Norway Lemming - Norway

Norway’s coastline stretches for 25,000 kilometers, the longest coastline in Europe. It is made up of thousands of islands and hundreds of fjords; Sognefjorden, having a length of 204 kilometers, is the longest fjord in the world. Fjords are deep and narrow channels carved into the coast through glacial erosion.

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Lemmus lemmus - Lemmings are rodents primarily found in the tundra environments of the Arctic. The Norway lemming is common throughout the Fennoscandia Peninsula and is the only vertebrate endemic to the region. Lemmings are well known for their dramatic rise and fall in population levels. During an exceptional good year with plenty of available food, the lemming population will soar to spectacular levels not sustainable the following season and resulting in the population suffering a sudden and steep decline.

Norway Spruce - Norway

Picea abies - The Norway spruce is a fast growing tree. Under ideal conditions, it can add 1 meter of growth each year for the first 25 years of its life. The tree grows into a pyramid shape, attaining heights ranging from 35 to 55 meters and supported by a trunk of 1 to 1.5 meters in diameter. The Norway spruce is a disease resistant tree often used for reforestation purposes; it is also used widely in the timber business. As a monoecious tree, the Norway spruce has the ability of self-pollination.

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Prior to the unification of Norway in 872, the area consisted of several “petty” kingdoms. Most of these realms were made up of a local chieftain leading a small cluster of villages, a few others were structured entities with ambitious and princely rulers. Archaeological records provide evidence of about twenty such kingdoms having existed. In 872, King Harald Fairhair unified the various fiefdoms into the Kingdom of Norway and reigned over the newly created state until his death in 930.

Acorn Barnacle - Svalbard

Located on the island of Spitzbergen, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault serves as a depository for storing plant seeds. Construction began in 2006 and was completed in 2008. The site was chosen because of its remoteness, lack of seismic activity, and cold climate. It has the capacity to store over 2.35 billion seeds.

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Semibalanus balanoides - Acorn barnacles are the most common type of the more than 1,200 barnacle species. Acorn barnacles are sessile, they grow their shells directly onto a surface; goose barnacles attach themselves to a surface with their stalks. An acorn barnacle passes through 3 levels of development. During the first level, the larvae stage, they float about in the water feeding on plankton. The second level, the cyprid stage, is dedicated to finding a suitable surface for attachment. In the final stage, they reach sexual maturity.

European Lobster

The European lobster inhabits the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and portions of the Black Sea. It grows to 60 centimeters and weighs 6 kilos. As juveniles, the lobster sheds its hard exoskeleton several times each year through a moulting process. As adults, the pattern of growth decreases and the lobster replaces its exoskeleton once every one or two years. The first segment of a lobster’s body is equipped with two distinct claws. The larger and heavier claw is the crusher and the smooth-edged claw serves as the cutter or holder. The claws take either crusher or cutter form during the early adult stage of life and is dependent on how the lobster uses its claws; they can be right-handed or left-handed. Lobsters have four pair of walking legs and four pair of swimmerets, appendages used for swimming or as a way for the female to carry her eggs.

The Vikings

The Vikings were Germanic seafarers, who despite their fierce reputation of engaging in acts of plundering and piracy, were also successful merchants, traders, and colonists. They used their skills in seamanship to open and maintain extensive trading routes in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe. At a time when the compass and sextant were unknown, they had mastered the skill of celestial navigation with uncanny precision. In their quest for new trading markets and to satisfy the need for establishing new settlements, the Vikings migrated as far as Iceland, Greenland, and North America. The Viking Age began in the late 8th century and endured until the mid 11th century. Their ability to build advanced ships and boats; longships, karves, and faerings, provided the Vikings with the opportunity to overwhelm their rivals with military might and commercial entrepreneurship.