Have a listen to Episode 309 The Vault and a look on the 99% Invisible website to see a photo of the botanist who started it all!
 Emmerson went to LUSH Live Central with Eco Marine last month to share with visitors what she had seen in Svalbard. She got to show the ocean plastic found on the landings.  She also helped out with the workshop to upcycle Hong Kong beach trash into art.
Here's some of the trash collected from a beach in Hong Kong made into a backdrop and the #unnaturepile made from plastic lighters (and a phone!) washed ashore. When was the last time Emmerson was at the phone?
Remember to ask yourself— What can I do?
Your everyday choices and actions matter! We can all do our part in this plastic madness. A short video taking a look inside the seed vault that Costa and Electric QT visited at the beginning of the expedition. Enjoy! is one of my all time favourite questions so of course I compiled a list aboard the Antigua.  Snowball and I came across this sculpture outside the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts when we went to see Su-Chen's exhibition there.
What are you reading right now?
On the way to school, Snowball passed by a small sitting out area with lots of bauhinia trees. She made this naturepile with the fallen flowers. Several dog walkers passed by and told her the flowers were so beautiful together!
Hello Friends,
How is the new year coming along? What have you been investigating and learning? This past week, our last three explorers—Costa, Snowball and Electric QT returned to their schools. They were excited to join their new class for the rest of the school year.
Some things we have been up to in Hong Kong after the Arctic trip that you might be interested in if you live here:
1. Museum of Climate Change
3. Reading up on icebergs in Camille Seaman's book Melting Away which you can borrow from the Hong Kong Public Library.
Watch her TED talk below. There's a rolling iceberg at the end!
Anything interesting that you've come across?
If you visit the exhibits, let me know what you think. Stay warm!
day 15+16: Monday June 29 and Tuesday June 30—SnowflakeWe arrived in Longyearbyen Monday morning and had one and a half days in town before flying back to Oslo. Upon settling in at Guesthouse 102, explorers did laundry, returned library books, visited/revisited museums, had some alone time, wandered around town, sent last minute mail, caught up on season finales (Did winter come?), connected with Arctic friends on Instagram and FB, checked e-mail... Remember Snowball and I went to see the eiders before we sailed? We went back to visit them and now there were ducklings galore. We also got a photo of the sled dogs for Stefano who had submitted a question about dogs in the Arctic before we had set off. Max and I were the last ones to send mail back to our classmates. We can't wait to see them in October! It was sad to say goodbye to our new Arctic friends/artists/explorers but our adventure doesn't end here. We'll be posting some wise words they shared with us about their journey as artists and explorers as well as our upcoming school visits.
See you again soon, Snowflake  day 14: Sunday June 28 afternoon—Electric QTWe set off for Skansbukta in the afternoon and whilst having some bonding time with Nemo, encountered sailing winds. More likely, all the sails just needed to breathe some Arctic air and it was good for us to have another go at getting them up. : ) We made a landing just after 4:30pm and had about two hours to explore the old gypsum mine track and walk up and down the coast of the bay. Our last evening together was topped off with a midnight (sun) portrait session with Ashley. Tomorrow we wake up in Longyearbyen. See you there. —Electric QT
 day 14: Sunday June 28 morning—CayberYesterday evening was our last artist sharing session. Following that, we were thrilled to have some of the crew share with us too! Captain Jo, Clara, Laura, Jim and Thomas + Nadia told us about their journey that brought them to the Antigua. I was most intrigued by the box shaped boat that Jim said he began his sailing adventures on. At first I thought he said Optimus, like Optimus Prime : ), but it's actually called an Optimist. I drew what I thought it looked like from his description. It's a small dinghy boat that kids learn how to sail on. Afterwards, I asked him more about the boat and he drew it for us. At breakfast this morning with Tito, we were discussing last night's sharing and the optimist came up. He also knows about boats and sailing and drew me another diagram of it. I wanted to save it in my journal but it was on my used napkin so I had to photograph it instead. For our last morning in Pyramiden, Theres said she would take us on a hike up to the mine entrance! Eric, Jisun, Salome, Ashley, Lumans, Carina, Joey, Max, Snowflake and I took her up on her offer. Others took a more gentle hike south of Pyramiden with Sarah or went back to yesterday's safe areas. We set sail towards Skansbukta after lunch. Electric QT will tell you all about it.
Goodbye Pyramiden! Cayber  I'm here in Pyramiden! ...or Piramida in Russian ; ) day 13: Saturday June 27—SnowballI'm getting in touch with my Russian roots. I was asleep when we moored at Pyramiden in the early hours of the morning. Up on deck after breakfast, this was my first view:  How would you describe the the shape of this mountain? Pyramid like? Pyramiden was a Russian mining town that was abandoned in 1998. It's now a ghost town but recently, there have been more visitors and tours from Longyearbyen. A small hotel has even opened where you can stay for the night! Before we disembarked, we had a visit from Sasha the Russian guard at Pyramiden. He's originally from St. Petersburg but now lives in Pyramiden for part of the year. At its largest, he said the town had 1000 people living here. Currently, there are six permanent residents. He shared some of the history with us and then told us which buildings were being opened up to let us explore. We still had to stay within specific areas between the buildings as Pyramiden is not PB safe. Although I was born in Russia, I left when I was so young I don't remember much of it at all. Being here and looking through things left behind was rather magical, like being transported back in time. It's what I imagine a bit of my parents' Russia might have been like since Pyramiden was abandoned before I was even born! After lunch on Antigua, we had more time in Pyramiden. I was so excited about everything I saw in the morning I made sure everyone came out...even Max who was getting comfy in the wheelhouse. He sure was glad he did! Afterwards, some of us hiked up to the bottle house. The walls were all made of glass bottles. If you had to build a house with found materials, what would you use?  Nemo looks upon Pyramiden on our way back into town from the glass house. We met back up with those who stayed behind to do sound and video work in town and then all headed over to the hotel together for an afternoon break. I was really fascinated by this tiny glimpse into Russian life in Pyramiden. Glad we have another half day here tomorrow. do svidaniya! likely tomorrow : ) Snowball |
Hello!Glad you're joining us here. I'm an artist + educator learning and creating from the amazing things encountered adventuring in Svalbard in the high Arctic and around the world. Archives
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