By Lauren Beavis via SWNS
A woman will spend five months counting penguins in Antarctica – and says the British weather helped her prepare.
Maggie Coll, 31, will be 9,000 miles from home and operating the world’s southernmost post office in Port Lockroy during the Antarctic summer.
An outdoor enthusiast Maggie said the conditions and climate of the Scottish Highlands helped her prepare for the trip.
Maggie and the team will be stationed for the Austral Summer at Base A, Port Lockroy – known as the birthplace of British Antarctic science.
It is home to the world’s southernmost post office and museum, and a colony of over 1,000 gentoo penguins.
This is UKAHT’s smallest and most inaccessible site, making this season one of their most challenging yet.
The crew will live on the small football-pitch sized island with no running water or flushing toilet in near-constant daylight, gathering data for the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.
Maggie, the team’s wildlife monitor, has spent most of her adult life working in Scottish tourism roles before taking a two-year career break in Canada and Australia.
Maddie, who grew up in Edinburgh, said: “Being Scottish, I do spend a lot of time in the Scottish hills and in the winter they say the climate is similar to a Scottish winter.
“Having penguins for neighbors is going to be absolutely incredible as well as getting to see the spectacular landscape of Antarctica in person.”
Maggie is happiest outdoors in nature and can often be found in the Scottish Highlands – and having long been fascinated by the polar regions, the role at Port Lockroy sounded like an incredible opportunity – especially given her experience with the cold Scottish climate.
Her team 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 favorite games, books, photos and treats.
Located on a wild and rocky island which was 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.
For the next five months, unpredictable weather, near-constant daylight, sub-zero temperatures and penguin neighbors 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.
Maggie will be joined by base leader Lou Hoskin, museum manager Aoife McKenna, shop manager Dale Ellis and postmaster George Clarke.
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.”
