The Arctic segment continues to be one of our most challenging. Specialized equipment is needed to ice dive and film in frigid waters - from polar-rated dry suits to freeze-resistant regulators. Our team is working with sound researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography to capture high-quality bioacoustics that can be used in teaching students about the importance of undersea soundscapes.
Team leader Cynthia Matzke participates in the 2018/2022 Sedna Expeditions. The Sedna Epic involves an international team of ocean professionals working with young female Inuit and Inuvialuit in their Arctic communities as well as the Sámi people of Northern Norway. Their focus is addressing health, wellness, environment, and empowerment issues. It is critical to engage northern youth because these groups of communities live with the results of inter-generational trauma. This trauma manifests itself in ill-health, drug and alcohol abuse, poor education, poverty, teenage pregnancy, and teenage suicide rates that are seven times the national average.
The hope is to inspire and empower the next generation of young female leaders. In the process, the team will help them redefine their relationship with the ocean, which covers 71 percent of the planet’s surface area. Ocean change is causing food insecurity for northern communities. Most of their food comes from the ocean which is undergoing profound changes - disappearing sea ice, warming waters, changes in salinity, and acidification from absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The expedition members will engage in cultural exchanges with youth from remote Inuit settlements, sharing learning games as well as new technology that helps monitor the shifting sea ice and ocean chemistry.
Please help us fund these expeditions by making a financial contribution to the PayPal site below.
Thank you for helping us make a difference!
For more information on the expedition with team Sedna Epic and our lead researcher Cynthia Matzke: http://www.sednaepic.com/team-sedna/sea-women/cynthia-matzke
