What do 3 business professionals, 2 public school teachers, 1 attorney, 1 professional musician and 1 fifth grader all have in common?
Yesterday, they all set foot on the coldest, driest, and perhaps the only wild continent left in the world: Antarctica.
The Land Trust’s own Director of Conservation Strategy, Garrett J. Budds, is among the 8 aforementioned individuals from the Charleston area that have joined 130 others from around the world as a part of the 2041 Foundation’s annual trip to the continent.
The 2041 Foundation was founded by polar explorer and environmentalist, Robert Swan, to build personal leadership skills among people who choose to embrace the challenge of sustaining all forms of life – in their families, communities, organizations and the planet (learn more at 2041.com).
The expedition to Antarctica will include seminars, lectures and more, with the intent of training the next generation of leaders who will take responsibility for building resilient communities, and in doing so, preserve Antarctica.
“We’re not just experiencing the continent, we’re collecting the data, having real life experiences with others.” Garrett stated, ”I think learning from each other is a big part of what they’re trying to promote through this experience —What can we do to build more resilient communities at home that, at the end of the day, will help protect Antarctica and other places?” (see full Post and Courier article, “Learning from Antarctica: Locals join group for polar expedition” by clicking here)
It is the hope of Team Charleston 2041 to use the expedition to ignite a conversation around local action with global impact, ultimately framing a strategy for outcome-oriented community engagement.
In all, the Land Trust is excited for Garrett’s debrief as well as his safe return home from Antarctica!
View from ship departing Ushuaia, Argentina
