I’d hoped that being immersed in Greenland’s wild landscapes would help me recharge. There’s something about being surrounded by the sea, fresh air, and the sheer scale of nature that puts everything into perspective.

And it did.

Within a few days, I felt lighter. I could feel myself coming back.

Photo credit: Elizabeth Starnes

What I didn’t expect was that the biggest impact wouldn’t come from the icebergs or the ocean. It would come from the women.

Every single person on board brought a different story—stories of resilience, passion, determination, and hope. We shared ideas about plastic pollution, but we also shared life: the highs, the struggles, our careers, our dreams, and everything in between.

There was no judgement. Just kindness, curiosity, and a genuine desire to support one another.

It reminded me that nature thrives through connection, and perhaps we do too.

As a mum, I often think about the world we’re leaving for our children. Of course, I want cleaner oceans and a healthier planet, but I also want my child to grow up seeing the power of women lifting each other up. That’s a legacy worth leaving, too.

I boarded Sea Dragon hoping Mother Nature would help me find my strength again.

She did.

But she also introduced me to an incredible sisterhood that filled my cup in ways I never expected.

I’ll always remember Greenland for its wild, untamed beauty. But it’s the women I shared this journey with who left the biggest mark on me.

Sometimes healing comes from nature.

Sometimes it comes from people.

And sometimes, if you’re lucky, you find both at the same time.

Photo credit: Elizabeth Starnes

Photo credit: Catherine Rogers

The post The Power Of Sisterhood appeared first on eXXpedition.

Neither would “wearing the same clothes for a week.”

Or eating beans with quite such enthusiasm.

Or discovering that in Greenland you can be on the midnight watch… in broad daylight.

Welcome to life aboard an eXXpedition.

Our mission is serious. We’re collecting samples from the surface of the ocean, beaches and coastal communities to help scientists understand how microplastics are travelling, even to one of the most remote places on Earth.

Photo credit: Katy Bear Nalven

But life on board is anything but serious.

Luxury? Well… let’s just say showers have become a distant memory. I have even reached the stage of doing an artic plunge just to qualify for a hot shower!!

Dinner on the boat is state of the art nutrition. When you’ve spent the day launching scientific equipment into icy seas, everything tastes delicious. Besides, beans are environmentally friendly… although perhaps not in the confined space of a yacht.

Then there are the night watches. Back home, a night watch conjures images of darkness and stars. Here, in the Arctic summer, it’s broad daylight at two in the morning. Your body has absolutely no idea what time it is, but your watch insists you’re on duty.

Somewhere between searching for thermals and mislaid sun cream ( yes a true artic just position ) and trying not to spill precious samples, AND admiring yet another breathtaking iceberg, it struck me why I’d wanted to join this expedition.

I’ve spent much of my career helping people understand the importance of prevention in health. We encourage healthier eating before diabetes develops, exercise before heart disease, and protecting our brains long before memory starts to fail.

Out here, we’re doing exactly the same thing for our planet.

Microplastics are almost invisible. If we were pulling shopping trolleys or plastic bottles out of the sea every few minutes, everyone would understand the problem immediately. Instead, we’re looking for fragments smaller than a grain of rice—tiny pieces that quietly travel on ocean currents, reaching places that seem impossibly wild and untouched.

Photo credit: Katy Bear Nalven

Greenland is breathtaking. Towering icebergs drift silently past, whales occasionally make guest appearances, and the landscape reminds you just how extraordinary our planet is.

Yet even here, the evidence of our throwaway culture can be found.

Perhaps that’s why this journey feels so important.

Prevention is rarely glamorous. Whether it’s collecting microscopic particles from the ocean, encouraging someone to lower their blood sugar, or persuading people to use one less piece of single-use plastic, the rewards aren’t immediate. They come years later.

As we sail towards Nuuk, slightly smellier than when we left, fuelled by beans, endless conversation and a stunning amount of laughter, I’m reminded that meaningful change often starts with small actions.

Tiny particles.

Tiny habits.

Tiny decisions.

They all add up.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think it’s time for my night watch… in glorious sunshine.

Photo credit: Katy Bear Nalven

The post Greenland, Bean Suppers and the World’s Tiniest Problem appeared first on eXXpedition.

The all-women sailing expedition will depart on 12th July from Ilulissat in Disko Bay, where massive icebergs calve from one of the world’s most active glaciers. The crew will sail south, visiting the remote communities of Qeqertarsuaq and Sisimiut, before arriving in the capital, Nuuk.

