UKPN Education and Outreach team at BugFest!
Written by Lena Lancastle, Education and Outreach Officer
In May, UKPN Education and Outreach team hosted a stall at the outreach event Bug
Fest, which is jointly organised and hosted by the Sheffield Botanical Gardens and
PhD students at the University of Sheffield. The event aims to showcase interesting
bugs and insects as well as the research going into them at the University.
The stall UKPN hosted, ‘Polar bugs!’, displayed the insect and invertebrate life
present in the Polar regions. This included the Antarctic midge (the only insect in
Antarctica!), the Arctic bumblebee and, as many people were discovering for the first
time – all of the mosquitoes that are present in the Arctic.
It was a great event filled with kids eager to learn, some of them hearing about the
Polar regions for the first time. Adults and children both were surprised to hear that
the Arctic in particular hosts a large number of insects, and they had fun trying to
guess the Polar insects apart from their warmer climate relatives (hint: they’re
normally fluffier or darker in colour).
In it’s third year now, Bug Fest has seen attendance numbers increase year on year,
with over 1200 people attending the last event in May. This showcases the
importance of local outreach events for engaging members of the public and that the
interest for them is consistently on the rise. Being able to link with an event that
many people wouldn’t normally associate with Polar topics is also a great way to
showcase the diversity of the Polar regions and bring Polar to people who wouldn’t
necessarily find it otherwise! We would like to thank the organisers of Bug Fest for
including UKPN in their great event.
UKPN Takeaways from the UK Arctic Science Conference (Sept 2025)
Written by Isabelle Sangha, Millie Harding and Leeza Pickering
In September, various UKPN committee members attended the UK Arctic Science Conference at Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne. It was a fantastic few days of science, networking and wider discussions about the future of UK Arctic Science.
Here are some highlights and reflections from Izzy, Millie, and Leeza about their experiences at the conference.
Polar Beers takeaways - Izzy
After the first day of the conference we met at the Hotspur pub for a Polar Beers event. In the packed and cozy pub, Dr. Amy Macfarlane gave a captivating talk about art as a way to communicate science with sounds of ice melting, clothing inspired by prints from ice, and moving poems about polar regions. Dr. Rachel Carr then brought everyone to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica to tell stories of what it’s like doing remote field work, and how to talk like a penguin.
We finished off the evening with a competitive polar themed pub quiz and the winning team left sporting the Polar Beers beanies. Overall it was a great success and fun way to kick off the UK Arctic Science Conference!
International Polar Year - Millie
On the first morning of the conference the UKPN held a session for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) which focused on the 5th International Polar Year 2032-2033 (IPY-5). It was great to share with ECRs the current status of the IPY-5 as well as sharing how this is likely to shape future research. We specifically focussed on IPY-5 as there was a general sentiment that information about IPY-5 was not reaching UK-based ECR’s. We felt it was important to make everyone aware of this so that ECR’s could take full advantage of the opportunities that may arise out of IPY-5. We also highlighted current projects that were already known to UKPN that are linked to IPY-5 more generally or were running separately but were likely to feed into IPY-5. After the initial presentation, we moved into a panel discussion which enabled ECR’s to ask questions about previous International Polar Years and understand more about the IPY-5 to Professor Kate Hendry, Henry Burgess (Head of the NERC Arctic Office), and Pilvi Saarikoski (Impact facilitator at the British Antarctic Survey).
Education and outreach takeaways - Leeza
Presenting alongside Millie in the ECR session was amazing! It gave me the chance to tell ECRs about all the things that the UKPN Education and Outreach team have been up to in the past year. Furthermore, it gave us a great platform to share our current project with ECRs - the UKPN Roadshow! This is a planned UK wide tour inspiring the next generation to consider careers in polar science. We had a lot of interested ECRs, who are eager to get involved. Thank you to all who have signed up already! If you are reading this and are interested in helping out, please sign up here (https://forms.gle/UDEn3gbmLQeQFe2w5)!
Moving away from the presentation, it was great to meet so many people interested in the Arctic. I had some amazing conversations with people interested in education and outreach and some very interesting discussions about Arctic research! It was a blast. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next UK Arctic Science Conference!
100 Days to Antarctica Day!
Today marks the 100-day countdown to Antarctica Day! We at UK Polar Network will be working with Our Spaces this year to lead the Antarctica Day festivities--you'll be hearing a lot from us over the next couple of months. As part of this initiative, we invite individuals, classrooms and schools to participate in the festivities by sending us their renditions of Antarctic flags. The flags will then hitch a ride all the way to Antarctica, and we will send proof of travel with a certificate and photos of their journey!
What's so important about Antarctica Day and our Flags event? After almost fifty-five years, the Antarctic Treaty continues to shine as a rare beacon of international cooperation. To celebrate this milestone of peace in our civilisation with hope and inspiration for future generations – Antarctica Day is recognised to be December 1st -the day when the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959. As an annual event, Antarctica Day encourages participation from around the world. Our aim is to continue expanding Antarctica Day through our Flags initiative as a globally-accessible platform to share, interpret and cherish the values associated with Antarctica for the benefit of present and future generations.
For researchers travelling to Antarctica
You can help!
Are you heading down to Antarctica or any of the surrounding Antarctic Islands this Winter (November - January)? If so, please let us know! All we ask is for you to help bring down some of these flags, which will be sent to you in pdf or jpg format (however many you are willing to help with!) and photograph them on Antarctica as proof of them having made the journey down south. However you do so is completely up to you--you can be as creative as you want. The photos in this post show various ways that past Antarctic teams have showcased these flags.
