Greatest Classroom on Earth - A Students on Ice Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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Greatest Classroom on Earth - A Students on Ice Podcast

Students on Ice Foundation

Science

Society & Culture

Science

Frequency: 1 episode/28d. Total Eps: 12

Students on Ice founder and expedition leader Geoff Green in conversation with SOI alumni about how their polar youth expeditions inspired their lives and careers.

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🇨🇦 Canada - nature
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#70
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Welcome to the Greatest Classroom on Earth - Celebrating 25 Years of Students on Ice

Season 1 · Episode 1

Friday, January 10, 2025 • Duration 03:00

Welcome to The Greatest Classroom on Earth — the Students on Ice podcast celebrating 25 years of inspiring educational expeditions to the Polar regions hosted by SOI founder and expedition leader Geoff Green.

In 1999, an idea was born. Imagine if we could bring youth to the Arctic and the Antarctic, the two cornerstones of the global ecosystem, and how that experience at the beginning of their lives might help to shape their perspectives and define their futures.

Incredibly, in December of 2000, Students on Ice made our maiden voyage, bringing a group of 50 youth on a journey to Antarctica. And the rest is history!

It’s hard to believe that Students on Ice is now in its twenty-fifth year!

Since that first expedition, we’ve taken more than 4,000 students on expeditions, together with teams of educators, elders, artists, researchers and leaders from over 55 countries!

Our mission to connect youth to nature, culture, and to themselves has remained steady in this changing world.

We now have a global network of alumni doing incredible things.

The Greatest Classroom on Earth podcast is part of a year-long celebration of Students on Ice.

A chance to reflect on the experiences, connections, and impacts, through conversations with the people who were there… getting their stories, in their own words.

New episodes drop the 3rd Monday of every month throughout 2025.

You can find ‘The Greatest Classroom on Earth’ wherever you listen to podcasts.

We hope you’ll join us on this journey!

To learn more about Students on Ice visit us at soifoundation.org and studentsonice.com

Greatest Classroom is produced by David McGuffin of Explore Productions.

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Episode 1: "The Compass Points South" with Explorers Club vice-president Trevor Wallace

Season 1 · Episode 1

Monday, January 20, 2025 • Duration 52:35

Trevor took part in the Students on Ice 2009 Antarctic Expedition as a teenager and has gone on to do amazing things. He is an award-winning artist, explorer, archaeologist, filmmaker, and currently the Vice President for Education and Research with The Explorer’s Club. In 2018, Trevor received the New Explorer of the Year Award from the Explorers Club. His work has been featured in National Geographic, the New York Times and GQ.

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Episode 2: Peace, Awe, and Wonder at the Poles with Malaika Vaz

Season 1 · Episode 2

Monday, February 17, 2025 • Duration 43:17

Malaika Vaz took part in Antarctic and Arctic expeditions with Students on Ice as a teenager, back in 2011 and 2012. She has since gone on to do amazing things. From Goa, India, Malaika, along with being a National Geographic Explorer, is a TV presenter,

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Episode 3: Bridging the North - Michael Milton's Ikaarvik Journey

Season 1 · Episode 3

Tuesday, March 18, 2025 • Duration 51:07

Michael Milton is an Inuit youth advocate working with Ikaarvik in Pond Inlet, NU. He took part as a 16 year-old on the Students on Ice Arctic expedition in 2012.

Episode 4: From the Arctic to the World - Abhay Singh Sachal's Advocacy Journey

Friday, April 18, 2025 • Duration 44:27

"I still remember the pin drop silence and hearing the ice melting; millions of drops of the purest water on the planet going into the freshest body of water that exists."

In this fourth episode of Greatest Classroom on Earth, host Geoff Green sits down with Abhay Singh Sachal, who took part in the 2016 Students On Ice Arctic expedition. Now a climate activist and co-founder of Break the Divide, Abhay speaks about his journey from a student in Surrey, BC, to an award-winning environmental leader who fosters international dialogue about climate change and mental health. He emphasizes the importance of connection, emotional resilience, and intergenerational cooperation in tackling climate challenges and building sustainable communities. The episode underscores the transformative impact of Students on Ice expeditions and the ongoing efforts of its alumni to promote climate justice and community building.

