Alberta Meets Antarctica
Tara Hadler is a Canadian graduate student studying sustainable development at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Currently, she is working with the Alberta Water Research Institute – part of Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions – on improving water management practices through an assessment of virtual water trade in Alberta's irrigation districts. The province's leadership on water issues attracted Hadler to work in Alberta.
Her work with the Institute subsequently lead to the opportunity of a lifetime – the chance to go to Antarctica with a handful of the world's leading experts on sustainability. Now, she brings this experience home to Alberta.
"If you say you're going to do something in life, do it."
This was the message Robert Swan, OBE delivered to an auditorium filled with the students of Stony Plain Public School in October 2009 as part of the Alberta Water Research Institute's Celebrating Fresh Ideas speaker series.
Having been the first person to walk to both the South Pole (1986) and the North Pole (1989), Swan has come face-to-face with the effects of global change. It was during his southern trek that his eyes changed colour.
"They used to be dark blue, now they're white blue," explains Swan. "When we got home we were told we'd walked under a thing called a hole in the ozone layer."
Following these experiences, Swan began an organization called 2041 - named after the year in which the moratorium on drilling and mining in Antarctica will be up for review.
Today, Swan is recognized as a global environmental leader. Through 2041, he advances the preservation of Antarctica, the awareness of global change, and the use of clean, renewable energy.
When Swan came to Edmonton in 2009, the students of Stony Plain were not the only people listening. It was at this address that the event's organizers - the Alberta Water Research Institute - decided to contribute further to Swan's efforts. In 2010, the Institute did just that by sending one privileged participant with 2041 on the Inspire Antarctic Expedition (IAE).
Tara Hadler has been working with the Institute since 2009. As a Canadian graduate student studying sustainable development at the University of Basel in Switzerland, she was attracted to work in Alberta due to the province's proactive leadership on water issues. Her research assesses virtual water trade in Alberta's irrigation districts.
"It's been a privilege to work outside of the university setting with the Water Institute on a project that integrates theory and practice," Hadler says. "Yet, I never could have imagined that I would set foot on Antarctica as part of my internship."
Early on, it became apparent that IAE 2010 was developing into a special expedition. The morning the expedition's research vessel set sail for Antarctica from Argentina, the sunrise seemed to foreshadow the spectacles that would follow. On the first day, the participants encountered two penguin species and witnessed a leopard seal attacking a penguin. A chinstrap penguin was recorded during courting a few days later. At one point, humpback whales became curios about the visitors allowing for an up-close rendezvous with these magnificent sea-farers.
"These experiences in Antarctica energize me every day," Hadler remarks. Even as the participants bid farewell to continental Antarctica, they had the privilege of witnessing orca in their hunt for penguins and seals.
Yet, it wasn't just the wildlife that made IAE 2010 such a success.
"We all learned from each other," reports Hadler. "In fact, I learned a surprising amount about global change and the Antarctic environment from one of Shell's representatives."
With up to three lectures and workshops per day, the participants were kept busy and focused.
During her expedition, Hadler recognized that positive change is both necessary and attainable.
"By adopting renewable energy technologies and creating systems that allow this to happen, we can create positive change - not only for Antarctica - but also at home," says Hadler. "Alberta has many of the elements in place to become a world leader in the development of renewable energy and sustainable technology, but to achieve this people must break out of their routine and embrace creativity."
The question is not whether this knowledge can be applied in Alberta, but whether it will be put to use to inspire home-grown solutions.
Upon her return to Alberta, Hadler had her work cut out for her. Although her research topic refers to virtual water, for her, this concept is very real.
"Just like Robert Swan brings people closer to Antarctica through his stories, I need to bring people closer to this concept by fostering an understanding of its relevance within the province."
Within the next few weeks, Hadler will further the development of a webpage regarding the concepts of virtual water and water footprints together with the Alberta WaterPortal. She will also be visiting a number of schools throughout the province to share the story of her Antarctica adventure with future generations of Albertans and hopefully inspire them to make a difference in Alberta and around the world.
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