Led by British environmental organisation eXXpedition in partnership with the University of Georgia, the expedition will continue their joint mission to map where ocean plastic comes from and identify the most impactful solutions. While on board, the crew will conduct water sampling and analyse microplastics using state-of-the-art scientific equipment. They will also visit coastal communities along the way, conducting shore-based research into litter, products and waste management infrastructure, in collaboration with local experts.

“When you sail into the glacial waters and midnight sun of the Arctic, you expect to find the ocean as it should be: wild, pristine, untouched,” said Emily Penn, eXXpedition Founder. “But our research tells a different story. These are some of the most remote waters on the planet, thousands of miles from big cities and ocean gyres, yet we still find plastic in the water and along the shores. There is nowhere left the crisis hasn’t reached. And that is why we need people from every background driving solutions from every angle.”

Following three successful expeditions from New Zealand to Tonga in April and May this year, this is the fourth 2026 expedition. The first three expeditions saw 30 guest crew sail 1,740 nautical miles, conducting 22 water samples, 232 litter & coastal transects and analysing 429 pieces of plastic. They engaged with 191 local community members, and generated 29 news stories across 7 countries. The data will be analysed and findings published by the University of Georgia later this year.

The expedition vessel, 72-foot yacht SV Sea Dragon, will be skippered by Ineke van der Weijden. The science mission will be led by Dr Winnie Courtene-Jones, a marine environmental biologist specialising in the long-term fate and impacts of plastics on ecosystems. She will lead a multidisciplinary crew of eleven incredible women, including scientists, advocates and communicators from around the world. Together they will deliver the expedition’s three core pillars: to conduct scientific research, to share their stories and learn from each other, and to inspire their networks to take action.

The eleven guest crew members are:

Catherine Rogers, Health Mentor, UK

Elizabeth Starnes, Nurse Practitioner, USA

Kateryna Peinecke, Sustainable Energy Scientist, Canada

Katy Bear Nalven, Marine Conservationist, USA

Katja Heinzlmaier, Academic, Austria

Lyssa Manning, Marine Conservationist, USA

Natalie Foote, Operations and Strategy Leader, USA

Shannon Osaka, Climate Reporter, USA

Sofia Nogués Segura, Communications Expert, Spain 

Stephanie Peters, Environmental Strategist, UK

Waverly Wadsworth, Environmental Engineer, USA

To follow the eXXpedition Arctic’s progress, you can read their blogs here.

Thank you to our partners

These expeditions are made possible by crew contributions, sponsorships and partnerships. Thank you to our current partners: Kensington Tours, University of Georgia, The Commonwealth, PerkinElmer, Finisterre, 1% for the Planet, Chandler and Partners, 5 Gyres Institute, and Panexplore.

Find out more here.

Follow us across eXXpedition’s social channels 

Instagram | Facebook | X | LinkedIn | TikTok

The post All-women crew to embark on ocean plastics mission to the Arctic appeared first on eXXpedition.

ON THE SOUTH PACIFIC EXPEDITION FROM  TONGATAPU TO VAVA’U

The United Nations calls it World Oceans Day.

Emily Penn, the Founder of eXXpedition, encourages us to call it World Ocean Day.

Ocean. Singular.

Video credit: Pallavi Davé

During our on board safety briefing, we were learning how to send distress calls in case of emergency.

One of my fellow guest crew asked, “What happens if the person receiving the call doesn’t understand English?”

Our skipper told us that there is 1 standard set of phrases understood by mariners all over the world so wherever you are, they will understand you need help.

Because despite being separated by name: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian etc., all the water flows across the Earth’s Ocean as one large singular body of water.

Surrounding us all and affecting us all.

And for us all to look after.

Happy World Ocean Day

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ON THE SOUTH PACIFIC EXPEDITION FROM  TONGATAPU TO VAVA’U

After a beautiful sunrise on the go, we completed three rounds of trawling to collect water samples from the ocean. Based on our first impression, we found far more natural material than plastic, which was a promising finding that would later be confirmed under the microscope.

Shortly afterward, we reached the island group of Ha‘apai and made our way to Pangai. We split into three groups to cover different areas of the island: port transects, coastal transects, litter transects along the way, and store surveys (at the few stores we found that were open).

