Year 2 -
Clean Planet Peninsula
Arctic Training
From an initial pool of 40 participants, our early-career research scientists were selected to undertake polar and scientific training in May 2025.
The selected partipants travelled to Ymberbukta (Svalbard), on the edge of the Arctic Circle.
This year we were very excited to introduce Captain Preet Chandi as our expedition leader.
'Polar Preet' joined the project as Expedition Leader!
Captain Preet Chandi is a former British Army Officer and physiotherapist, she served in the Royal Army Medical Corps for 16 years. In 2022, Preet became the ninth woman in history to ski solo to the South Pole and the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition on the continent. Preet set out on her next adventure, during which, she broke two Guinness world records for the longest solo unsupported one-way ski expedition by a woman and overall. As part of the endeavour, she covered 922 miles in 70 days.
She returned to Antarctica less than a year later for her fourth world record, completing the female speed record to the South Pole in 31 days, 13 hours, and 19 minutes. She completed this expedition on 28 Dec 2023.
In 2022, she completed more than four months of school talks all over the UK, reaching more than 18,000 students. That same year, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
She won the ‘Inspirational’ and ‘Woman of the Year’ awards at the inaugural Women in Defence event in October 2022 and became ‘Explorer of the Year 2023.’
Welcome to the project, Preet!
Why choose Svalbard?
Svalbard is a remote Norwegian archipelago located in the Arctic Ocean, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.
Known for its stark, dramatic landscapes of glaciers, mountains, and polar deserts, Svalbard offers a perfect setting for polar training.
The Experience
In May 2025, selected participants travelled with the project to Svalbard, a Norwegian island in the Arctic Circle.
The aim? To undertake scientific and expedition training to prepare for future Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.
All photos, videos and accounts have been snapped by our early-career polar scientists!
1. Camp Set-up
by Oli
So, let’s get this all started. I’ve been asked to write about the experience of setting up camp on our expedition. It’s a process I really enjoyed—as I do a lot of wild camping back home, and this was really taking it to the next level.
In a way, it’s quite complex, and there are a lot of steps to follow, but I’m the kind of person who enjoys following instructions step by step and getting everything taut and attached properly, so that I’m 100% confident the tent’s going to withstand the harsh weather!
There’s also a surprising amount of creativity that goes into it! After the tent is up, you dig down to make a kitchen area underneath the front of your tent. Some of the group were even doing a bit of interior designing—creating wine racks, decorations, and shelves out of the snow.
Alongside the kitchen, someone’s also got to make the toilet! Essentially, it’s a wall to protect you from the wind and a hole in the ground (luxury, right?), but we also liked to extend the wall round to give us some privacy! It’s a surprisingly fun process, and our constructions got better and more ornate each time. I know Pip and I were getting a little competitive with who could make the best blocks out of the snow.
by Thalia
2. Tent Life (and Keeping Warm)
So, what's it like living in the tent out in the cold During the expedition, our tent served as a small refuge for sleeping and a space to boil water in the porch area. Despite the 24-hour daylight keeping the tent bright, we wore eye masks to get a more restful sleep. Space was tight—two sleeping bags lay side by side, with our gear tucked in close.
The pulka stayed outside, clipped to the tent with a carabiner, and items inside were bungeed down against the wind, while our skis anchored the guy lines to reinforce the tent’s stability. At night, strong winds could be heard quite loudly as the tent’s material rippled around us.
To prevent contact with the ice floor when sleeping, we used inflatable mattresses for insulation. Each of us slept in a hooded bag, wrapped in wool liners and spare layers, with a hot water-filled Nalgene bottle tucked inside for warmth.
Preparation was essential, with items for polar bear watch—like socks and outer layers—kept inside the tent and within reach, so we could be ready within 15 minutes of being woken up. The porch was our standing and cooking zone, where we maintained airflow to prevent carbon monoxide build-up from the stove.
Moisture was an ongoing challenge. Wet socks froze overnight, so we dried liners in our sleeping bags using body heat. Batteries, gloves, and maps were kept inside to stay warm. Bathroom breaks meant using a bottle, as it was quick, contained, and allowed us to remain inside the tent, protected from strong winds.
by Jas
3. Food & Cooking
Just like my life back at home, food and cooking were essential parts of daily life on the glacier. Each evening, we cooked our own meals using freeze-dried food—things like curry, casserole, chilli—and fresh porridge in the mornings. Tent mates took turns setting up the stove, melting snow for water, and sorting meals.
