Press Release
For Immediate Release
2/11/2012
Irish woman selected for International Antarctic Expedition
A Donegal woman has been selected in a small elite group of
young people worldwide to take part in an expedition to Antarctica to preserve
the continent’s unique landscape and wildlife as well as learning how to
mitigate the effects of climate change.
Eimear Carlin from Milltown, Raphoe, is the only Irish
representative on the ‘2041 Antarctic Youth Ambassador Programme’ and has been
formally invited by Robert Swan OBE to take part in the three-week International
Antarctic Expedition (IAE), which begins next February.
Swan is the first person to walk to both the North and South
poles, in 1986 and 1989 respectively, and is now a renowned environmental
leader who takes a select group of current and future environmental experts to
Antarctica. His aim is to inspire the next generation of leaders to continue
his work.
Human activities in Antarctica are governed by an
international agreement, the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. This ensures that
Antarctica is used for peaceful purposes only and that the environment is
protected. Currently there is a cessation that bans drilling or mining in
Antarctica called the Environmental Protocol, established in 1991. This
document can be reviewed after the 50-year anniversary in 2041.
Ms Carlin, who has just completed a post graduate diploma in
Development Studies from Kimmage Development Studies Centre in Dublin, moved to
Inuvik in the Canadian Arctic in 2004, and spent four years working the
Canadian Forestry Sector. She worked mostly in reforestation, and personally
planted over 600,000 trees.
“I became very interested in the environmental challenges
faced by the Polar Regions and how changes in the Polar ecosystem can impact on
the rest of the world,” she said. “From living within the Arctic Circle I am
used to working in extreme weather conditions, experiencing 24 hour darkness
and temperatures in the -40s.
“I have travelled extensively throughout the North West
Territories, witnessing the annual caribou migration. In 2006 I travelled to
Northern and Arctic Finland to photograph brown bear migrations into Russia.”
The expedition will also see Ms Carlin complete Swan’s
‘Leadership on the Edge’ programme, the goal of which is to develop the skills
of future business and environmental leaders. This will be held at the first
ever Education Base established in Antarctica by Robert Swan at Bellinghausen
Station.
Ms Carlin has pledged to raise €19,607 to take part in the
expedition. With the support of ECOCEM, Irish producers of the world’s most
sustainable building material, the French Embassy in Ireland, and Kimmage
Development Studies Centre, she is over the halfway mark towards the
Expedition, which takes place from February 28 to March 14 2013. She will be hosting a climate change Café Scientifique
Fundraiser in the Alliance Francaise Dublin on November 22nd entitled "Climate Change- Ireland's place in the Polar Plight". Guest speakers will debate on Climate Change followed by a Q+A Session the event will be FREE with optional donations on the night.
She has also started personal fundraising, most notably a
roller-skating trek around Ireland covering 800km, which is the equivalent
distance of the Drake Passage, the sea of water that connects the south-western
Atlantic and the south-eastern Pacific, between the southern tip of South
America in Chile and South Shetlands Islands of Antarctica over the next four
months.
This project will culminate in a Fundraiser Gala Evening in
Dublin on the last weekend of January. Upon her return in March, Ms Carlin will
then undertake the second leg of the journey, around the schools of the country
to educate.
“I am aiming to start an initiative in schools across
Ireland to get 2041 young people to create their own climate change projects,
whether it is planting a tree or being responsible for turning off all lights,
checking taps etc in their home before bedtime,” she said. “Simple acts can
make a huge change. In doing so, kids will get to be Mini Climate Ambassadors
in their own right. It’s about
instilling a more sustainable attitude to energy and resource use from an early
age.”
“Throughout 2013, I will be travelling around Ireland
visiting schools and businesses promoting the Antarctic and sustainable
practices that can help combat the effects of climate change.”
You can support Eimear by visiting
http://polareimear2041ayap.blogspot.ie/ Or go into any AIB and quote “Eimear
Carlin Antarctic Fundraising Account, Smithfield Branch.”
Ends
For further information contact:
Eimear Carlin at skatethedrake@gmail.com.
or phone: 087 -068
4498
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