Visiting the Norwegian School of Sports Science
Written by: Alistaire Veles-Astra, Psychology
To continue our exciting trip so far, we took the subway to Sognsvann so we could check out the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NiH)! We were greeted by Dr. Jørgen Weidmann Eriksen, Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Outdoor Life Studies, who was happy to give us a tour of the beautiful campus. The university is situated on the edge of a huge forest and is also near the water. They have so many different facilities including multiple large gymnasiums, an extensive workout gym, outdoor fields, a rock climbing wall, and a pool. I would be so excited to be a student here! After our tour, we had lunch in the cafeteria and got to try out all the food their students get to eat. I was pleasantly surprised with how many options there were, even for people with food restrictions.
Photo 1: Sogsvann Lake. Photo 2: Trails behind the university.
After lunch, we got to meet Dr. Rose Keller from the Norwegian Institue of Nature Research (NINA), who gave us a really interesting lecture on tourism, friluftsliv (outdoor living), allemannsretten (freedom to roam), climate change, and arcticification. We learned about a problem with allemannsretten and tourism: the increased numbers of tourists at National Parks in Norway means an increased amount of human waste on/in the land/water. Because people are trying to live life outdoors as 'naturally' as possible, when you have to go to the bathroom, you just do it outside. Some people try to bury their waste or hide it, but the increased amount of feces in the environment might not be good for the wildlife and may also harm humans through drinking water that has been contaminated with E. Coli. Dr. Keller did a study on this problem with the goal of improving the state of the environment in National Parks by reducing the amount of human feces that get left in the environment. They tried to achieve this goal through the use of Biffy Bags, a single-use plastic bag that you tie around your waist when you need to go to the bathroom, which can then be tied up (eliminating the smell) and thrown away. It was really interesting to learn that the most effective intervention strategy was active communication to visitors of the National Parks. Unfortunately, Biffy Bags are not manufactured yet in Norway, so they are pretty expensive, meaning this might not be an accessible solution to the problem if the parks don’t offer these bags for free. Dr. Keller also shared that the participants in this study felt a range of emotions, from depressed, apathetic, and angry, to empowered and inspired. I think this goes to show that despite the seemingly impossible task of ending climate change, getting people involved in collective activities that help the environment can cause measurable changes in people’s attitudes (and hopefully behaviours). Dr. Keller also made sure to mention that the solution proposed in her study relies heavily on the behaviours of individual people. The reduction of human waste at National Parks is great, but at the same time, the human waste issue is not really the root of the problem, but last chance tourism is. The lecture and the experience at the university gave us a lot to think about and incorporate into our research projects while we’re here. Next up, we’re heading to DNT cabins to really experience what friluftsliv is all about!
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