Our group of four focused on five litter transects on the way to the beach, giving us the opportunity to observe the more residential areas of Pangai. What really stood out was the presence of household bins at nearly every home, while there were no public bins (except in the port area). We actually found quite a lot of plastic along the roads, some of which may have been blown out of household bins.

On a small road leading to the beach, we found many different types of waste: cans, clothing, utensils, shoes, and various plastic items. The entire route to the beach was lined with litter, yet again without any bins in sight. We thought it might be an area where waste is dumped, as the road did not seem to be used very often.

Photo credit: Rike Blomer

On the beach itself, both the water and the sand appeared quite clean, with only a few fragments that we recorded. In contrast, the upper part of the beach, with its vegetation and trees, contained a considerable amount of waste. Therefore, we assume that much of this waste has not yet made its way into the ocean, making it especially important to address the issue now and prevent it from entering the marine environment.

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ON THE SOUTH PACIFIC EXPEDITION FROM  TONGATAPU TO VAVA’U

We were all feeling pretty sorry for ourselves.

It started out well.

We left Nuku’alofa in very good spirits, excited for our first overnight sail.

The ocean was looking vast and beautiful and the weather report was good.

It was going to be a good night on the water.

And technically it was in sea and weather terms.

But less so for most of us in the crew.

The guest crew that is, not the professional crew. (They’re called professional for a reason.)

One by one we started dropping like flies.

One person emerged from the cabin.

“Don’t go down there,” they said “it’s really hot, you’ll feel sick.”

But what is one to do when one needs to use the facilities?

One must go down into the cabin.

And it’s amazing how quickly it hits you.

The heat.

The sudden sheen of sweat all over your body.

The queasy motion sickness.

And then it doesn’t go away. Even when you’re back on deck in the fresh air.

I was feeling even more sorry for our poor skipper who had to help me in my seasickened vomiting state (sorry again and thank you again <3 )

Her top tip was to lie down and get horizontal as soon as possible.

It worked. The queasiness subsided quickly and remained that way as long as I remained horizontal.

Technically this was nothing.

We were sailing on a relatively pleasant night in Tonga, not on the stormy crossing from New Zealand endured by the South Pacific II team on the leg before us.

I don’t think any of us would have made it.

When we dropped anchor on the beautiful uninhabited island of Kelefesia, we were jubilant.

Land ahoy.

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ON THE SOUTH PACIFIC EXPEDITION FROM  TONGATAPU TO VAVA’U

After a welcome coffee at the beautiful Waterside restaurant we made our way to the wharf to join SV WindShift. Luggage on board, unpacked, excited conversations and more welcome teas and coffees we had our first briefing. A delicious lunch of chickpea salad and watermelon. Wonderfully refreshing.

Photo credit: Pallavi Davé

The South Pacific III has the fascinating role of researching both plastics in the ocean and on land. Our research kicked off with a litter transact recording details of litter (all types) within a randomly selected sample. We had some fun going through some practical training to complement all the pre-voyage online training course.

Photo credit: Amanda Ayliffe

Armed with our debris tracker App, bright green gloves, a measuring rule and paper bags for collecting unidentifiable small fragments, we were now ready for action. The ten of us were also beginning to attract some attention!

We met a lovely nurse from New Zealand who has spent a week training local doctors and nurses, she had met one of our crew earlier and was thrilled to know we were part of her mission. She was very enthusiastic about our research work and excitedly described how we were becoming quite famous locally, even the taxi driver knew all about us. It was lovely to hear how she is following eXXpedition exploring how her son might do similar research work with his school back home in NZ.

Photo credit: Amanda Ayliffe

Whilst the amount of plastic packaging in the local convenience stores was shocking, we had encouraging moments too. This included a lovely warm welcome from a food vendor, they looked at us a little quizzically – especially at our bright green gloves again! However, a few smiles and chat about what we were doing, and why, was met with enthusiastic story telling from the store team. They explained how the local churches were running community clean up events every month in allocated areas. This had become quite competitive! We learnt that the collected plastic waste is then crushed and used as a filler material in road construction.

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ON THE SOUTH PACIFIC EXPEDITION FROM  TONGATAPU TO VAVA’U

Second day with eXXpedition Tonga crew and the first day on the beach. We spilt into two groups. One team went to the East side of Tongatapu and the other team went to the West side. We need to confirm with the data, but we suspect we will see differences in the amount and kind of plastic pollution between the two sites. This is due to the wind direction and position of Tongatapu. The East side of the island gets the prevailing winds, and with this wind comes more plastic from offshore.