Abhay Singh Sachal is the co-founder of Break the Divide, a nonprofit organization that bridges gaps between youth in different communities, particularly Indigenous and non-Indigenous. His work resides at the intersection of climate change, eco-anxiety, mental health, and spirituality. He has been recognized as one of the top 25 under 25 environmentalists in Canada. Abhay is also one of ten Youth Council Advisors at Environment and Climate Change Canada. He is completing a master's degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Regina.

Music featured in this episode includes our opening theme, "Lancaster Sound" by Sarah Harmer, "Spirits" by Tim Harper, and "Breathe In" by Ian Tamblyn and Shawna Dicker. The last two songs were composed and recorded on the 2016 SOI Arctic expedition.

00:00 Introduction

00:47 Meet Abhay Singh Sachel

03:01 Abhay's Early Life and Influences

06:19 Journey to the Arctic

08:45 Experiences and Reflections in the Arctic

Episode 5: Leading from the North - Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell on Youth, Mentorship, and Arctic Advocacy

Sunday, May 18, 2025 • Duration 01:10:49

In this episode of Greatest Classroom on Earth, Students on Ice founder Geoff Green sits down with Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell, a trailblazing Inuit leader and former Member of Parliament. Senator Karetak-Lindell reflects on her journey from Arviat, Nunavut to the Senate of Canada, sharing insights on community leadership, Indigenous representation, the challenges and hopes for Inuit youth, and her participation in the 2017 Students on Ice Arctic expedition.

Together, they explore her childhood growing up on the shores of Hudson's Bay, the impact of residential schools, views on the power of mentorship, and the role of traditional knowledge in shaping Inuit lives and policy. Senator Karetak-Lindell speaks candidly about the value of Inuit being heard in political spaces and the strength of cultural identity.

Along with our theme song by Sarah Harmer, this episode also features music recorded on the 2017 SOI Arctic Expedition by Juno award winner Ian Tamblyn, and accompanied by two more SOI alumni, James Raffan and Andrew Bresnahan.

Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell is an Inuk leader from Arviat, Nunavut. In 1997, she became the first female Member of Parliament for the Eastern Arctic, serving until 2008. She later led the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada and has held many leadership roles advocating for Inuit rights. Appointed to the Senate in 2024, she continues to champion issues such as housing, language, and northern equity. She is also a recipient of the Order of Canada.

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Episode 6: Pioneering Polar Architecture with Justin Sargenti

Monday, June 16, 2025 • Duration 25:24

In this episode of 'The Greatest Classroom on Earth,' host Geoff Green, founder of Students on Ice, talks with Justin Sargenti, an alum of the 2015 Arctic Expedition and a PhD student in architecture, with a focus on polar and extreme environments.

Geoff and Justin talk about that SOI journey to Greenland and the Northwest Passage and how it inspired Justin to focus his architecture studies on developing eco-friendly buildings in hostile environments. Their discussion covers how Justin earned a spot on that 2015 expedition after winning a photo contest in Monaco sponsored by Prince Albert II, and his subsequent expeditions to study several international research stations in the Antarctic. They highlight the negative environmental impacts that many of these scientific bases have and the importance of sustainable design. Justin shares his mission to inspire the development of a more environmentally-conscious approach in polar research facilities.

Our theme song is Lancaster Sound by Juno award-winning musician and SOI Alum, Sarah Harmer.

Greatest Classroom on Earth is produced by David McGuffin of ExploreProductions.ca

00:00 Introduction: The Generation of Today

00:42 Meet Justin Sargenti: From SOI Alumni to PhD Student

01:20 The Birth of Students on Ice

02:03 Reflecting on 25 Years of SOI Expeditions

02:52 Justin's Journey: From Contest Winner to Arctic Explorer

06:53 The Impact of SOI: Personal and Professional Growth

10:22 Current Challenges and Future Aspirations

11:50 Innovations in Polar Architecture

14:28 The Environmental Impact of Antarctic Stations

19:37 The Role of Youth in Global Environmental Leadership

Episode 7: Exploring Arctic Biodiversity with Roger Bull

Tuesday, July 29, 2025 • Duration 30:34

"We're really in the trenches every day understanding that we're in a biodiversity crisis." - Roger Bull, Canadian Museum of Nature.

