Pole to Pole Leadership Institute

Inspiring Youth for Climate Change with South Pole Expedition

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. The first Pole to Pole expedition was in 2000, travelling from the North to the South Pole via the Americas, stopping at environmental conservation and humanitarian projects en route. The upcoming 20-month long expedition will launch from the South Pole this November.

Our team of 8 represents 5 countries and will connect youth with already-established non-governmental organizations like the Jane Goodall Institute and the World Wildlife Foundation. Youth will be stationed with them for 6-8 months so they can work within the communities.

The expedition links the youth of today with the current leaders in order to empower the leaders of tomorrow. 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 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. They are leaders in the environmental movement, yet they also want to inspire youth to take their place.

There are three different components of Pole to Pole - the expedition team, the community-based team and the education team. On the expedition team we'll be kite-skiing to the Patriot Hills in Antarctica with sleds and gear to the Western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. From that point, we'll be met by a yacht and will sail to Cape Town. From there, we'll be cycling through the Eastern side of Africa to Mount Kilimanjaro.

The Pole to Pole journey is set up in two halves, the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere. Youth 18 to 28 implement educational programs for Grades 7-9. We just spent five days winter camping in Tetrahedron Provincial Park, facilitated by Martyn Williams. We used cross country skis and full packs at -30 or -40 degrees Celsius. We'll also have an intensive six-week training camp before we're deployed again. This summer I'll be going to the Alps to do some ice climbing.

Our goal is to come face-to-face with a million youth and tell our story. We will work to reduce our eco-footprint (environmental impact) and ask youth how they can help in their own homes and what simple things they can do at a local level.

We're a Canadian-based organization, so obviously David Suzuki's name has come up often as well. The actions of these environmental leaders speak to the great momentum that is building in the green movement now. There is so much opportunity for new environmentally-minded business. This is really just the start of something that will take the world by storm.