First season in Antarctica, stories from young Kiwis

Two young Kiwis share their powerful anecdotes and life changing experiences from their respective first seasons in Antarctica last summer.

• using seal-mounted cameras to record what Weddell seals get up to under the ice
• scaling Mt Scott on the Antarctic Peninsula
• recording sounds from ice cracking to seals barking, for later use in music recordings
• working on a virtual reality experience of Hillary’s Hut at Scott Base
• sea kayaking among icebergs

Speakers: Rose Foster, 26
• PhD student, Antarctic Marine Conservation, University of Canterbury
• Field season, Scott Base, Antarctica, Dec 2018

Marco de Kretser, 18
• BSc student, Global Environment Studies & Environmental Science, University of Auckland
• AHT Inspiring Explorer, Antarctic Peninsula, Jan 2019

When: 6pm, Thursday, 1 August, 2019
Where: MacGregor Room, School of Biological Sciences, Level One, Old Biology Building, University of Auckland, 5 Symonds St, Auckland city

Let yourself be inspired by two young science students, Rose Foster and Marco de Kretser, both having undertaken recent field work in Antarctica. While they are at the beginning of their careers, they already have fascinating Antarctic stories to tell of extraordinary experiences, and how they have worked to make dreams become reality. Rose Foster completed her BSc in Marine Biology and Applied Conservation at AUT. She is now working on a Ph.D. at Canterbury, studying some of Antarctica’s most well-known charismatic megafauna: killer whales, emperor penguins and Weddell seals. Her research looks at the competitive dynamics between emperor penguins and Weddell seals, using seal-mounted cameras to record what Weddell seals get up to, when they are under the ice. Rose will share her story of how she discovered her passion for the polar regions, and her experiences in Antarctica on the University of Canterbury 2018 Postgraduate Certificate of Antarctic Studies. She also worked as an intern for the Antarctic Heritage Trust (AHT) to research the history of Hillary’s TAE hut at Scott Base for their soon-to-be-released virtual reality experience.

Marco de Kretser is a 2019 AHT Inspiring Explorer, and participated in the expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula earlier this year. He is currently working on his BSc at Auckland University on Global Environment Studies & Environmental Science. Part of his role as an Antarctic expedition member is to use his experience to inspire others to explore. With his background in electronic music production, he wanted to use this expedition to inspire musicians to incorporate sounds in their music that they never would've thought of using. While in Antarctica in January, he recorded a whole collection of sounds, from ice cracking to seals barking. His intention is to collate these sounds into a sample pack that music producers can download and work into their songs. Marco is also a skilful photographer and will share his experiences crossing the Drake Passage, kayaking among icebergs and pancake ice with whales fluking nearby, mountain climbing, and sleeping on the ice under the stars. Join us and let yourself be inspired. Photo credit: ‘Kayaking in Yankee Harbor, Antarctic Peninsula, 2019’ by Marco de Kretser, Antarctic Heritage Trust