Antarctica expedition to fight climate change

Béatrice Vu

Brand Strategy | Documentary | Slow Travel

January 5, 2022

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” – Robert Swan OBE

What is the 2041 ClimateForce Antarctic Expedition?

It is a unique 12-day educational journey by ship to ‘the Last Great Wilderness on Earth,’ led by polar explorer and sustainability champion Robert Swan O.B.E. – the first person in history to trek to both Earth’s poles. The expedition will be led alongside Barney Swan and Jeff Bonaldi, both climate change leaders.

With a lot of excitement, I have been selected from among many applicants to be part of a team of 80 potential climate change leaders journeying to Antarctica on the 2041 ClimateForce Antarctic Expedition in November 2021 (due to the current situation, the dates has been moved to March, 17 – 28 2022. The international team is composed of citizens of every continent (except Antarctica itself), united in a common mission to bring solutions to climate change, educate and become ambassadors.

This is an investment in the future of the next generation and an opportunity for us to come together for a common mission.

Why me: Béatrice Vu

My name is Beatrice, I’m a graphic design student, entrepreneur and part-time eco traveller. For the past 5 years, I have been solo travelling during 4-6 months to discover new places, trek mountains, learn about local cultures, seek different perspectives, educated myself and volunteered. During that time, a passion for photography and art has been born and I grew really conscious about our planet. Back to my studies, I spent many late nights working on my business with the vision that one day, I’ll be able to use my gift of creation for a purpose and not be bind to a location to have the freedom to give my time to opportunities to make a difference with purpose such as this one. Last March, I was finally able to quit my side job and rely only on my freelance online business.I went to school like most people, but always felt deep down it was a system that did not align fully with my inner self. I simply knew there was more than that out there and I wanted to learn what existed outside of the classroom. Topics such as the impact of our choices and climate change science.

Listening to external voices, I first graduated in insurance and finance services, worked in the field and immediately knew this was not for me. The money allowed me to afford my living but I had a feeling my time could be spent elsewhere, somewhere more valuable.

My first backpacking changed everything

My first backpack experience was in Costa Rica and my first sustainable solo trip was for 6 months in 2017. I spent 4 months in Kaua’i and 2 months in British Columbia exploring, reconnecting with nature and realized I wanted to give back and preserve this beautiful planet. Although, I didn’t know just yet how I could do it.A year later, I ventured to Peru for 2 months and grew even more conscious of our planet and noticed the impacts of plastic pollution on a great scale. Another year passed and I chose to become an Enagic distributor to help people access clean hydrogen-rich water and promote sustainable options. To be honest, when I first learn about these machines, I was super skeptical… It was only when I did my own researches and when I learned that it could reduce my plastic consumption, help me with dehydration and my family to reduce their exposure to chemicals that I decided to get my own. I was always mindful of my investment and the outcomes were more than worth it for me.

My long-term mission is to help people without the proper income to get access to Enagic’s machine to reduce plastic in a home and give access to clean water all over the world. Plus, I want to show people the value of slow meaningful travels. When I heard of 2041 ClimateForce, I saw how passionate Robert Swan and his team were and I wanted to be part of this movement as well to teach and bring solutions to climate change.

I still consider myself in the beginning stages, but I have faith in the progress and I believe small steps will get us to the bigger vision. Let’s be the generation of thoughtful leaders!

Why the Antarctic?

Antarctica is central to any discussion about anthropogenic climate change. The continent is a largely pristine wilderness that belongs to no country, is not only home to a wide range of fauna and marine species, but it also contains approximately 90% of Earth’s ice and roughly 70% of our planet’s freshwater. If we don’t act, the resultant sea-level rise alone in the next century would lead to catastrophic, absolutely unimaginable changes to our world, our coastal cities, and our populations.

The 2041 treaty for Antarctica

After crossing both poles, Robert Swan experienced the impact of climate change and created a mission to bring solutions. A 50 year treaty to preserve the last wilderness continent that belongs to no nations, and extend the treaty beyond the year “2041”. Robert and his son skied the South pole on a 600-mile journey surviving solely on renewable energy, a first in polar-exploration. Why? To show the world that if we can survive on renewable energy in the most inhospitable place on earth, which means we can do so anywhere on earth.

