Used Cameras Sought for Conservation Group

Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International (RAEI), a nonprofit conservation ecology organization, has a new innovative program that puts used cameras and other equipment to work for promoting the science and art of biodiversity. RAEI accepts donations of all kinds of gear crucial to conservation ecology, from camera bodies and lenses to GPS units. The donated equipment is used by biologists and photographers in the field to document the diversity of life. Some of the gear is used by RAEI staff, but many of the recipients of the donated items are residents of impoverished regions in Ecuador, Mexico, and Cameroon, according to Dr. Paul Hamilton, executive director.

Residents of targeted study areas are chosen for their knowledge of ecosystems and abilities to conduct field work. They are then given basic gear like cameras, GPS units, and data sheets, along with training and a research manual. They are also taught the technical skills needed to take photos and field data, and given instructions on how to get their photos and data to biologists who can use them. A list of items that are particularly needed can be found at RAEI's website, www.raei.org.

Wilderness Research Foundation Seeks Marketing Pro

Marketing Professional Sought – Wilderness Research Foundation seeks a marketing professional to join their Board of Directors. The successful candidate will be based in the New York metro region, have an interest in science, the outdoors, or the polar regions, and the capacity to help us attract corporate sponsorship and media attention. For further information, please see www.wildernessresearch.org or contact WildResch@aol.com.

Trans-Antarctica Expedition Reunites 20 Years Later

The Will Steger Foundation is celebrating the 20^th Anniversary Reunion of Will Steger's Trans-Antarctica Expedition, December 10-11, 2010.

On March 3, 1990, a team of six men from six different countries and their 42 sled dogs completed the first-ever dogsled crossing of the Antarctic continent. The 1990 International Trans-Antarctica Expedition, led by Minnesotan Will Steger, travelled 3,741 miles in seven months, enduring temperatures as low as -54F and winds as high as 100 mph. In early December 2010, the team will gather for the first time in 20 years to reflect on their journey and its impact, felt around the world by both lawmakers and school children.

Public Events:

· FFree public forum – Perceptions from China and the US on Climate Change, featuring China team member and scientist, Dr. Qin Dahe and University of Minnesota’s Associate Professor Elizabeth Wilson. Dr. Qin Dahe is a well-known glaciologist, climatologist and a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Sciences as well as the former Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration. Details: Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Cowles Auditorium, December 10^th, 7 pm.

· EExpedition Reunion Event - Team members representing France, UK, China, Japan, Russia and the US will share their stories and video clips from the expedition at a public event on Saturday, December 11th from 3-5 p.m. The event will be held at Anne Simley Theater at Hamline University, 1536 Hewitt Avenue, St. Paul. Tickets are available at The North Face Stores in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The tickets are free; a donation of $5 for students and $10 for adults is suggested.

The landmark expedition could not be replicated today: not only have dogs been banned from Antarctica, but the Larsen A and B Ice Shelves, on which the team travelled for a month, no longer exist, its demise a major indication of the impacts of climate change.

The impacts the team has made on a global scale are monumental. Following the expedition, the team members met with the heads of state in France, China, Russia, Japan and the US, calling for the ratification of the 1961 Antarctic Treaty; the Treaty involves 39 countries that cooperatively manage Antarctica for scientific purposes only. The team and sled dog “Sam” met with President and Mrs. Bush at the White House on March 27, 1990. In 1991, the Treaty was ratified, protecting Antarctica from oil and mineral exploration and preserving it for science.

In 2007, team member Dr. Qin Dahe of China shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for his work on climate change. Dr. Qin’s scientific contributions were largely based on the ice core samples he took across the entire Antarctic continent during the expedition. Frenchman Jean-Louis Etienne and Minnesotan Will Steger both have committed themselves to raise awareness about climate change, informing citizens through expeditions and public speaking on how they can make a difference. Locally, Will Steger established the Will Steger Foundation to educate, inspire, and empower people to engage in climate change solutions. UK team member Geoff Somers has worked with numerous polar expeditions and lectured widely. Dr. Victor Boyarsky of Russia heads the Arctic and Antarctic Museum in St. Petersburg and has led numerous expeditions in the Arctic. Japanese team member Keizo Funatsu runs Silver Cloud Kennel in Alaska and has competed several times in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

As a result of the success of the expedition’s adventure learning program, Hamline University launched the Center for Global Environmental Education, to create environmental education programs for K-12 teachers. Leading up to and following the expedition, Hamline hosted a series of summer institutes for teachers, bringing together leading Antarctic scientists with K-12 educators from around the world. The expedition packed its gear on the campus during the third annual Antarctic Institute.

