About the event

Al Wilson and Ros Green will talk about two trips they've made to the Antarctic Peninsula, drone surveying penguin colonies for Oceanites' annual monitoring programme. Their trip in 2023/24 with the Royal Navy on HMS Protector  surveyed some of the less often visited colonies around the Peninsula, while their 2024/25 trip on the cruise ship Ocean Endeavour visited the more easily accessible penguin colonies. Al and Ros will cover the differences between the two trips, show lots of pictures collected from the surveys, and share some of their exciting adventure stories.

Al (Alastair) is a Conservation Officer for Natural Resources Wales in Powys these days, but in a previous life he was an Antarctic seabird biologist working for the British Antarctic survey for four years on South Georgia. He has a deep family history in Antarctica as he is the great, great nephew of Edward Wilson, who travelled alongside Scott of the Antarctic, as a scientist, doctor and expedition artist. Meanwhile Ros is a part-time Research Ecologist for the British Trust for Ornithology, and PhD student studying Shelduck migration in relation to offshore wind farms at the University of Liverpool. She's studied seabirds for over a decade around Wales, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and now also in the Antarctic.

Everyone is welcome, and the entrance fee of £3 includes the talk (free for under 18s), light refreshments, and the opportunity to chat with like-minded folk and the speakers themselves.  We usually have a raffle, so please bring a prize if you are able to (£1 per ticket). We look forward to seeing you there!