This July, ten highly experienced female explorers, marine scientists, educators and dive professionals traveled the waters of Labrador, the Davis Strait, and Western Greenland, snorkeling long distances with diver propulsion vehicles and conducting marine mammal and sea bird wildlife surveys. Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and mobile marine aquariums, Team Sedna brought ocean critters to eye level, delivering a two-day ocean education outreach program to Inuit community of Nain, Labrador.
Sedna is the Inuit goddess of the ocean and mother of all marine mammals. The 2014-2016 Sedna Epic Expedition’s mandate is to scout, document and record disappearing sea ice in the Arctic, raising global awareness of changes in the world’s oceans. The proof-of-concept sea trials in July saw the ten-woman team from four countries snorkeling in water depths exceeding 9,000 feet. And, Team Sedna may have well been the first group of people to snorkel across the Arctic Circle off Greenland.
Many challenges lie ahead, however, before Team Sedna mounts its 2016 snorkel relay of the 3,000-kilometer Northwest Passage. The members of Team Sedna are eager to invite the public, aboriginals, students, corporations, the scientific community, and government agencies, to follow them as they “go where no man has gone before,” studying ocean change in the snorkel zone and alerting the global community to the rapidly changing conditions in the Arctic.
Team Sedna’s sea trials will prepare it for the epic, one hundred-day snorkel relay of the Northwest Passage during the summer of 2016. The Northwest Passage is the waterway in the Canadian High Arctic that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and it’s become the focus of international attention as climate change melts arctic pack ice.
The 2014 and 2016 expeditions will serve as “calls to action” about rapidly changing ocean conditions that are threatening local human communities and wildlife habitats. Team Sedna’s arduous snorkel relay will be a world-first, serving as a testament to the indomitable spirit of this diverse and unique group of sea women, aged 2 6 to 56. The members of Team Sedna hope to inspire immediate action by citizens and governments of the world, as well as encourage women and girls to follow their dreams (no matter how big) and to pursue careers in ocean exploration and conservation.
The 2014-2016 Sedna Epic Expedition (as the two expeditions are collectively titled) will heighten visibility on the issues of climate change and ocean change in the Arctic, documenting how these changes are impacting and the Inuit’s traditional ways of life. The expeditions will also serve to showcase female empowerment while highlighting the importance of how exploration can shape the planet’s future.
Team Sedna has already inspired many young girls, from the U.S. and Canada, to learn more about marine science and technology. In fact, while preparing for the July expedition, Team Sedna involved a group of 13- and 14-year-old girls in the construction of two ROVs that traveled to the Arctic this summer. In Nain, young Inuit girls got to drive ROVs that had been assembled by teenage girls in Port Angeles, Washington.
Team Sedna kicked off its proof-of-concept expedition in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with a presentation to forty-nine 16- and 17-year-old young women enrolled in a summer work program run by WISE N&L (Women in Science and Engineering, Newfoundland and Labrador).
Despite raising close to 80 percent of the expedition costs for its proof-of-concept expedition in July 2014, Team Sedna still needs $50,000 to pay off a bridge loan. In an effort to help pay for essentials, Team Sedna has created a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo — contributions to this ground-breaking project will go towards the purchase of diver propulsion vehicles (DPVs or electrical scooters), marine radios for snorkelers, air rescue insurance, freight costs for the mobile aquariums, ROVs, dive gear and TV equipment, excess baggage fees and dive masters.
ln return for your generous pledge, you may choose to become a friend of the expedition or to support a snorkeler, directing funds to your favorite team member. If scuba diving or snorkeling is your passion — or if you need equipment to start exploring the oceans — you may choose to receive one of the following rewards that have been so generously donated by Team Sedna’s sponsors.
• Team Sedna Ball Cap
• Aqualung Madera Mask & Snorkel
• Oceanic Mask & Snorkel
• Bare Mask & Snorkel
• Limited Edition Prints from Jill Heinerth
• Aqualung Departure Bag
• Oceanic Veo 1.0 Computer
• Ambit 2S Suunto Computer
• Nova D4i Suunto Computer
To learn more about Team Sedna or to make a financial contribution, please visit:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/2014-2016-sedna-epic-expedition
Media Contact
Company Name: 2014-2016 Sedna Epic Expedition
Contact Person: Susan Eaton
Email: susaneaton@shaw.ca
Country: United States
Website: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/2014-2016-sedna-epic-expedition