Photograph from 1953 and Antony’s 2009 expedition from the top of Mt Battle clearly showing the state of retreat.

“EDUCATION THROUGH EXPEDITIONS” TEAM EXPERIENCE DEVASTATING MELTING FIRST-HAND IN “THE LAND THAT NEVER MELTS”

Antony Jinman has been working on Baffin Island for the past three years, looking at how climate change is affecting the landscape in Auyuittuq National Park. Ironically, “auyuittuq” is Inuktituk for “the land that never melts”, and it is exactly this that Antony and his team witnessed occurring this summer.

Antony, aged 28, is from Plymouth and runs his own school outreach program through which he introduces students to the fragile arctic environment, the wildlife that can be found there and about who the Inuit people are. Students are able to follow the expeditions through his online blog and can even ask questions free of charge to Antony’s satellite phone, which are then answered by sending text and photographs to the website. Antony is a strong believer in education through expeditions; it is a fantastic way to make a classroom come alive, making it a fun and inspiring environment to learn in.

Whilst previously Antony had only visited the park during the winter months, this year he chose to also travel through the 96km Akshayuk Pass in the summer in order to document the difference between the two seasons for schools. To extend his “education through expeditions” ethos further, he took two students on expedition with him this summer; Louise Biddle (19) who studies Earth Sciences at Oxford University, and Josephine Beynon (22) who has just graduated from Edinburgh University reading Zoology.

What they discovered were glaciers that were melting in front of their eyes and extensive damage to moraines due to major floods caused by higher than average levels of meltwater last summer. On Baffin Island, it is all too apparent that the climate is indeed warming at an alarming rate. This summer, the team only had a couple of wet days, and yet the rivers were high with meltwater coming off the glaciers and ice cap. This is water that has been locked up as ice for thousands of years; it is not being replaced.

Antony believes that it is through educating our next generation about climate issues that we will change how they look at the world around them and learn how to live in a more sustainable manner.

For further information please contact Antony Jinman at explore@antonyjinman.com

Quotes from the team

Antony Jinman:

“The future of the human race depends on educating the next generation about environmental awareness, and it is this concept which makes up the core of my work. It has been astonishing watching the arctic landscape change drastically in the last three years that I have been travelling there. This panorama was created by snow and ice, using mechanisms that have carved out stunning glaciated valleys and towering peaks over hundreds of thousands of years. Whilst these valleys have experienced many climatic changes in their history, it is the rate of change that is taking place here that has everyone worried, including the local Inuit people.”

Louise Biddle:

“The expedition this summer to Baffin Island was truly incredible. The area of Baffin Island that we were travelling to has only been geologically mapped through reconnaissance trips and so there is still a lot which isn’t known about the geological history here – the thought of all the unanswered questions is very exciting. After walking through the pass I found myself enthralled by this beautiful landscape, and I had many questions of my own about what I had seen, which has meant that I have returned home with a passion to learn more. Yet the amount of melting that we saw due to the changing climate – the drop in water level at Summit Lake, a glacier falling apart in front of our eyes – made me realise just how serious the issue of climate change is for these people. I have been taught about climate change in school and university, but no style of teaching matches seeing its effects first-hand in the Arctic, where it is endangering the Inuit’s way of life.”

Josephine Beynon:

“What an eye-opening trip, and what a humbling experience! Although it was absolutely fascinating to see the highly adapted flora and fauna, meet the Inuit and hear their stories, I couldn’t help but wonder how all this is changing. We filmed a glacier tumble before us and witnessed huge explosions of rock and ice as the moraines disintegrated before us. The change is happening fast; I question how the social difficulties the Inuit people are currently facing, coupled with a changing climate, will be tackled.
For me, the expedition has reinforced my ambition to pursue a career in documentary filmmaking, and I am inspired to explore the varying solutions that are currently being discussed and researched for curbing climate change.”

A special mention also needs to be made to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust who made this expedition and Antony’s project possible.

“The top photograph is of a glacier taken during my solo ski March 2008, the bottom is the same glacier during August 2009. As we were filming the fantastic reflections in the glacial lake huge sections of ice fell from the mid section of the glacier. We sat watching affects of global warming right in front of our very eyes.”