“The expedition literally changed the direction of my life, my teaching and in many cases the lives of my students,” explains Louise Huffman, a teacher from Naperville, Illinois, who attended the Antarctic Institutes. “Today, I would not be leading the educational outreach efforts of a huge international science project if I had not been so turned on by polar science 20 years ago. Six young women who were in my classes in 1989 and 1990 have gone on to get PhDs in science! The changes brought by this project have far-reaching affects.”

The educational program, which relied on the early computer networks of Prodigy, CompuServe, Minitel and Apple (as the internet was not yet available to the public), reached 25 million children worldwide. The team received letters, poems, essays, handmade books and drawings from schools around the world, including rural communities in China and even the Australian Outback.

“Wherever I go,” explained Will Steger, “I meet people who were affected by the expedition. Many of them followed the expedition in elementary school. Now that they are parents, they are teaching their children about global cooperation and the importance of working together to solve problems like global climate change.”

The expedition was the focus of four hour-long ABC-TV specials which won the station a National Sports Emmy Award. It was featured in the November 1990 issue of National Geographic Magazine. Jazz great Grover Washington wrote a song and dedicated his 1990 national concert tour to the expedition, called Protecting the Dream. Major sponsors Target Stores, The North Face and Gore-Tex launched an expedition exhibit in an 18-wheeled truck that travelled the country, providing armchair explorers a “vicarious” experience.

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Hamline University is located at 1536 Hewitt Avenue in St. Paul. Lot parking is free on Saturdays. For a campus map, visit www.hamline.edu

Join the American Polar Society

As the American Polar Society celebrates its 75th anniversary leading the world in polar research and exploration, they have launched a membership drive, hoping to attract scientists, explorers and enthusiasts from around the world. For more information: www.ampolarsociety.org.

Father and Son Cycle Japan; Iceland is Next

In the summer of 2009, Charles Scott, a middle-aged corporate executive, and his 8-year old son, Sho, left their home in New York City to ride connected bicycles 2,500 miles the length of Japan. Telling skeptical friends, “A child can accomplish a whole lot more than many people think,” the two mapped out a 67-day route that stretched from the northern coast to the southern tip of the mainland, passing through many of Japan’s most famous cultural sites and nature preserves.

Hoping to encourage efforts to combat climate change, they raised money for a global tree planting campaign, received press from around the world, and were named “Climate Heroes” by the United Nations (http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/content/climateheroes.asp).

Scott, 42, described the estimated $10,000 adventure as “a celebration of the bond between father and son, and a challenge to contemporary society’s notions of what is reasonable for a child to attempt.” Dismissing fears shaped by “a culture that is increasingly sedentary and mistrustful of the value of discomfort,” the pair cycled through uninhabited stretches of Japan’s northern wilderness, slept in a tent wherever they found themselves, navigated heavily populated, traffic-choked urban landscapes, struggled up and down mountains populated by wild monkeys, took on sumo wrestlers, meditated in a Buddhist temple, held hands in silence at Hiroshima Peace Park, made friends throughout the country, and explored the limits of quality father-son time.

The trip was almost entirely self-funded, with support from Intel which provided a mobile Internet device using their latest Atom processor and a wireless card that allowed Scott and Sho to stay connected and post blog updates throughout the country. Details from the adventure are at www.japanbikeride.com.

