Kelsey Simon, Psychology

NIH is located at the end of the 5 Sognsvan subway line

Today was our first full day in Norway! After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the subway station and took a scenic ride to the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences/Norges Idrettshøgskole (NIH). When we first got there, we had some spare time, so we walked to this beautiful lake behind the school. It was surrounded by these gorgeous tree-covered mountains and being there felt so surreal and calming, exactly what I needed after a long travel day. We were then met by Dr. Simon Kennedy Beames, Professor of Outdoor Studies, who gave us a tour. He was incredibly kind, welcoming, and engaging, as he even took the time to get to know me and any student who was standing next to him during the tour. The campus had a recreation centre feel to it. It had so many types of athletic spaces like multiple gymnasiums, a workout room, a dance studio, and a pool, which were all available to (and often used by) anyone in the community! What really stood out to me about the school was the strong priority of students and staff of taking time for daily physical activity. At the school, they have a garage, where the students will find kayaks and mountain bikes, and ropes along the ceiling to hang any equipment that needs to dry from rain or snow. Staff are encouraged to take time to do physical activity throughout the day, including weekly staff sports games, which I thought was an amazing idea.

Members of the community skate on the trail on the lake behind NIH 

After our tour from Dr. Kennedy Beames, we got to attend a lecture from Dr. Rose Keller, Research Scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research/Norsk Institutt for Naturforskning (NINA) on the effects of humans of the environment. She talked to us about the different experiments she’s been working on in the field since moving to Norway a few years ago. The lecture definitely highlighted the importance of accessible education and resources, as this harm to the environment is caused primarily from a lack of information about the land, not a lack of caring about it. For example, Dr. Keller told us about the harm done to the soil along the coast of Norway from tourists having fires while watching Northern Lights. To help save the soil, they started building above-ground fireplaces, so tourists can still enjoy a nice warm fire at night without damaging the ground underneath. The lecture really affected me, since I had obviously been aware of the negative impact humans have on the environment, but I mainly thought of the people as simply neglectful of their part of taking care of the environment. After the lecture, I’ll now be much more aware of the importance of being educated and aware of how to care for the environment. That’s probably the biggest thing I’ll take home with me after this trip so far.

Dr. Rose Keller presents her research 

Lastly, we all had dinner together at the cutest place right off the coast of the water, an indoor street market called Vippa. All the food we got was so good, and it was awesome to come back together as a group and talk about everyone’s experiences of the trip so far. Even though we’ve only been here for one day, I can feel how most people here prioritize being active and out in nature, and personally, I admire that a lot.

The street food market at Vippa

I can’t wait for what else the trip has to bring!

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