Meet our 2024 Antarctic team
08/10/2024
The new Port Lockroy team will reopen the site for another austral summer while a specialist crew will attempt to reach remote Blaiklock Island Refuge for urgent conservation work.
We are delighted to introduce our new Antarctic team and our most challenging conservation season yet.
One team will be stationed for the austral summer at Base A, Port Lockroy, known as the birthplace of British antarctic science and now home to the world’s southernmost post office and museum, along with our beloved colony of gentoo penguins.
Specialist conservators will face unpredictable conditions to reach remote Blaiklock Island Refuge – UKAHT’s smallest and most inaccessible site which now stands on a wild rocky island as a tiny time capsule telling the stories of polar scientists of the past.
The charity can reveal that the successful candidates travelling 9,000 miles to Antarctica to manage Port Lockroy this month are: Lou Hoskin (Base Leader), Maggie Coll (Wildlife Monitor), George Clarke (Postmaster), Aoife McKenna (Museum Manager) and Dale Ellis (Shop Manager), along with returning Port Lockroy team member Lisa Ford who will help to settle the team in.
Our new team at pre-deployment training at Cambridge HQ (Credit: UKAHT/Peter Watson)
A challenging season ahead
The team based at Port Lockroy will be living and working on the football-pitch size Goudier Island and will have to say goodbye to home comforts, each taking with them just one small box of “goodies” including favourite games, books, photos and treats. For the next five months, unpredictable weather, near-constant daylight, sub-zero temperatures and penguin neighbours are set to become their new norm. They will also have to adapt to living without running water or a flushing toilet.
The team will be in charge of managing the world’s southernmost post office, gift shop and living museum – a homage to some of the earliest climate scientists on the Antarctic Peninsula. They will also handle the thousands of postcards sent from Port Lockroy each year while the wildlife monitor will be carefully monitoring the gentoo penguins – counting nests, eggs and chicks – as part of a study to monitor and protect the colony.
The new Port Lockroy core team from L-R: Aoife, George, Lou, Dale, Maggie (Credit: UKAHT/Peter Watson)
Later in the season, the team will be joined at Port Lockroy by conservation carpenters Jim Brearley-Ratcliffe and Graham Gillie, who will be working outside in freezing temperatures to restore the historic buildings. Jim will be travelling from his home in the Peak District to do his first conservation season in Antarctica following a year of studying historic buildings on a SPAB William Morris Craft Fellowship programme.
After working alongside Jim at Port Lockroy, Graham Gillie – an experienced craftsman who is returning to Antarctica for a fourth season – will then join a support vessel bound for remote Blaiklock Island Refuge which is in critical need of conservation. He will join returning conservation carpenter Dale Perrin, conservator Lizzie Meek and filmmaker Michael Duff.
Blaiklock: the refuge in need of rescue
Located on a wild and rocky island – once part of the Jones Ice Shelf that has since disappeared due to climate change – Blaiklock Island Refuge would have once been approached over the ice with sledge dogs but today, the team use a small boat to access by sea. They will have to navigate steep-sided fjords that can be choked by sea ice, and areas of the surrounding seabed which were only recently mapped to reach the island.
This is UKAHT’s smallest and most inaccessible site, making this season one of their most challenging yet – with the Trust actively fundraising to ‘rescue the refuge’ to enable urgent conservation work to take place. Blaiklock Island Refuge was a satellite base to Base Y, Horseshoe Island, some nine hours away by dog sledge. It was built and used by pioneers who charted the first maps of the region and now stands as a tiny museum in miniature; telling a vivid story of life, survival and science in the 1950s.
Blaiklock was last visited in 2022 and is need of urgent restoration (Credit: UKAHT/Ruth Mullett)
The team will be working outdoors in inhospitable conditions while they complete urgent repairs to make the site safe, as well as cataloguing artefacts and capturing digital footage. They will have to work carefully, planning tasks around the weather patterns. This is a place where the right technical gear and clothing are imperative; even breaking into a sweat can be dangerous leading to hypothermia.
Duff, an experienced filmmaker, will be capturing this conservation in the extreme, documenting the expertise and care that goes into the charity’s conservation fieldwork throughout the season. Duff will also be responsible for photogrammetry of the site, aiming to capture a long-lasting digital record so the history that UKAHT’s most inaccessible site holds within its walls can be shared with the public closer to home.
Commenting on the appointment of the new team, UKAHT CEO, Camilla Nichol said, ‘We have selected the team, not just for their love for Antarctica and a desire to preserve and protect its human history, but also for their resilience too.