To collect data, we use an app called Debris Tracker (you can download the app here). The science team at the University of Georgia has preset the sampling sites for us, so we know exactly where to survey. Once we arrive, we measure out the transect sampling area and transects. We sample five transects that are ten meter long and five meters wide. The data we collect is uploaded to the science team through the Debris Tracker app, allowing them to then analyse data from all the eXXpedition locations.

Beach survey at East Coast of Tonga Anahulu Caves beach

Video credit: Pallavi Davé

WEST SIDE TEAM

We have some initial observations from our trip to the west while we await the data analysis. Here, plastic was hidden in the mangroves, likely getting trapped in the roots system. Mangroves are natural filters for marine ecosystems, mitigating coastal erosion and the effects of freshwater runoff. Unfortunately, it looks like plastic also gets caught up in the mangrove filtering system.

The plastic on the beach looked older, for example, faded from the sun and broken into smaller pieces, than the plastic closer to land.

After we finished the beach transects, we completed land-based sampling in a local village. We didn’t find as much plastic and our taxi driver let us know that in this village, people clean the street in front of their house daily.

EAST SIDE TEAM

Our first stop was Anahula beach where we noticed the plastic was further up above the hightide line. As with the West, tangled in the plants above the high tide line was a mixture of plastics: fragments, picnic items, flipflops, cups, bottles. Anahula beach is only about 100 meters, which is the length of our transect. It was difficult to tell which plastic pollution may have come from offshore or the land. Later, we will analyse collected samples with the FTIR to shed some light on what types of plastic we found and for how long the plastic had been in the environment.

Next stop was outside a local landfill where we were attacked by mosquitos. Our surveys were parallel to the landfill. Along one transect, was a bright, pink-patterned large piece of fabric. As we walked the transect, we noticed that pieces of this fabric had broken off and migrated away from the main piece. This bright pink fabric mirrors what happens with plastic in the Ocean. With time, it breaks down, moves around, and shows up elsewhere.

Why not try data collection in your neighbourhood? It’s free to use and easy to understand. Download it here.

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ON THE SOUTH PACIFIC EXPEDITION FROM  TONGATAPU TO VAVA’U

After settling in on the boat we went out to do our first science of the trip.

Today we were working in land in Nuku’alofa.

We were split into 3 survey groups: for convenience stores, grocery stores and food vendors. We are trying to understand what packaging these stores and vendors use, to link it back to the pollution we might find in the ocean, beaches and other places on the islands.

After surveying a few food vendors, we came across a special vendor called Weta Coffee Tonga.

Photo credit: Karlijn Sibbel 

Mitna who manages this store was very aware of the challenges with plastic pollution and single-use plastic packaging in particular, and has been making a concerted effort to transition to alternative solutions. She now sells their delicious baked goods (our personal favourite was the chunky chocolate chip cookie) in paper bags and uncoated cardboard trays, and provides paper straws for cold drinks served in bioplastic cups made from PLA. She noted that her paper coffee cups still contain traditional plastic on the inside, something she hasn’t yet found an alternative for.

Photo credit: Karlijn Sibbel 

She told us that sourcing these alternative solutions is a humongous task and more expensive than sourcing the widely available traditional plastic cups. These alternatives are not sold on the island so she has to import them herself from New Zealand and when we spoke to her, she had been waiting for a delayed delivery for 2 months.

Photo credit: Karlijn Sibbel 

Although there are no industrial composting facilities on the island that will compost the PLA cold cups (bioplastic) – which needs special elevated temperatures to break down – she is still making the most effort she can to move away from fossil based plastics. Determined to make a difference.

It was very interesting and inspiring to learn about her experiences and her passion for tackling plastic pollution in Tonga.

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ON THE SOUTH PACIFIC EXPEDITION FROM BAY OF ISLANDS TO TONGATAPU

Today we gathered with several members of the Tongan government and local high school students to present our mission for eXXpedition.

We held the audience captive with our detailed overview of our voyage from New Zealand, our purpose and plastic-free solutions they could implement. We had wonderful discussions about different solutions to the plastic crisis in Tonga and how they could best empower themselves.

We greatly enjoyed speaking with the local high school students, who were eager to learn about the expedition. It was empowering afternoon for all, with ideas shared and friendships made!

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