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Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

5  October 2022 - Built environment and China specialist Lucy Bruzzone is travelling 9,000 miles as part of an expedition to Goudier Island in the Antarctic Peninsula to take up some of the most remote jobs in the world. 

The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) project received a record 6,000 expressions of interest and 4,000 job applications in April, and this week the charity announced Lucy as part of the four-women team that will reopen Port Lockroy for the first time since the Covid 19 Pandemic. 

The expedition team will be in charge of running the Port Lockroy museum, Post Office and island’s gift shop, carrying out maintenance of the historic buildings and conducting a penguin count as part of efforts to monitor and protect the gentoo penguin colony.  

Lucy has been appointed Base Leader and will be responsible for managing the team which includes a new postmaster, shop manager and wildlife monitor. Lucy will also coordinate all ship visits to the island and liaison with expedition leaders. 

Lucy said: “Antarctica is heavily affected by climate change, as are we in the UK and there’s a very close relationship with the two. Whilst it seems very far away, what we’re doing here at home affects the continent and vice versa. 

“It’s been a lifelong dream to join the Port Lockroy team! In fact, I’ve applied for roles in Antarctica in the past and I’m thrilled to be joining the team for the 2022/23 season. I can’t wait to live and work in this wonderful, remote environment.” 

The team sets off next month for Antarctica where they will be based for five months. Lucy is on secondment from CISL for the duration of the trip and will then return to her role leading the organisation’s executive education engagement with China. Since 2018 Lucy has been the Chair of the Business & Sustainability Programme in Chile and Australia. She also coordinates CISL’s wider engagement with cities and the built environment and delivers sustainability programmes for the real estate sector. Lucy previously spent three months in Svalbard as Chief Scientist on an Arctic expedition. 

The team will have to abandon home comforts to live and work on the island. As well as living without running water and a flushing toilet, they will share the football-pitch sized island with a colony of gentoo penguins. They’ll also have to deal with sub-zero temperatures and almost continuous daylight. 

The team will begin their training in Cambridge later this month, which will consist of briefings from a ‘Penguinologist’, remote first aid training and understanding the specifics of each role. The team will depart for the Antarctic in early November and will live and work in Port Lockroy until March 2023, including spending Christmas together.  

UKAHT’s role is to protect and preserve British Antarctic heritage on the Antarctic Peninsula for future generations and Port Lockroy is one of the six heritage sites managed by the charity. In addition to providing practical care of the building and the artefacts inside, part of UKAHT’s role in Antarctica is to monitor the impact on wildlife including capturing data on the resident gentoo penguins which is part of a long-term study of the breeding success of the colony. It also records the number of visitors and ships in the area and, in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty, follows strict guidelines to ensure the environment is properly cared for. The charity also runs the world’s most southerly public post office at Port Lockroy on behalf of the Government of the British Antarctic Territory, which in turn donates a portion of the Post Office revenue to UKAHT.  

The successful candidates alongside Lucy are Clare Ballantyne, Mairi Hilton and Natalie Corbett. 

Contact

Zoe Kalus, Head of Media  

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