The successful team is currently in Cambridge for a week of training and orientation before leaving for Antarctica where they will live and work for five months
Port Lockroy is a historic site on the Antarctic Peninsula, which consists of a museum and post-office, and is the most visited site in Antarctica. Situated on an island no larger than a football pitch, Port Lockroy has been home to explorers, whalers, scientists and sailors, all of whom have made vital contributions to Antarctic history. This sheltered island at the meeting point of three seaways, offers some of the most dramatic mountain and glacier scenery on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Last year 17,761 people visited the island, and they were made up of tourists visiting on small cruise ships and yachts, scientists on research vessels and even the Royal Navy and Chilean navy. Originally identified as a safe harbour, Port Lockroy became Britain’s first permanent base in Antarctica. It was established in 1944 during a secret WWII operation codenamed ‘Tabarin’, before finally closing as a scientific base in 1962.
The museum in Bransfield House, which even has its own gift shop, allows people to learn about the early days of British science and exploration in Antarctica and gives a flavour of what life was like living on the earth’s harshest continent during the 1950s. Managing visits and giving visitors an insight into life on a scientific base in Antarctica will continue to be an important part of the role for this year’s team.
As well as managing the museum, the team will be running the post office, which is the most southerly public post office in the world. The post office is run on behalf of the Government of the British Antarctic Territory. A big attraction for visitors is sending postcards home and last year the team hand-cancelled 63,050 stamps on postcards destined for over 100 countries.
One of the most important aspects of their role in managing Port Lockroy will be maintaining and caring for the physical condition of the historic buildings and artefacts. As well as this they gather data for a long-term scientific study of the impact of human activity on the resident penguin colony. This involves detailed survey of the nesting penguins and sending data back to scientists in the British Antarctic Survey.
In accordance with the Antarctic Treaty and the Environmental Protocol, they will also ensure strict guidelines on the care of the environment are adhered to by all visitors to the island.
This year’s all-female team are:
Hannah Johns. Hannah started her career as a PE teacher in the UK before spending two years travelling and working around the world. Her trip included back-to-back winters in New Zealand and Canada and wild camping in Alaska. After her travels Hannah moved to Japan where she taught English for three years, before working as a volunteer teacher on a cruise ship, which was when she had her first taste of Antarctica. Having subsequently gained an MA in English Language Teaching Hannah returned to Japan for an additional four years to set up a language school and indulge in her passion for winter sports. Her teaching career has taken her from Guatemala to Greece as well as to various universities in the UK. She loves the snow, and feels extremely fortunate to be able to return to Antarctica with UKAHT, and this time set foot on land there.
Julia Benson. After a long successful career as a financial controller in London, Julia decided that the time had come to follow her heart and embark on a new career that involved wildlife and travel. Having always been fascinated by the Polar Regions she completed four trips to the Arctic and Antarctica on small expedition ships. These trips inspired her to change career and study marine zoology, after which Julia volunteered for a number of whale and dolphin research organisations and undertook a wildlife officer training placement, which led to her working as a naturalist on whale and dolphin watching boats in the UK and Iceland. She currently works as a naturalist and zodiac driver on small passenger ships and is very much looking forward to going back to Antarctica to share her passion for the region and its rich history with visitors to Port Lockroy.
Sophie Jordan. Sophie graduated in 2012 with a Masters in Marketing and Corporate Communications. During and after her studies, she spent two years working as an Account Executive in a renowned advertising agency in Paris. From 2013 to 2015, Sophie travelled to South America, Canada and Alaska, working primarily in Argentina – and made her first trip to Antarctica as a visitor. Following her travels and experience with environmental charities, Sophie has spent the past year training as a wilderness guide in Finland. She has led several tours over the winter season and completed a nine-day solo skiing expedition in Finnish Lapland. With her recent arctic experiences, she is looking forward to a second and longer visit to Antarctica and Port Lockroy.
Hannelore Cuypers. Originally from Belgium, dentist Hannelore has a passion for nature and wildlife and is dedicated to the preservation of Antarctica and Antarctic history. A trip to Alaska as a young child cemented her fascination with nature and her experience as a Tourist Association Guide in Norway gave her the opportunity to inspire and promote outdoor activities whilst preserving the cultural landscape. As an experienced expedition participant Hannelore is very used to living in basic conditions in remote, unpopulated areas. Hannelore is returning to Port Lockroy for the second year in a row; this time as Base Leader.
To prepare the new team for five months living and working in the historic site and penguin colony, Hannah, Julia, Sophie and Hannelore are currently taking part in a week’s training in Cambridge - which is also the ideal opportunity for them to get to know each other and start working as a tight knit group. Experts in every aspect of life in Antarctica, all of whom have volunteered their time to share their experience and expertise with the group, are delivering the diverse training programme.
Topics on the agenda include sessions on the Antarctic Treaty, an introduction to British Antarctic Survey (BAS) wildlife monitoring and environmental data collection and artefact handling at the Scott Polar Research Institute. Interactive role-play to help the team deal with the variety of situations that could arise when living in one of the most isolated places on Earth is also included as well as more practical, hands-on training focusing on working at height, first aid and fire safety.
Camilla Nichol, Chief Executive, UKAHT commented: “We were extremely impressed with the calibre of applicants this year, which made it a difficult process to narrow down the selection to our final four. Our new team bring an exciting and incredibly interesting mix of skills and experience and, in addition, we are delighted to welcome Hannelore back for her second season. Having one team member with previous experience of Port Lockroy is invaluable and will help the whole team get up and running more efficiently.
“Our training week is necessarily hectic, ensuring we give the team all the information they need about Port Lockroy, including how to cope with the harsh conditions, respect the wildlife and exist there safely and responsibly. Our aim is to equip them with the knowledge and skills to deliver an incredible visitor experience to those they will meet during the season, but also to ensure that their own experience creates lifelong memories of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they are about to embark upon.”
The team will arrive at Port Lockroy in November and will send regular blog reports back to the Cambridge based UKAHT team, documenting their experiences and giving an insight into what life is like in this most remote corner of the world. Blogs will be made available via the UKAHT website www.ukaht.org