We dug down into the snow to create kitchen areas where we could stand comfortably inside the tent, and often built benches out of ice to sit on while cooking or eating. Lunch was usually eaten on the move, so we had to make sure our thermoses were filled with enough hot water each morning to rehydrate food during the day.
Snacks were just as important, and I mainly brought nut butter balls, peanut butter cups, trail mix, dried fruit, and a hazelnut butter chocolate bar. They kept me going during long ski days.
...With no bins or running water, we had to keep and carry all our waste—which was a good reminder to stay conscious of what we consumed.
Honestly, all the meals were delicious, and I don’t think I had a bad one! The mushroom risotto and vegan chilli quickly became my favourites. Each meal packed around 700 calories, which was perfect after long, cold days. I loved them so much that after the trip, I even ordered some online for quick, comforting dinners at home.
There’s something surprisingly satisfying about a hot meal when you’ve been out in the cold all day—it definitely helped keep spirits high throughout the expedition.
by Kenza
4. Managing Equipment
For this expedition, our equipment was minimal and lightweight. Everything fit onto a narrow sledge called a pulka, which we pulled behind us from a harness as we skied.
We each carried a polar sleeping system consisting of two layers of padding and two sleeping bags, dehydrated meals and snacks, a thermos, and a water bottle—useful for storing liquid during the day and keeping us warm at night. We also shared equipment with our tent buddy, including a tunnel tent, a shovel, and a fuel stove system. The rest of the space on the pulka was left for personal effects and small luxuries such as face cream, a moka pot, and spare underwear.
The skis themselves were narrower than alpine skis but wider than cross-country skis, in order to travel across fresh snow. The bottom of the skis had furry skins (originally seal skins, but now synthetic) to help us grip the snow. Our shoes were also similar to cross-country ski boots but with long waterproof shafts. We carried poles as well, to stay balanced and to help move across steeper sections.
For safety, we always wore sunglasses or a ski mask to avoid snow blindness, a second climbing harness in case we fell into a crevasse, and carried two flare guns and a rifle in the unlikely event of encountering a polar bear.
5. Skiing and Day Routine
by Pip
After crawling out of our sleeping bags at the crack of dawn, the first job was to boil water for oats and coffee, and fill our flasks to rehydrate lunch later. Then we’d pack down the tent, load up our sleds, and clip into our skis. Next was a group check-in before we set off on the next leg, to see how everyone was feeling. And then we’d crack on, skiing across the glacier.
As someone who hadn’t used skis before—and is uncoordinated at the best of times—they took a bit of getting used to! Lots of slipping and sliding, but we all got the hang of them in the end. The trick was to get a bit of a glide motion and not stomp. Think rollerblades.
We skied to get around as the skis spread our weight evenly on the snow and allowed for much less friction in our ‘walking’—which was important for crevasse safety as well as dragging our fully loaded sleds. No problem on the straights. Uphill, however, was tricky, with a risk of sliding backwards.
The knack was to rely on the seal skins on the bottom of the skis, acting as a one-way ‘grain’ to prevent you from slipping back. But to make the most of it, you had to learn how to shift your body weight completely between each ski with every uphill step—different to how you walk naturally.
Every hour we’d stop for a short break, which was time to delayer, have some water, and grab snacks—with Preet always ready, passing round a big bag of Haribo. Chef’s kiss. Much needed for any downhill sections. Much easier, you’d think. Uphill was physically harder, but downhill was more technical. It’s easy enough to brake using skis.
Your sled that’s attached to you? No brakes. So it was important to keep it on a short lead, to prevent it colliding with you—which we all learnt quite quickly (and comedically). It was all such good fun, and our skiing skills improved significantly as the week went on.
6. Science
by Laura
In Year 2 of Clean Planet Foundation’s Project Peninsula, we conducted a preliminary study of microplastic levels in snow across different sites and depths on a glacier in Svalbard.
We collected, melted, and filtered ~2L snow samples on-site, then imaged the filters using a handheld digital microscope.
All samples contained coloured fibres and fragments.
KEY LEARNINGS
SNOW
Snow varies by context, affecting melt volume and comparability. Standardised coring and melt volume measurements are essential.