For teachers and classrooms:
We've uploaded many school resources, including class plans and PowerPoints on how you, as an educator, can introduce Antarctica and Antarctica Day into your classroom, and have your students create flags to be sent down to Antarctica. We would like to emphasise that submissions to us can only be up to 5 flags per school or classroom--if you would like to submit your flags to us, please contact Julie Berkman <jberkman@ourspaces.org.uk> where she will provide you a DropBox link on reply.
The idea is for your students to design flags for the Antarctic. You can either get all students to design flags, and then chose your 'top five' or you could design a couple of flags as a whole class/year group. Digital pictures of the flags are sent to us, and we then print off these picture and send them down to the Antarctic with our scientists and engineers in November and December. A picture of your flags will then be taken within the Antarctic, and the student/classroom will receive a certificate to say where their flag was displayed. There is also a chance that a competition will be run for the best flags to be hung up around the British Antarctic Survey and Scott Polar Museum.
We can provide a large number of resources and lesson ideas. We would also like to maintain a relationship with the school afterwards, either by a visit to the school from a scientist, or an online Q&A session for your students with a scientist. This is an international activity, and so far we have schools from over 20 countries taking part. The UKPN would love to have your school participate in this exciting event.
To help you implement this activity within your classroom, we've attached a sample class plan for Antarctica Flags that has been most popular over the last couple of years! If you would like this class plan in another language, please let us know by replying to this email.
This year, our deadline for submission of Antarctica Day flags will be slightly earlier, on the 1st November (exactly 1 month before Antarctica Day!), because we'd like to get your flags to be photographed in Antarctica on the 1st December.
Lastly, to keep updated and involved in the Antarctica Day festivities, please follow us on Facebook (UKPN and Antarctica Day) and Twitter, where we will be regularly posting your flag submissions and other relevant items counting down the days to December 1st.
Please get in touch with either me <tj.young@polarnetwork.org>, Jenny Turton <jenny.turton@polarnetwork.org> or Julie Berkman <jberkman@ourspaces.org.uk> if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing your Antarctic Flags!
TJ Young and Jenny Turton
A-level students inspired by Polar Outreach day at Loughborough University 12th June 2013
The day involved A2 geography students and staff taking part in a range of interactive experiments designed to teach them about the complex processes that drive climate change and the level of the sea. The students also got the opportunity to dress in polar clothing, to get a feel what it would be like to work in these inhospitable regions. This day really highlighted the benefits of inspiring young people about Geography and Science, which is vital to ensure that we can continue to understand the intricate processes of our global climate system.
The experiments were run in association with the International Polar Foundation’s Class Zero Emission project and the UK Polar Network.
Simon Holland, Geography teacher at Bilborough College said:
“It was an excellent and stimulating day which really brought home the issues to students but also the complex science behind the issues in a tangible and enjoyable way.
“The experiments looked at crucial parts of the climate change picture which together create a real issue for us all to address now and in the future, bringing home the message about the potentially devastating impact of climate change on our lives and planet.
“Huge thanks must go to the University for organising, coordinating and sponsoring such a useful and motivational event for all involved.”
The event was organised by PhD Student Eleanor Darlington, with help from Loughborough University staff and students Morna Simpson, Dr. Richard Hodgkins, Matthew Standell, Joni Cook, Catherine Waite, and Alexis Alamel.
Software & Polar Research Workshop
The UK Polar Network are running a Software & Polar Research Workshop at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge: Tuesday 17th September 2013. Although we are currently still in the planning process, please save this date in your diaries and check back regularly for updates!
Where:
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge
Lensfield Road
Cambridge CB2 1ER
When:
17 September, 2013 (immediately preceding the UK Arctic Science Workshop)
What:
We want to bring together a group of 20-30 early career polar researchers for a day filled with topics on how software has and will play an important role in polar research and your research in particular.
Session ideas right now include talks on how software has enabled unique and exciting polar research (whether controlling autonomous vehicles, or fusing large amounts of satellite data over Antarctica and Greenland, for example), a presentation on becoming ready to share your code, resources for software development best practice, tips on choosing the best computing tools for your research, and a collaborative session between workshop attendees.
The event will also include a networking reception to allow participants to get to know each other and the presenters.
Some funds will be available for travel to Cambridge and accommodation for the workshop, as well as possibly for the duration of the Arctic Science Conference, depending on demand.
What Next:
Over the next few months we’ll be forming the programme, confirming speakers, and setting up the registration process. To express interest in attending the workshop and receive updates, email allen.pope@polarnetwork.org. If you have any ideas for what you’d like to see as part of the workshop, we’d love to hear that, too. The UKPN is always looking for volunteers who want to get involved, so let us know if you’d like to help organize this event (or a future one), even in a small role.
How:
This workshop is sponsored by the Software Sustainability Institute. Find out more about how they can help you do your research better at http://www.software.ac.uk/. Look out for their resources as well as their fellowship scheme, which provides researchers at all career levels with funds to attend conferences, run events, and further the aims of the SSI.
UKPN and APECS at AGU Fall 2011
Prior to the American Geophysical Union Fall meeting held in San Francisco at the beginning of December 2011, APECS and POLARTREC (http://www.polartrec.com/) hosted a Polar Information Station as part of the public engagement session undertaken at the conference. UKPN representatives Matthias Kunz, Sian Henley, Aisling Dolan and Allen Pope all helped out at the Polar Station. There was a display of Arctic tundra, a demonstration of how to make your own ice core and the gear so that children could feel what it would be like to become the next generation of Polar explorers! Over 250 people visited our Polar Station and much fun was had by all!
