I'm Traveling Pole To Pole To Save The Planet

The Pole to Pole expedition will leave from the South Pole this November.

The expansiveness [of Antarctica] is such that people who go down there never look at the world the same way again afterwards. I think that reflects just how pure it is.

By Citizen Correspondent Jon Earle

Date Posted: 04/17/07

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I am Jon Earle, 28, a New Zealander and an active member of the Pole to Pole Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization devoted to inspiring, empowering and training youth to address the critical issues of our time. Right now we're preparing for the second Pole to Pole journey. The first expedition was run in 2000, and it was based purely on the notion of an inspirational journey, which would travel from the North to the South Pole via the Americas, stopping off at different environmental conservation and humanitarian projects along the way. By the time the team reached South America, it was getting a huge response from villages and towns anticipating their arrival. This is the story of how we are inspiring yet another generation to take initiative during the upcoming 20-month long expedition, which will launch from the South Pole this November.

The guiding principle behind this journey is that everything is interconnected and we all affect each other in this world. This inspirational journey is made up of a team of internationals. At the moment we have five countries represented by a team of eight, and we are still looking for a couple more people. The journey's path will stop off at different community-based projects, so we are connecting youth to already-established nongovernmental organizations such as the Jane Goodall Institute and the World Wildlife Foundation. Youth will be stationed with them for six to eight months at a time so they can learn and work within the communities. We are launching at the South Pole in November, and it will take just over 20 months for the whole human-powered expedition.

At this stage, we are engaged in fundraising. Basically the expedition is just a very small part of what this non-profit organization is trying to achieve. We are linking the youth of today with the current leaders, in order to empower the leaders of tomorrow. It's inspiring, connecting and empowering youth to confront the critical issues of today. The focus of course is climate change and everything that falls under that umbrella.

The first pole to pole trip was founded and facilitated by Canadian Martyn Williams, who has had a successful mountaineering business for many years and was the only man to successfully lead trips to both the North and South poles and on Mount Everest. Kevin Scott, who has successfully stopped logging in a number of conservation areas, is the president of the Pole to Pole Leadership Institute, and he also brings a wealth of experience. They are leaders in the environmental movement, yet they also want to inspire youth to take their place.