READY TO SET SAIL ON THE TRIP OF LIFETIME
DEAKIN University’s Dr Ellen Moon is leaving on the trip of a lifetime today.
The environmental engineering lecturer is heading to Antarctica on the largest ever all-female voyage to the southern continent.
The trip is part of the yearlong Homeward Bound program, which Dr Moon described as a “leadership, strategy, visibility and science communication program for women who have a science background”.
Dr Moon will today head to the most southern point of Argentina, from where she will set sail for Antarctica along with 80 women from 22 different countries.
She will be on the ship for three weeks, sailing around the Antarctic Peninsula on what will be an “intensive learning experience”.
“It’s a real mix of women of different backgrounds, different ages, and also different points in their career,” she said.
“It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Dr Moon said the group will stop at various locations that have scientific significance, which will include some research bases, and areas of biodiversity significance.
“It’s not a research voyage, it’s an opportunity to grow those leadership and science communication skills which will be absolutely essential for my role as a lecturer at Deakin University.
“I look into heavy metal contamination of soils and water, and I’m hoping the skills I learn on Homeward Bound will really help me develop my networking skills and my ability to get my research out there into the real world so it can really start helping impact the community.”
Dr Moon is also passionate about breaking down gender barriers in science.
“A really big component of getting more girls involved in science and technology at school is having those visible role models there so they can look and see girls or women that are like them … and think ‘well, yeah, if she can do it, I can too.’ For me that’s really important.”
You can follow Dr Moon’s journey facebook.com/100days toAntarctica.