Sedna Epic Expedition 2018
Donation protected
The water will be 9,000 feet at its deepest, thick with ice, and home to narwhals, bowheads, belugas, walruses, polar bears, seals, and Greenland sharks; too cold for even the thickest wetsuit, requiring instead a drysuit with a battery-powered heated under-layer. Who would want to go somewhere like that— much less literally dive in?
I do. And so do my teammates. Because we know that to truly study climate change, and to thoughtfully and powerfully educate the next generation of environmental leaders, you have to immerse yourself in the issue.
I’m Dr. Kelly Bushnell, and I am one of fourteen ocean experts chosen to undertake the all-female 2018 Sedna Epic Expedition to the Canadian High Arctic and Greenland. From Greenland to Alaska, according to Inuit legend, Sedna is the goddess of the sea and the mother of all marine mammals. The Sedna Epic Expedition borrows its name from her. Team Sedna will document the disappearing sea ice in the Arctic and visit Inuit and Inuvialuit communities to bring the ocean to eye level for children, especially girls, on the front line of climate change.
I’m seeking a total of $12,000 USD to support my participation in the 2018 Sedna Epic Expedition. I know we live in a world where we are asked often to support so many worthy causes, and I thank you so much in advance for your consideration.
Belugas on a previous expedition.
THE EXPEDITION
The all-female Sedna Epic Expedition is a multi-year underwater project—involving the study of climate change via snorkeling and diving—that takes places in the High Arctic.
During the August 4-17, 2018 expedition, the Sedna Epic Expedition will visit at least two Inuit communities in Nunavut (Resolute Bay and Pond Inlet, respectively) in the Canadian High Arctic, and hopefully a third on the west coast of Greenland.
August 2018 Expedition Route
Team Sedna will deliver its innovative ocean outreach program in these communities, bringing the ocean to eye level for Inuit youth and Elders via mobile touch aquariums that temporarily house with sea creatures, by running underwater robot-building camps, and by deploying scuba divers wearing masks with underwater communications systems that enable them to speak to Inuit on the ocean’s surface.
Sea women operating a mobile aquarium during the 2014 expedition.
Under the supervision of dive masters and wearing arctic-rated dry suits, Team Sedna also leads Inuit girls and Elders on snorkel safaris near their communities, literally bringing the ocean to eye level for them. Snorkeling in Arctic waters represents a huge step for Inuit, as although the sea nourishes their community, death by drowning is one of the leading causes of fatalities in the Arctic and there is no safe way to see beneath the surface into the underwater world without expensive specialized equipment. (Read more about Team Sedna's previous expedition on my website at www.kellypbushnell.com/arctic.)
Sea women collecting for the aquarium during the 2014 expedition.
2018 EXPEDITION VISION AND MISSION
Into the Snorkel Zone:
Studying and documenting disappearing sea ice in the Arctic
Bringing the Ocean to Eye Level:
Using remotely operated vehicles, mobile aquariums and snorkel safaris
Call to Action:
Combining Aboriginal and scientific knowledge to mitigate global warming
Empowering Women and Girls:
Developing Inuit and Inuvialuit leaders to tackle societal and climate change
Female Role Models:
Creating a space for girls to excel in the sciences, the arts, and exploration
THE TEAM
The Sedna Epic Expedition team was founded in 2013 by Susan R. Eaton— Canadian geologist, conservationist, and fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In 2015 Susan was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Modern-Day Explorers by the RCGS and, in 2016, one of Canada’s 25 Greatest Female Explorers. The rest of Team Sedna (affectionately called the Sea Women) is made up of female professionals from five countries with expertise in the ocean, including scientists, underwater photographers and videographers, archeologists, Inuit cultural advisors, and educators.
The 2014 expedition team.
ABOUT ME
Under the surface in the Galapagos Islands, 2009.
I research and teach the environmental humanities, specializing in the historical and cultural study of ocean ecologies. My PhD is from the University of London and I now teach at the University of West Florida, where I am especially passionate about inspiring and empowering women and girls through education and exploration.
