A Cochrane-based journalist and geo-scientist is preparing for an epic multi-faceted Arctic adventure designed to empower northern communities, inspire Indigenous women and create learning opportunities while studying the effects of climate change North of 60.
Susan Eaton, who has lived in Cochrane for three years, began the ambitious project when she founded the Sedna Epic Expedition in 2013. The program works with circumpolar, Inuit communities to document and record disappearing sea ice in the Arctic. The expedition is aptly named after Inuit mythology’s goddess of the sea.
The expedition has evolved from the original grand idea which would have served as a grand illustration of climate change in the Arctic.
“Initially, I went up with a concept to snorkel the Northwest Passage and thought it would be an elegant metaphor for disappearing sea ice,” said Eaton, referencing the increasing duration of open water in the notorious waterway best known for sending Sir John Franklin and his 133-strong crew of the H.M.S. Terror and H.M.S. Erebus to icy graves.
In the process of working towards her snorkeling goal, Eaton discovered something many from the south do when they venture north that goes well beyond the harsh climate and geography - the people.
“We realized the education work we do in Inuit communities is far more fulfilling,” said Eaton.
However, education is a term that falls short when describing what the expedition does for the communities it ventures into.
Working closely with elders, community members and holding a deep and practical respect for traditional knowledge, Eaton and her team marry traditional and contemporary science, foster professional growth in Inuit girls and women, and reforge a connection to the sea.
It’s a mission that does much more than bring attention to the impacts of more unpredictable ice conditions and melting permafrost, it also looks to address many of the social issues that plague northern communities, many related to changing ocean environments - food insecurity, loss of infrastructure and poverty to name a few.
“With Indigenous women, we are trying to inspire the next generation of leaders,” said Eaton.
Since 2013, Eaton said in consultation with Inuit advisors and team members, the expedition has delivered its programs to 1,000 Inuit youths, girls and elders in Labrador, Nunavut and Greenland.
“The most impactful thing we do is introduce kids to the ocean,” she said.
According to Eaton’s GoFundMe page - the expeditions rely heavily on crowdfunding - Sedna’s 60 sea women - who hail from Canada, the USA, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, England, Italy, Finland, Norway and Sweden (ranging in age from 16 to 65 years), “bring the ocean to eye level for Inuit (many of whom don’t swim) via: Mobile touch aquariums that temporarily house sea critters; by running underwater robot-building camps for youth; and by leading Inuit girls and elders on snorkel safaris to see the marine biodiversity in their own backyards.”
In November and December, the Sedna team will return to the High Arctic when it embarks on an expedition to Tromsø, Norway, some 350 km above the Arctic Circle.
Comprised of 15 sea women – ages 21 to 75 years – who hail from Canada, the United States, England and Australia, the diverse team, spanning multiple professions and backgrounds, will run a 2.5-day women’s leadership program to discuss “women’s growing representation in exploration and STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine) careers. Sedna’s Indigenous team members will provide insights about the unique issues that Inuit women face in Canada’s High Arctic.”
The plan is to also forge connections with the Sámi people, Norway, Finland and Sweden’s Indigenous Arctic people.
“We’re not tourists, we’re scientists, documentarians and educators,” Eaton said.
Following the workshops, Team Sedna will embark on a seven-day journey aboard the MV Freya, “snorkelling with orcas and humpbacks during the winter herring run and undertaking scientific research which includes: the photographic, acoustic and genetic identification of orcas; ocean conditions (conductivity density and salinity); marine geology; micro-plastics and plankton analyses.”
Those who wish to learn more or donate to the expedition can visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/sedna-epic-norway-susanreaton. Last week, Eaton received a $500 donation from the GoFundMe team, which regularly donates to campaigns as nominated by its employees.
“Since 2016, I estimate that, collectively, 25 of Sedna’s sea women have raised $250,000 to support the high costs of their Arctic dive and snorkel expeditions,” added Eaton.