CONTAMINATION
Contamination controls worked, though improvements are needed. Mocks (filtered clean water processed like real samples) showed far fewer particles than actual samples.
FIELD PROCESSING
FIeld processing is feasible.
Our filters did not clog, allowing full sample processing on-site.
METADATA
Metadata is vital, including GPS, weather, snow type, and photos.
SAMPLING
Sampling takes time and fuel; camp logistics must account for this.
ROLE ALLOCATION
Role allocation improves consistency — assigning tasks ensures standardisation and efficiency during fieldwork.
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The next phase of Clean Planet Peninsula project will take us to remote sites across the Arctic and Antarctica.
Our training in Svalbard provided critical experience with polar conditions, field logistics, sampling, ensuring sample and data quality in the field, and teamwork — bringing us one step closer to understanding the accumulation of microplastics in the most isolated corners of our planet.
7. Polar Bear Watch
by Polina
Svalbard is home to around 3,000 polar bears—more than its human inhabitants.
We take every precaution to avoid polar bears on an expedition, despite how much we all want to see one. However, it’s not guaranteed that they won’t visit the camp at an unpredictable time, so we must keep watch at all hours of the “night”, in hour-long shifts.
Waking up for polar bear watch is like being at camp in a parallel universe.
The sun is bright all night and it feels like it could be 3pm, but everything is quiet—a huge difference from the busy campsite in the evening. No words are said as your teammate shakes you awake; you shuffle out of your tent, ceremonially high-five the person watching before you, and put on the puffiest jacket in the world. Then you silently pace around the camp, looking through binoculars onto the flat white desert of the glacier, trying to make out a little yellowish speck among the details.
For those curious, we had a rifle in the group, and a guide would fire a single shot if a polar bear were approaching. Sadly, we didn’t see any bears on this trip—sightings are quite rare, despite there being more polar bears on the island than people.
A positive—polar bear watch is a fantastic time for a private and very peaceful toilet break!
8. 24/7 Light
by Rachel
At 78° North, we had 24-hour daylight—no darkness, and barely any shadows on the ice. Everywhere you looked was white, and when the sun shone, it was blinding. It was surreal. The only way to know a day had passed was to check my wristwatch. But once you adjust to sleeping in a tent with a hat pulled over your eyes, the advantages of consistent daylight become clear.
There’s no rush to get everything done at camp before nightfall, no pressure to always know where you put your torch—you can do anything at any time of day. It made everything simpler, and much less tiring for the day ahead.
Especially when it came to polar bear watch, the daylight made waking up and finding clothes easy, getting dressed easy—I never accidentally climbed over my tent-mate at 2am—and I’d much rather search for polar bears in daylight than in darkness.
With 24 hours of sunlight, nighttime watches became contemplative. There is nothing quite like standing under the midnight sun, scanning the horizon for polar bears, with nothing but your own thoughts and the absolute silence of the glacier for company.
Dr. Girish Beedessee
We remember and honour the life of Dr. Girish Beedessee — a much-loved member of our Clean Planet Peninsula team.
Girish was part of both our Year 1 and Year 2 training, and brought so much to the group — deep curiosity, laughter, and a genuine passion for science and the natural world.
His sudden passing was felt deeply across our Foundation and all that knew him, and we are grateful to have been in a position to have been able to offer support to those closest to him.
Girish, your spirit of adventure, your ocean research, and the wisdom you shared with us — all of it remains part of this journey. Thank you for everything. 💙
Meet our Polar Researchers
What's next?
The Clean Planet Peninsula Project has completed its second year.
Next, our early-careerr polar scientists will have the opportunity to travel to the Arctic and Antarctic, where they will conduct groundbreaking research on microplastic pollution and its effects on polar ecosystems.
Clean Planet Foundation
Organiser & Lead Sponsor
The Clean Planet Foundation (CPF) educates and takes action for the sustainable use of plastics, and reduction of carbon emissions. A not-for-profit organisation.
We believe that everyone deserves better, and provide community funding, sponsorship, investments and initiate flagship projects to mitigate the impact of the plastic and climate crises across the UK and beyond.
The Clean Planet Foundation is part of the Clean Planet Group which also builds technologies and infrastructure to remove hard-to-recycle plastic waste from the environment, and convert it into circular products.