“We feel confident we’ve found people with the specialist skills we need to attempt our first conservation season at Blaiklock Island Refuge this year. This site is the last known example of a 1950s refuge used by Antarctic scientists, so while the sea ice and ocean currents can make reaching this remote island very challenging, it feels critical that we restore it now so we don’t lose this little time capsule forever. Our fundraising efforts are still in full swing for this season, so the public can help us make this happen by donating what they can - it’s hugely appreciated.”
UKAHT’s role is to conserve British Antarctic heritage on the Antarctic Peninsula, protecting the human history of the continent for future generations. Port Lockroy and Blaiklock Island Refuge are one of the six heritage sites managed by the charity, along with its role in leading the conservation management plan for the famous shipwreck Endurance.
Blaiklock in its heyday – 1957 (Credit: George Lamour/BAS Archives)
Introducing the 2024/25 Antarctic team
The new team have just completed their training, which included remote first aid training, talks from a ‘Penguinologist’ and a deep dive into the strict protocols and standards they will be responsible for upholding, in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty, to ensure the environment is properly cared for.
Lou Hoskin, Base Leader
Joining the team as Base Leader, Lou has a passion for the ocean, with a background in marine ecology and community outreach. She previously worked as a research assistant in the Philippines and a field project manager running a turtle conservation project in Malaysia.
Lou is the new Port Lockroy base leader (Credit: UKAHT/Peter Watson)
In her spare time, Lou can be found in and on the water as crew for the RNLI. Lou explains what she’s looking forward to: “Digging our way into our home on arrival, learning to speak ‘Gentoo’, and seeing all the incredible colours of the Southern Ocean.”
Maggie Coll, Wildlife Monitor
Maggie grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland and has spent most of her adult life working in Scottish tourism roles. A big fan of exploring new places, she took a two-year career break and headed off to Canada and Australia.
Maggie will be the new wildlife monitor (Credit: UKAHT/Peter Watson)
Maggie is happiest outdoors in nature and can often be found in the Scottish Highlands. Having long been fascinated by the polar regions, the role at Port Lockroy sounded like an incredible opportunity. She explains, “Having penguins for neighbours is going to be absolutely incredible as well as getting to see the spectacular landscape of Antarctica in person.”
Aoife McKenna, Museum Manager
Aoife has a background in museum curation and has previously worked in the Sub-Antarctic at the South Georgia Museum as a Curatorial Intern in 2022/23. Working in South Georgia sparked a love for Antarctic landscapes, wildlife, and heritage that she is excited to bring further south to Port Lockroy!
Aoife will be managing the museum at Port lockroy (Credit: UKAHT/Peter Watson)
A lifelong fan of penguins, Aoife is thrilled to be returning south once more; “I am most looking forward to seeing the penguins and their whole life cycle. I’m also excited to see the museum and share its stories.”
George Clarke, Postmaster
After graduating with a Fine Art Degree, George started working in music events, originally in set design and progressing towards building and maintaining large tensile structures across Europe.
George will be Port Lockroy's postmaster (Credit: UKAHT/Peter Watson)
He has combined his fondness for the outdoors, creativity and events with the creation and curation of an outdoor art gallery outside the centre of Bristol. He adds, “I’m looking forward to enjoying my morning coffee looking out over the amazing landscape, and working in a tight-knit crew in a unique setting.”
Dale Ellis, Shop Manager
Dale joins the Trust with almost 20 years of experience working across media, awards, museums and the arts. She has been interested in working for UKAHT for 15 years and finally decided this was the year to apply.
Dale will be the new shop manager (Credit: UKAHT/Peter Watson)
In her spare time, she enjoys roller skating, learning aerial hoop and cooking her way through a sauce recipe book – she’s made 80 already! Dale adds; “I’m most looking forward to discovering how I’m going to feel; in the endless white, under the midnight sun, humbled by the vastness of planet Earth.”
UKAHT 2024/25 Full Antarctic Team
Based at Base A Port Lockroy
- Dale Ellis, Shop Manager
- Lou Hoskin, Base Leader
- Maggie Coll, Wildlife Monitor
- Aoife McKenna, Museum Manager
- George Clarke, Postmaster
- Lisa Ford, General Assistant, Port Lockroy
- Graham Gillie, Conservation Carpenter
- Jim Brearley-Ratcliffe, Conservation Carpenter
Based at Blaiklock Island Refuge
- Michael Duff, Filmmaker
- Dale Perrin, Conservation Carpenter
- Graham Gillie, Conservation Carpenter
- Lizzie Meek, Conservator, New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust
Anyone wishing to help protect and share the wonder of Antarctica and its heritage can support the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust by becoming a member, making a donation or purchasing from our online shop.
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