As a researcher, I believe in an interdisciplinary approach to conservation, and I agree with the ecocritic Greg Garrard that: “Environmental problems require analysis in cultural as well as scientific terms because they are the outcome of an interaction between ecological knowledge of nature and its cultural inflection.”
My research, teaching, and community work strive to bridge the gap between the arts/humanities and the sciences. I have been awarded multiple travel grants for my work, which has taken me to the archives of the British Library, Natural History Museum, National Maritime Museum, and Science Museum, among others. In addition to peer-reviewed publications I am at work on a book about the depiction of sea life in Victorian literature.
As an UWF faculty member I teach a popular environmental literature course which combines the arts, humanities, and sciences to engage students from majors across campus. I have been the 2018 recipient of the Mary F. Rogers Award (presented to one UWF faculty member per year for contributions to gender equality and women’s studies), and I was a finalist for the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2017.
Delivering the 2018 Mary F. Rogers Award lecture.
I am also an avid waterwoman. A few of my memorial experiences have been snorkeling in a cave with an enormous school of golden rays in the Galapagos Islands, and kayaking the Aurlandsfjord in Norway. (My parents like to say I could row before I could walk.) I’ve also spent my life on (and in) the water as a volunteer naturalist aboard whale conservation programs and as a team leader for the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Team, where we rescued and rehabilitated (or necropsied) marine mammals and sea turtles. There I saw firsthand the effects of human interference with sea creatures, including sea turtles drowned in cast away fishing line or suffocated by balloons, whales with bellies full of plastic, and dolphins driven ashore by sonar testing.
Releasing a rehabilitated sea turtle whie volunteering for the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Team.
As the expedition historian and environmental humanist I will wear multiple hats on Team Sedna. For my fellow sea women who are scientists and technologists, I will provide historical context to our interaction with the Arctic environment and its creatures. (For instance, I have publications forthcoming on the cultural legacy of nineteenth-century Arctic whaling and early oceanic climate change.) In the villages I will work with Inuit and Inuktituk translators and cultural advisors to listen to village Elders, record their observations on their changing environment, and mentor girls about their climate future at the nexus of cutting edge science and traditional indigenous ecological knowledge. We will also teach girls to snorkel, where they will see underwater in their own communities for the first time. I hope to ask them What do you wish the world knew about being a young woman in a community at the front line of climate change? And while I’m in the icy water I will be showing that humanities scholars can indeed also immerse ourselves in the archive of nature, and that we are not out of our depth outside the library, and that the only solution to a warming and acidifying ocean is interdisciplinary cooperation between the arts, humanities, and sciences.
FUNDRAISING
Current expedition partners include the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, GoPro, PADI, SANTI Dive Gear, Adventure Canada, OceanQuest, DiveX, SREco Consultants, Oceanic Worldwide, Open ROV, Suunto, and Halcyon, in additional to numerous individual donors.
Even with these generous expedition sponsors, however, each member of Team Sedna is fundraising independently for her own additional equipment and transportation costs. Pleae feel free to get in touch directly if you'd like a more itemized breakdown of costs (as certain confidential sponsorship agreements prevent me from posting this publicly).
Other ways to help:
Facebook: PayPal: Personal check
Notarized carrier pidgeon
Also accepting good vibes!
Academics:
If your department/college is interested in supporting the expedition, I will be happy to visit you in the Fall to give a presentation. Feel free to share this page with anyone who might be interested in following a humanities scholar out into the wild.
LINKS
A full Fundraising Portfolio is on my expedition website at www.kellypbushnell.com/arctic under the Fundraising & Sponsorship link.
My Homepage: www.kellypbushnell.com
Expedition Home: www.sednaepic.com
Expedition Twitter: www.twitter.com/sednaepic
Expedition Facebook: www.facebook.com/sednaepic
"Meet the team of women explorers tackling climate change in the waters of the Arctic: An interview with Kelly Bushnell" (In Lady Science)
Thank you so much for visiting, and I hope you'll follow our progress on my expedition page at www.kellypbushnell.com/arctic.
