While this page may have been neglected since the spring, I am still actively in contact with many of the people that I shared the mission to Antarctica with. I’m actively working with ESAA, Robert Swan, 2041.com and a few of the 2041 Alumni on a couple of amazing new projects. One will be a report on the Team Canada effort in Bellingshausen that Robert will present at the Rio+20 Earth Summit in June 2012 and the other is a yet to be announced effort in 2013 and 2014 that will involve a significantly more diverse group of partners and participants! The water and cold extreme themes figure prominently. Stay tuned.
Two of my good Antarctica friends went to the Kentucky Derby this past weekend. They drank mint juleps and represented all Antarctic citizens with a WaterCanada shirt made specifically for WaterAntarctica.com and Team Canada.
Darren McGann (wearing shirt) and Joe Rashbaum, as reported on Facebook, were in full Derby mode… Apparently Darren was asked so many times if he was a Canadian, he pretended he was and faked a Canadian accent, eh?!
There is an ad now running in both ReNew Canada and Water Canada magazines (published by Actual Media – hence the title) as a shout-out “Thank you!” to all the great people and organizations who helped me be part of the mission. I’ll continue posting on all things Antarctica and tracking progress of 2041 efforts. I’m still working on the coffee-table picture and travelog book for my supporters – if you want a copy, there is still time to order.
The Antarctic expedition crew.. I am jumping up at back row on far right.
It’s been a month since I returned from Antarctica and I’m still partly there. My shipmates keep the mission alive through our shared activities on Facebook and I am still giving slideshows to friends and family. I continue to work on my travelog coffee table book of photography for my sponsors and write - not just about the experience, but the lessons learned. But over time, a transition will occur … I’ll shift from expedition reporting and woe-begone longing for the travel moments of Antarctica to larger questions of water – not just as it relates to the coldest, “driest” continent but to the planet as a whole. We’ll see where that takes us.
Today I had the privalege to tell all the students of Cassandra P.S. in Toronto (including my two daughters) about the expedition to Antarctica. For twenty-five minutes I walked through the adventure with slides of early explorers, penguins, seals (cute ones and ferocious ones!), whales and my “polar dip” into the frigid waters of Antarctic Sound. I think they enjoyed it… there was certainly no shortage of questions! Antarctica School Presentation
I’ll get by with a little help from my friends. Gavin Davey, one of the good friendships I made on the trip to Antarctica, spoke recently to The Guardian - a UK paper, about his experience in Antarctica – a great read.
Near the end of our expedition, everyone began sharing their photos on a central laptop… considering most had high-speed SLR digital cameras and no shortage of memory space to store images, it’s no wonder that over 13,700 pictures ended up on that shared computer… and not everyone shared or included all their images. That said, I took over 1,000 pictures myself. This link below will take you to the Dropbox site where I have uploaded my favourites – about 196 of them – almost all I took myself with only a few borrowed from the 2041 team (John Luck) and friends – thanks! Enjoy Todd’s slideshow…
So now what? After a restful day in Buenos Aires on the way back and the initial shock of re-entry in Toronto, I have settled back into the familiar routine of work, life and family. It’s warm and fulfilling but what to do about my experience in Antarctica? Many of my 2041 Alumni emailed me that they were feeling a little lost.. a kind of post-adventure trauma was hanging over us. We had to keep busy with the IAE messages. So I gave a rant-driven presentation at a conference called “ReThink Sustainability” and built my 192-picture slideshow. I began work on the coffee-table book I will produce for my sponsors and wrote articles for Water Canada and ReNew Canada magazines. I met with Canadian filmmaker Mark Terry to help promote his awesome documentary, Polar Explorer, which brilliantly describes some of the effects of climate change that are occuring in the north and south polar regions. I contacted my youngest daughter’s school to organize a time to come in and speak to the kids on Antarctica. And I (finally) joined Facebook
Gavin Scott enjoys the last drop of our Antarctic experience on a beautiful day in Buenos Aires on Mar. 19
to keep in touch with all my new Antarctica friends and share our efforts to preserve the continent as the last untouched wilderness on earth. While the expedition may have ended last week, the journey continues!
The MV Sea Spirit was guided into the Port of Ushuaia early in the morning on March 18. Many of us had a hangover from our St. Patricks day and Captains toast party on board the night before. The expedition had ended and over the course of the day, we disembarked, milled around the port area in various groups and cried in our coffees. I missed saying formal goodbyes to many people in the chaos of busses and airport schedules but maybe that’s a good thing as I don’t want to say goodbye to many of them and certianly not to Antarctica. The people are my friends now and the continent is part of my soul… both will be on my mind as I head north and home, over the next two days.
While the trip has ended, the voyage of sustainable inspiration
The face of my friend Amal Hawali-Farag captures the feeling as IAE 2011 ends.
continues.
Antarctica continues to Inspire!
April 27, 2012 in Commentary by todd | No comments
While in Montreal for IPY 2012, I was privaledged to get a tour of the ice breaker Amundsen from the captian himself and met Canadian astronaut Julie Peyette, who works with the University of Laval and ArcticNet who was also on board. The Amundsen is one of several vessels that patrol the far north with science and student involvement.
Despite the fact it has been over 13 months since I was in Antarctica on the 2041 IAE expedition, I am still living the journey. Inspired by my involvement with Robert Swan and the intrepid group of friends that joined me on that special mission, I have continued to learn, explore and educate others about our sensitive and beautiful polar regions. I was in Montreal earlier this week and attended the International Polar Year conference with 3000 polar experts, scientists and policy makers – including my new friend, Geoff Green. Geoff is the founder of Students on Ice Foundation and they are soon to embark on their 12th annual expedition to Canada’s north eastern arctic and western Greenland to help educate and inspire a new generation of people on climate change, Inuit culture and arctic habitat. I encourage you to get involved.. with the Students on Ice program or by contacting me to learn about the many other initiatives, research and people who are making a difference in our polar regions.
www.studentsonice.com