Scott and Sho have just announced their next bike adventure, scheduled for the summer of 2011. The pair, along with Sho’s 4-year old sister, Saya, will circumnavigate Iceland, a 1,500-mile (including side trips) fully self-supported trip on two connected bicycles and a bike trailer. They will use press coverage from the ride to encourage action to address climate change. The route and other logistical details are still being developed and they are currently seeking $10,000 in cash and in-kind support. (For more information: www.icelandbikeadventure.com).

Students On Ice Seeks Students, Chaperones for Antarctica Trip

Sure, you can travel to Antarctica on a big, fat cruise liner and pay upwards of $20,000, or you can apply as a chaperone or student on Students on Ice, an award-winning, 10-year-old organization offering educational expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic.

The Quebec-based organization has a few openings for chaperones and students to visit the Antarctic from Dec. 27, 2010 to Jan. 10, 2011.

The ship-based journey will explore southern South America, the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding Southern Ocean. It will involve 65 international students, aged 14-18. The students will travel on this transformative adventure together with a team of 25 world-renowned scientists, historians, artists, explorers, educators, leaders, innovators and polar experts. Students on the expedition will develop knowledge, skills, perspectives and practices that will help them to be Antarctic ambassadors and environmentally responsible citizens.

Interested students and teachers/chaperones should contact the Students on Ice office to get more information and an application form, or apply online. The cost is $12,500 USD and includes airfare from New York JFK, accommodations, and all meals and activities. (For more information: www.studentsonice.com, 866-336-6423, apply@studentsonice.com)

EXPEDITION INK: The Boy Who Conquered Everest

By Katherine Blanc, author, Hay House, 2010

The next time you are facing a monumental task and feel overwhelmed by it, think of Jordan Romero. He’s the thirteen-year-old boy who reached the summit of Mount Everest in May, ably accompanied by his mountaineer father, stepmother and three Sherpa guides.

As well as ice fields, crevasses and boulders, another obstacle that Jordan had to overcome was skepticism from the public. When news of his Everest success was made public, some in the international climbing community balked at the idea of a kid barely into his teens being put into the dangerous circumstances that come with climbing the world’s tallest peak, and others made assumptions about how he got there. But to author Katherine Blanc, whose recently published book for children and young adults, The Boy Who Conquered Everest, documents Romero’s story, the mountain climbing is secondary to the planning, the hard work and training it took to get there.

“People thought he was a rich kid who bought his way to the top of the world. Jordan does not come from money. He raised the money for his trips by selling t-shirts and headbands, by holding taco dinners with some of the money going to the trip, by giving presentations to outdoor companies that then sponsored him with equipment rather than funds. He did it the hard, old-fashioned way,” says Blanc, 47, the daughter-in-law of famed cartoon voice Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Barney Rubble)

(When we heard that, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask what it was like at the dinner table. Katherine tells us, “Mel frequently spoke to us ‘in character.’ And since Mel created over 1,500 character voices, you never knew who you might be talking to next.”)

But back to Romero: Not only did the Everest ascent make him the youngest person ever to reach the summit, it also got him one step closer to fulfilling his childhood dream of summiting the highest peak on each of the seven continents. In a three-year period starting just after his tenth birthday, Romero climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa, both Mount Kosciuszko in Australia and the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia (to satisfy any sticklers about his credentials), Russia’s Mount Elbrus, Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, then Alaska’s Mount McKinley, before tackling Everest.

While her book is aimed at young adults or kids, Blanc says Romero’s mindset appeals to all ages, including many adults. “’Find Your Own Everest’– that’s become his catch phrase,” says Blanc, a resident of Romero’s hometown, Big Bear Lake, Calif. “As the youngest person to summit Everest, Jordan holds a world record, but he really wants to use the book to urge kids, and adults for that matter, to get outside, put down the video game, get some exercise. … He’s not telling everyone to pursue mountain climbing, just to set your own goals and dream big.”

In January 2011, Romero hopes to climb Mount Vinson Massif, the highest point in Antarctica, the final stop in his Seven Summits quest. His only obstacle is his age – Antarctica requires a climber to be 16, and Jordan is 14. Blanc says Team Jordan is hoping to obtain a special permit, based on his previous climbing record. (For more information: www.hayhouse.com).