Want a postcard from Arctic? Just send me your address at [email redacted]!
All my best,
KB
I do. And so do my teammates. Because we know that to truly study climate change, and to thoughtfully and powerfully educate the next generation of environmental leaders, you have to immerse yourself in the issue.
I’m Dr. Kelly Bushnell, and I am one of fourteen ocean experts chosen to undertake the all-female 2018 Sedna Epic Expedition to the Canadian High Arctic and Greenland. From Greenland to Alaska, according to Inuit legend, Sedna is the goddess of the sea and the mother of all marine mammals. The Sedna Epic Expedition borrows its name from her. Team Sedna will document the disappearing sea ice in the Arctic and visit Inuit and Inuvialuit communities to bring the ocean to eye level for children, especially girls, on the front line of climate change.
I’m seeking a total of $12,000 USD to support my participation in the 2018 Sedna Epic Expedition. I know we live in a world where we are asked often to support so many worthy causes, and I thank you so much in advance for your consideration.
Belugas on a previous expedition.THE EXPEDITION
The all-female Sedna Epic Expedition is a multi-year underwater project—involving the study of climate change via snorkeling and diving—that takes places in the High Arctic.
During the August 4-17, 2018 expedition, the Sedna Epic Expedition will visit at least two Inuit communities in Nunavut (Resolute Bay and Pond Inlet, respectively) in the Canadian High Arctic, and hopefully a third on the west coast of Greenland.
August 2018 Expedition RouteTeam Sedna will deliver its innovative ocean outreach program in these communities, bringing the ocean to eye level for Inuit youth and Elders via mobile touch aquariums that temporarily house with sea creatures, by running underwater robot-building camps, and by deploying scuba divers wearing masks with underwater communications systems that enable them to speak to Inuit on the ocean’s surface.
Sea women operating a mobile aquarium during the 2014 expedition.Under the supervision of dive masters and wearing arctic-rated dry suits, Team Sedna also leads Inuit girls and Elders on snorkel safaris near their communities, literally bringing the ocean to eye level for them. Snorkeling in Arctic waters represents a huge step for Inuit, as although the sea nourishes their community, death by drowning is one of the leading causes of fatalities in the Arctic and there is no safe way to see beneath the surface into the underwater world without expensive specialized equipment. (Read more about Team Sedna's previous expedition on my website at www.kellypbushnell.com/arctic.)
Sea women collecting for the aquarium during the 2014 expedition.2018 EXPEDITION VISION AND MISSION
Into the Snorkel Zone:
Studying and documenting disappearing sea ice in the Arctic
Bringing the Ocean to Eye Level:
Using remotely operated vehicles, mobile aquariums and snorkel safaris
Call to Action:
Combining Aboriginal and scientific knowledge to mitigate global warming
Empowering Women and Girls:
Developing Inuit and Inuvialuit leaders to tackle societal and climate change
Female Role Models:
Creating a space for girls to excel in the sciences, the arts, and exploration
THE TEAM
The Sedna Epic Expedition team was founded in 2013 by Susan R. Eaton— Canadian geologist, conservationist, and fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In 2015 Susan was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Modern-Day Explorers by the RCGS and, in 2016, one of Canada’s 25 Greatest Female Explorers. The rest of Team Sedna (affectionately called the Sea Women) is made up of female professionals from five countries with expertise in the ocean, including scientists, underwater photographers and videographers, archeologists, Inuit cultural advisors, and educators.
The 2014 expedition team.ABOUT ME
Under the surface in the Galapagos Islands, 2009.I research and teach the environmental humanities, specializing in the historical and cultural study of ocean ecologies. My PhD is from the University of London and I now teach at the University of West Florida, where I am especially passionate about inspiring and empowering women and girls through education and exploration.
As a researcher, I believe in an interdisciplinary approach to conservation, and I agree with the ecocritic Greg Garrard that: “Environmental problems require analysis in cultural as well as scientific terms because they are the outcome of an interaction between ecological knowledge of nature and its cultural inflection.”
