S2 EP05 Alexia Spencer - Growing Greens 650 miles from the North Pole
Release Date: 03/14/2021
S2 EP09 Jerome Viard - Bon appétit: Tales from the French Pastry Chef that Helped Feed South Georgia's Rat Team
Antarctic Stories
Jerome Viard grew up in France and later moved to the UK where he has enjoyed a successful career as a chef, having been head pastry chef at some of the best hotels in Cambridge.
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S2 EP08 Dr Lesley Cadzow - The Unusual Adventures of a Ship-based Expedition Doctor
Antarctic Stories
Expedition Doctor Lesley Cadzow was born in Scotland and studied to be a general practitioner in her home country before moving across the world to Australia, where she eventually landed a position with Aurora Expeditions as an expedition doctor on a polar expedition vessel.
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S2 EP07 Five Reasons to Avoid Crowdsourcing your Trip To Antarctica (and what to do instead) with Heather Thorkelson
Antarctic Stories
With an overwhelming amount of information about travelling to Antarctica on the internet, it seems like an easy way to narrow down your options is to ask other people on the internet (in FB groups or Lonely Planet travel forums, etc) what they recommend based on their experience when travelling there.
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S2 EP06 Theo Crutchley-Mack - Being an Artist in Residence on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia
Antarctic Stories
Theo Crutchley-Mack is a contemporary British artist whose work appears globally in private and public collections.
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S2 EP05 Alexia Spencer - Growing Greens 650 miles from the North Pole
Antarctic Stories
Alexia Spencer is Chief Operating Officer running day-to-day operations of Polar Permaculture, founded by visionary chef Benjamin Vidmar. Based in Svalbard, their mission is to improve accessibility to fresh and nutritious food through sustainable and resilient systems.
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S2 EP04 Howard Whelan - Part 2 - Tales from three decades of polar expeditioning
Antarctic Stories
We are joined once again by expeditioner Howard Whelan for Part 2 of his life story from the polar regions. In this episode, we continue Howard’s winding polar journey, including his involvement in the award-winning film Happy Feet, using laser scanners from a “bubble helicopter” to map grounded icebergs and sea ice.
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S2 EP03 Howard Whelan - Part 1 - Tales from three decades of polar expeditioning
Antarctic Stories
Howard Whelan is a polar expedition treasure having worked in the industry for three decades. His story begins long before, working in the dangerous environs of the fishing industry in Alaska as a teen, eventually becoming a journalist who started up Australian Geographic & then becoming part of the team that made the first Australian ascent of Mount Everest. And this was all before he ever set foot in Antarctica. In today's episode, Part 1 of 2, we'll get a front-row seat for Howard's fascinating stories.
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S2 EP02 Crimes in Antarctica - The cold, cruel, and desperate happenings on earth's most remote continent
Antarctic Stories
This episode is a slight departure from our usual programming. Buckle up for a deep dive into a truly fascinating topic...Antarctic crime.
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S2 EP01 Caitlyn Webster - Exploring the icy underworld through the eyes of a polar expedition diver
Antarctic Stories
Southern California-based Caitlyn Webster is an “Undersea Specialist” who interprets the natural history of everything and anything under the sea. As an experienced dry suit diver, in this episode, she regales us with stories of coming eye to eye with a Leopard seal underwater and exploring kelp beds amongst diving guillemots at Alkefjellet in Svalbard, while emphasizing the importance of keeping calm, being present and trusting in your dive partner.
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S1 EP 14 Tami Harris + Dave Weisman - How to choose the right adventure once you've caught the 'polar bug'
Antarctic Stories
Today on AntArctic Stories we have Dave Weisman and Tami Harris. Since retiring in 2012/2013, Tami and Dave have been spending about 75% of their time travelling internationally.
info_outlineAlexia Spencer is Chief Operating Officer running day-to-day operations of Polar Permaculture, founded by visionary chef Benjamin Vidmar. They are based in Longyearbyen, Svalbard and their mission is to improve accessibility to fresh and nutritious food through sustainable and resilient systems.
Polar Permaculture currently produces and distributes microgreens, culinary herbs and ornamental flowers to local restaurants and grocers, and their new hydroponic equipment will allow them to grow more leafy greens like kale and arugula.
In this episode, Alexia discusses the company’s vision for reducing waste, as well as current challenges they face such as complicated logistics in receiving shipments to their remote location and pre-existing government regulations, which are in the process of being adjusted to better support their mission.
This spring, Polar Permaculture hopes to expand their portfolio and offer locals the chance to grow their own strawberries and cucumbers at home. Long term, they are focused on “scaling with intention” as they develop exciting new projects.
HIGHLIGHTS
2:20 Alexia’s interest in food security in extreme environments led her to Svalbard
4:02 What Polar Permaculture currently grows and is hoping to grow in the near future
5:35 The infrastructure required for their production systems to meet their potential
7:10 Where do they get their seeds, where is the produce grown and what grows best?
8:50 Local partners in Longyearbyen which support Polar Permaculture’s operation
10:15 How they manage any surplus of produce
11:22 The reintroduction of a “circular economy”
13:00 The composting pilot project aimed at minimizing waste
17:10 Current challenges to the growth of Polar Permaculture
19:25 What has the local reception been to the idea of growing produce in Longyearbyen?
21:30 What new produce will be grown with the new hydroponic system?
24:25 Their future vision for raising awareness and providing tools for building resilient food systems
AntArctic Stories is brought to you by Polar Tracks Expeditions - your experts in small ship expedition cruises and unique adventures to the Arctic and Antarctica. We are polar guide owned and run, and we love sharing our insider knowledge to help you find your next polar adventure.
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