Irish student George Voronov from Dublin recently returned from an epic Arctic expedition to witness climate change first-hand. George is a student at St Conleth’s College, who, earlier in the year, was part of a team who won an all Ireland Cape Farewell Local to Global Video competition run by the British Council.

The Cape Farewell Arctic Voyage from 7-20 September 2008 is an innovative arts and science project focusing on climate change.  Workshops, resources and support have been provided to the winning schools, Saint Conleth’s College and Banbridge High School and “ground crews” of 5-7 students have been formed to develop projects in each school and community and to help the two chosen voyagers before and during the September expedition.  

In Dublin and wider afield, George and his ground crew have been helping to raise awareness of climate change in preparation for the Arctic adventure.

The voyage from Dublin to the Arctic began on 1 September when George and Rebecca from Northern Ireland flew from Dublin to Toronto Canada and participated in a number of orientation workshops and training at Lake St. George Toronto & Region Conservation Authority. George then transferred to Reykjavik, Iceland where he and the other voyagers boarded the ship and began their amazing journey to the tip of Greenland, ending at Iqaluit, Baffin Island, Canada. The ship is MV Academik Shokalskiy, a Russian research vessel built in 1983 and modernised to high standards of safety, accommodation, food preparation and other services. The ship is small, nimble, and ice-strengthened capable of reaching the nooks and crannies that many larger ships cannot. She is the perfect vessel for research and play, equipped with a lecture hall, library, lounge, sauna, open bridge, kayaks and zodiacs. She spends her summers sailing the Arctic and winters in Antarctica. Three weeks later, George returned to Ireland where he will enthuse others with his experience. Read the expedition blogs ...

The ship’s company consisted of 28 students, aged 15-17 from across the world; and 17 adult mentors, scientists, educators and staff. In addition the ship’s master and crew of 30, including a doctor, were active members of the expedition, and highly experienced in Arctic voyages. The students came from Canada (13), Great Britain (7), Germany (2), Ireland (1), Northern Ireland (1), India (1) Mexico (2) and Brazil (2). In each country students were selected after competing in national competitions similar to the competition that George Voronov and Rebecca Wilson won in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Speaking ahead of the expedition Liz McBain, British Council Northern Ireland said “Climate change is a core strand of the British Council’s work. We are delighted that Rebecca and George will be embarking on this journey and we look forward to hearing from them as the expedition progresses. Cape Farewell is all about increasing the understanding of the case for tackling climate change and the expedition will enable the participating schools and local communities to engage at a local level to contribute to a global issue affecting us all”.

Click here to follow George’s journey.

For more information contact Liz McBain in Belfast or Beth Edgell in Dublin.