My research, teaching, and community work strive to bridge the gap between the arts/humanities and the sciences. I have been awarded multiple travel grants for my work, which has taken me to the archives of the British Library, Natural History Museum, National Maritime Museum, and Science Museum, among others. In addition to peer-reviewed publications I am at work on a book about the depiction of sea life in Victorian literature.
As an UWF faculty member I teach a popular environmental literature course which combines the arts, humanities, and sciences to engage students from majors across campus. I have been the 2018 recipient of the Mary F. Rogers Award (presented to one UWF faculty member per year for contributions to gender equality and women’s studies), and I was a finalist for the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2017.
Delivering the 2018 Mary F. Rogers Award lecture.I am also an avid waterwoman. A few of my memorial experiences have been snorkeling in a cave with an enormous school of golden rays in the Galapagos Islands, and kayaking the Aurlandsfjord in Norway. (My parents like to say I could row before I could walk.) I’ve also spent my life on (and in) the water as a volunteer naturalist aboard whale conservation programs and as a team leader for the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Team, where we rescued and rehabilitated (or necropsied) marine mammals and sea turtles. There I saw firsthand the effects of human interference with sea creatures, including sea turtles drowned in cast away fishing line or suffocated by balloons, whales with bellies full of plastic, and dolphins driven ashore by sonar testing.
Releasing a rehabilitated sea turtle whie volunteering for the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Team.As the expedition historian and environmental humanist I will wear multiple hats on Team Sedna. For my fellow sea women who are scientists and technologists, I will provide historical context to our interaction with the Arctic environment and its creatures. (For instance, I have publications forthcoming on the cultural legacy of nineteenth-century Arctic whaling and early oceanic climate change.) In the villages I will work with Inuit and Inuktituk translators and cultural advisors to listen to village Elders, record their observations on their changing environment, and mentor girls about their climate future at the nexus of cutting edge science and traditional indigenous ecological knowledge. We will also teach girls to snorkel, where they will see underwater in their own communities for the first time. I hope to ask them What do you wish the world knew about being a young woman in a community at the front line of climate change? And while I’m in the icy water I will be showing that humanities scholars can indeed also immerse ourselves in the archive of nature, and that we are not out of our depth outside the library, and that the only solution to a warming and acidifying ocean is interdisciplinary cooperation between the arts, humanities, and sciences.
FUNDRAISING
Current expedition partners include the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, GoPro, PADI, SANTI Dive Gear, Adventure Canada, OceanQuest, DiveX, SREco Consultants, Oceanic Worldwide, Open ROV, Suunto, and Halcyon, in additional to numerous individual donors.
Even with these generous expedition sponsors, however, each member of Team Sedna is fundraising independently for her own additional equipment and transportation costs. Pleae feel free to get in touch directly if you'd like a more itemized breakdown of costs (as certain confidential sponsorship agreements prevent me from posting this publicly).
Other ways to help:
Facebook: PayPal: Personal check
Notarized carrier pidgeon
Also accepting good vibes!
Academics:
If your department/college is interested in supporting the expedition, I will be happy to visit you in the Fall to give a presentation. Feel free to share this page with anyone who might be interested in following a humanities scholar out into the wild.
LINKS
A full Fundraising Portfolio is on my expedition website at www.kellypbushnell.com/arctic under the Fundraising & Sponsorship link.
My Homepage: www.kellypbushnell.com
Expedition Home: www.sednaepic.com
Expedition Twitter: www.twitter.com/sednaepic
Expedition Facebook: www.facebook.com/sednaepic
"Meet the team of women explorers tackling climate change in the waters of the Arctic: An interview with Kelly Bushnell" (In Lady Science)
Thank you so much for visiting, and I hope you'll follow our progress on my expedition page at www.kellypbushnell.com/arctic.
Want a postcard from Arctic? Just send me your address at [email redacted]!
All my best,
KB
Organizer
Kelly Bushnell
Organizer
Pensacola, FL