A carbon-neutral expedition

As of today, we are not yet capable to travel with zero impact. Therefore, what we consider is impact vs. outcomes. The ship Ocean Atlantic also observes a number of sustainability-oriented practices on board, from an advanced recycling program to the use of biodegradable cleaning and laundry solutions.

To name a few commitments, The Explorer’s Passage observes the Leave No Trace policy and puts sustainability first in its travels.

Arctic/Antarctic Carbon Negative Initiative (ACNI) will call for all tour operators to offset 1.25 times their confirmed C02 emissions, to ensure that their expeditions are ‘Carbon Negative,’” says Barney Swan. In 2017, The ClimateForce Challenge was launched to reduce 360 million tons of CO2 before the year 2025.

2041 has partnered with Jane Goodall’s Global Youth Program Roots and Shoots on a series of tree plantings in Tanzania in the Mount Kilimanjaro region to plant thousands of trees.

Plus, the expeditions brought hundreds of environmental leaders that are now roaming the world while educating communities, governments, businesses and industries across the globe to protect the future of our planet.

Testimonial from Jeff Bonaldi

“As a candidate for the 2041 ClimateForce Antarctic Expedition in November 2021, Béatrice stood out as someone willing to audaciously lead by example and to do so outside of her comfort zone, having left a corporate career to explore the world sustainably and show that responsible, environmentally-conscious travel is the way forward for the 21st century.

We selected her for this unique Leadership/Educational Expedition for that reason as well as her inherent fascination with the world around her, documented through her impressive photography.

Béatrice shows a great ability to communicate her experiences and her lessons to others through this medium and clearly seeks to make a difference by doing so. She also doesn’t shy away from challenges; instead, she views them as developmental and approaches them head-on, while at the same time remaining very open to learning more from others (which she will certainly do on the Expedition).

These evident characteristics and personality strengths make it clear to us, the Expedition leadership team, that Béatrice is an excellent candidate to join the 2041 ClimateForce Antarctic Expedition in 2021.

We are very excited for her to join us in Antarctica, and after the trip, we are confident she will use her experiences to make an impressive impact for the benefit of her community, the Antarctic, and our planet!

All the best,

Jeff Bonaldi -Founder of The explorer’s passage”

Why go to Antarctica in 2022?

Through the workshops, lectures and speeches, I want to improve my leadership skills and confidence to become a strong climate change ambassador and educate the communities I will meet with renewable solutions through thoughtful educational activities.

As an eco traveller, I want to bring solutions on my platforms with my texts, videos and photography and use my gift to create on a purpose. In this technology era, using internet is a must to spread messages. My biggest goal is to reduce plastic production, our exposure to harmful chemicals and reduce waste with ionizer water machines. One machine can replace all of the households, give access to clean hydrogen-rich water and therefore, reduce plastic consumption.

I want to bring awareness to holistic health and educate people about the importance of the quality of the water and give them a better solution.

As someone born in Canada, I have the opportunity to help communities without the resources to access clean water and I plan to raise funds to gift these machines as I explore the planet. One step at a time, we are making a difference.

How much does a cruise to Antarctica cost?

My crowdfunding campaign target is $5,000 USD (6,300$ CAD). I will collect the funds of this campaign to directly pay for my participation in the ClimateForce 2021 Antarctic expedition which will take place in November 2021. The goal here is to mobilize as many people as possible to have eyes on the purpose of this expedition and then be able to spread action towards climate change.

Although my crowdfunding target is $5,000 USD – the total amount I need to raise for the expedition is $20,000 USD. The next step will be to secure corporate sponsors for the remainder. However, if this doesn’t work out I may not be able to go after all. By helping me exceed the crowdfunding target and reaching the entire amount will guarantee my place on this expedition and help me inspire my community to invest time/energy into sustainability solutions. Although I’m confident we will be able to mobilize the companies with the success of this campaign.