Sydenham student prepares for Antarctic expedition

Nov 12, 2014

For 15-year-old Sydenham student, William Sanderson, it's a dream come true. Come Christmas Day the grade 10 student will be heading down south - way down south - and will be one of just 70 international students aged 14-18 boarding an ice breaker at the southern tip of Argentina and setting out to explore Antarctica.

The students will be part of a ten-day international youth experiential education program called Students on Ice. The program, which offers trips to both the Arctic and Antarctica, brings together students, scientists, artists, musicians and other leaders with the goal that they “become inspired, educated and empowered global ambassadors for a sustainable future.”

The expedition's home base will be an ice breaker and while on board students will learn from numerous polar experts, educators, researchers and scientists and will be involved in a number of hands-on research studies and experiments. Climate, the ice and wildlife will all be topics of study and for Sanderson it presents an opportunity to learn about and see one part of the world that most people never have a chance to visit.

Sanderson has always been interested in climate, the environment, nature and the great outdoors and as a youngster spent many hours with his teacher father at the Gould Lake Conservation Centre, experiencing the outdoors, nature and wildlife. “I've spent a lot of time in the wilderness and feel that when you're out exploring and living in nature you get a certain appreciation for it and a certain drive to protect it. The best summer experiences I have had have been in the outdoors and that is what inspires me to do something so that we can have these kind of places forever.”

The students will make their way by plane to Ushuaia, Argentina, where they will board the ice breaker and will spend a few days traveling up the Drake Passage. Planned stops include an excursion to Elephant Island where famed explorer Ernest Shackleton was stranded roughly 100 years ago. They will then travel to the Antarctic peninsula and will be stopping at a number of research bases there. Because it is the summer season there now, they will be making their way through open water and will likely see Emperor penguins, whales and other native species.

Sanderson is looking forward to meeting his shipmates, in his words, “people who will likely have similar interests as me” and to seeing the continent of Antarctica. “It is a place that, for the most part, has been untouched by humans and it will be really interesting to learn about a place that so few people have had a chance to see and study.”

The Students on Ice program requires participants to raise $14,500 for the trip. Since his acceptance in April of this year Sanderson has held many fundraising events and he says family, friends, the school, the Limestone District School Board and the community at large all made generous donations to help him fund his journey.

Of course he will be packing a camera and upon his return, as a new ambassador to the program he will be making presentations to local students about the trip.

As far as his future plans go Sanderson says that although he has not made any concrete plans he is hoping that the trip might show him a path or an opportunity that he didn't know existed before. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what this expedition might lead to.”