In our latest episode of the Greatest Classroom on Earth podcast, Geoff Green interviews Roger Bull, Head of Operations for the National Biodiversity Cryobank of Canada and the Laboratory of Molecular Biodiversity at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Recorded on board the Polar Prince as it headed up towards Northern Labrador on the Innu Nation Uinipekᵁ expedition. Roger shares his background, growing up in Halifax and Southern Alberta as the son of a Parks Canada superintendent, to his two decades as a biologist and Arctic researcher at the Canadian Museum of Nature. They delve into his extensive involvement with Students on Ice expeditions, on-board ships going back to 2014, his work with the Cryobank, the importance of biodiversity, and the challenges and hopes for conservation. The conversation highlights the significance of experiential education and engaging with Indigenous communities in Arctic research.

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Episode 9: Bursting the Bubble - How One Journey Sparked a Lifetime of Climate Action with Seabound's Alisha Fredriksson

Monday, September 15, 2025 • Duration 35:40

“The only thing we can really do is try. We don’t know if and how all of our actions will amount to some sort of global solution, but we certainly need to try.”

– Alisha Fredriksson, Seabound

What happens when a teenager ventures to the remotest continent on the planet and into one of Earth’s most fragile ecosystems? For Alisha Fredriksson, a life-changing expedition to Antarctica with Students on Ice didn’t just open her eyes to the beauty and vulnerability of our planet — it set her on a path to reimagine the future of one of the world’s most polluting industries.

In this episode, host and Students on Ice Founder Geoff Green sits down with Alisha, now the co-founder and CEO of Seabound, a London-based climate tech company developing cutting-edge onboard carbon capture systems for ships.

Alisha reflects on how the untouched landscapes of Antarctica and the mentorship she received on the expedition shattered her teenage “bubble” and sparked a sense of purpose. That experience fueled her drive to tackle global problems, eventually leading to the creation of Seaound, which is on a mission to decarbonize the shipping industry — responsible for nearly 3% of global CO₂ emissions, equivalent to the entire country of Germany.

Together, Geoff and Alisha trace the journey from seasick first days in the Drake Passage, to the awe of standing in an untouched frozen wilderness, to the welding floors of Seabound’s London workshop, where a new generation of carbon capture solutions is being built. This episode is a testament to how experiential education and early moments of inspiration can ripple outward to create lasting, global impact.

Alisha Fredriksson is the co-founder and CEO of Seabound, a climate tech startup committed to reducing global shipping emissions through onboard carbon capture technology. Her work focuses on developing modular systems that trap CO₂ directly from a ship’s exhaust, preventing it from entering the atmosphere.

Episode 8: From Antarctica to Galaxies Far, Far, Away with Irene Shivaei

Monday, August 18, 2025 • Duration 39:06

In this episode, host Geoff Green, founder and expedition leader of Students on Ice, interviews Irene Shivaei, one of the world's leading astrophysicists. She took part in the SOI 2007 Antarctic Expedition as an eighteen-year-old student. Irene recounts her journey from growing up in Tehran with a passion for astronomy to becoming a leading researcher on the formation and evolution of distant galaxies. As they discuss the 2007 Antarctic expedition, Irene shares a pivotal moment: her first encounter with icebergs, which profoundly deepened her love for Earth. Irene describes the magical experience of seeing the icebergs up close and the inspiration she drew from that moment and how her joy also inspired musician Ian Tamblyn to write a song about it, Thrill To My Heart. Geoff and Irene also reflect on the spirit of exploration, the impact of the Students on Ice program, and the importance of youth connecting across borders. They discuss Irene's subsequent academic and professional achievements, including her work with the NASA James Webb Space Telescope and her current project, Distant Dust. Irene emphasizes the educational value of science, her hopes for future generations, and her enduring connection to her Iranian roots.

You can see the official SOI video of that 2007 Antarctic expedition, including Irene's first encounter with icebergs and Ian Tamblyn's song here.

And here are Ian's lyrics to Thrill To My Heart - Irene's Song.

Thrill to My Heart

Thrill to my heart when I hear your laughter

Thrill to my heart when I see you smile

And it moves man to see your rapture

And it moves me – right to my soul.

Thrill to my heart to see you dancing

Thrill to my heart to see you spinning around

Greatest Classroom on Earth - A Students on Ice Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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Greatest Classroom on Earth - A Students on Ice Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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Spotify

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