Last November, one hundred women from around the world were a part of the 2019 cohort of Homeward Bound’s women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine (STEMM) expedition to Antarctica. Water Institute member Kirsten Müller, Professor of Biology and Assistant Vice President of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, was one of only four Canadians in the program.
The participants of Homeward Bound Cohort 4, the largest all-female expedition to Antarctica. Credit: Will Rogan
This was part of the largest ever all-female expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula, with the women in STEMM initiative, Homeward Bound, in late 2019. These scientists witnessed the beauty and fragility of the area, and the negative impacts of climate change and human activity on native species, first-hand. As part of this program they learned about the science, conservation and governance of Antarctica.
An outcome of this program is a newly published paper in Nature, where colleagues from the expedition outline these threats, and importantly, offer ways to counter them. More than 280 women in STEMM who have participated in the Homeward Bound initiative are co-signatories to the piece.
Read more here.