Antarctic Stories15 Mar 2021

S2 EP05 Alexia Spencer - Growing Greens 650 miles from the North Pole

Alexia Spencer is Chief Operating Officer running day-to-day operations of Polar Permaculture, founded by visionary chef Benjamin Vidmar. They are based in Longyearbyen, Svalbard and their mission is to improve accessibility to fresh and nutritious food through sustainable and resilient systems.

Polar Permaculture currently produces and distributes microgreens, culinary herbs and ornamental flowers to local restaurants and grocers, and their new hydroponic equipment will allow them to grow more leafy greens like kale and arugula.

In this episode, Alexia discusses the company's vision for reducing waste, as well as current challenges they face such as complicated logistics in receiving shipments to their remote location and pre-existing government regulations, which are in the process of being adjusted to better support their mission.

This spring, Polar Permaculture hopes to expand their portfolio and offer locals the chance to grow their own strawberries and cucumbers at home. Long term, they are focused on "scaling with intention" as they develop exciting new projects.

HIGHLIGHTS

2:20 Alexia's interest in food security in extreme environments led her to Svalbard

4:02 What Polar Permaculture currently grows and is hoping to grow in the near future

5:35 The infrastructure required for their production systems to meet their potential

7:10 Where do they get their seeds, where is the produce grown and what grows best?

8:50 Local partners in Longyearbyen which support Polar Permaculture's operation

10:15 How they manage any surplus of produce

11:22 The reintroduction of a "circular economy"

13:00 The composting pilot project aimed at minimizing waste

17:10 Current challenges to the growth of Polar Permaculture

19:25 What has the local reception been to the idea of growing produce in Longyearbyen?

21:30 What new produce will be grown with the new hydroponic system?

24:25 Their future vision for raising awareness and providing tools for building resilient food systems

AntArctic Stories is brought to you by Polar Tracks Expeditions - your experts in small ship expedition cruises and unique adventures to the Arctic and Antarctica. We are polar guide owned and run, and we love sharing our insider knowledge to help you find your next polar adventure.

Find us on:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/polartracks
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/polartracksexpeditions
Our website - http://polartracksexpeditions.com

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(23)

S2 EP09 Jerome Viard - Bon appétit: Tales from the French Pastry Chef that Helped Feed South Georgia's Rat Team

Jerome Viard grew up in France and moved to the UK 13 years ago where he has enjoyed a successful career as a chef, having been head pastry chef at some of the best hotels in Cambridge. In 2015, he wa...

19 Apr 202142min

S2 EP08 Dr Lesley Cadzow - The Unusual Adventures of a Ship-based Expedition Doctor

Expedition Doctor Lesley Cadzow was born in Scotland and spent her formative years pouring over medical books, with a keen interest in tropical diseases. She trained as a general practitioner before f...

12 Apr 202153min

S2 EP07 Five Reasons to Avoid Crowdsourcing your Trip To Antarctica (and what to do instead) with Heather Thorkelson

With an overwhelming amount of information about travelling to Antarctica on the internet, it seems like an easy way to narrow down your options is to ask other people on the internet (in FB groups or...

5 Apr 202111min

S2 EP06 Theo Crutchley-Mack - Being an Artist in Residence on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia

Theo Crutchley-Mack is a contemporary British artist whose work appears globally in private and public collections. He strives to record the obscure landscape, often abandoned and remote, spending man...

22 Mar 202124min

S2 EP04 Howard Whelan - Part 2 - Tales from three decades of polar expeditioning

We are joined once again by expeditioner Howard Whelan for Part 2 of his life story from the polar regions. In this episode, we continue Howard's winding polar journey, including his involvement in th...

8 Mar 202130min

S2 EP03 Howard Whelan - Part 1 - Tales from three decades of polar expeditioning

Howard Whelan is a polar expedition treasure having worked in the industry for three decades. But his story begins long before, starting with working in the dangerous environs of the Alaskan fishing i...

1 Mar 202146min

S2 EP02 Crimes in Antarctica - The cold, cruel, and desperate happenings on earth's most remote continent

This episode is a slight departure from our usual programming. Buckle up for a deep dive into a truly fascinating topic...Antarctic crime. Crimes which occur in Antarctica may be rare, but they are ri...

22 Feb 202150min