UNBC Prof, Patrick Maher, and 4th year student, Jody Phibbs, will be part of the Students on Ice 2013 Expedition   photos courtesy UNBC

Prince George, BC – It will not be a holiday, rather a working and learning ship-based adventure to explore Patagonia, the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding Southern Ocean…

Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management (ORTM) professor, Dr. Patrick Maher, and 4th year student, Jody Phibbs, fly out tomorrow for the 2013 expedition of  Students on Ice.  The pair embark on their journey from port in Ushuaia, Argentina on Friday and will spend the next 14-days with approximately 100 students, educators, scientists, historians, artists, and explorers from around the world.

UNBC participate in the first ever university courses offered in Antartica with Students on Ice in 2009, but  Maher says this trip will be more concentrated on research.  "The last university trip was related more to teaching, where as we will be trying to incorporate more research this time around."

"We'll be examining Antarctic tourism in terms of its positive and negative impacts across economic, social, and environmental realms," says the ORTM professor, who was recently elected Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.  The trip comes shortly after the release of the book, Antarctic Futures, which Dr. Maher co-authored.

"My co-authors and I investigate the impacts of human activities on Antarctic ecosystems and species, and examine existing and alternative environmental and monitoring practices."

For ORTM student, Jody Phibbs, the expedition offers a first-hand look at the effects of climate change on the region with visits to scientific research stations, encounters with wildlife and an inter-disciplinary look at the region.

"I'm minoring in Northern Studies and greatly interested in northern and polar regions – particularly in isolated communities – living as I do, in Boston Bar, BC," says Phibbs.

She jokes the expedition has already been a learning experience, just in terms of the preparation, "Do you know how much preparation you have to do for a trip to Antarctica?"