Antarctic Flag Fame for Zuzanna!
Congratulations to Zuzanna in Year 8 whose Antarctic Flag design was selected to travel to the Antarctic on the RRS Sir David Attenborough.
The UK Polar Network host an Antarctic Flags Project each year as a celebration of Antarctic Day, which marks the signing of the Antarctic Treaty on 1st December 1959. This document declared that Antarctica would be off limits to military activity and setting it aside as a place for peace and scientific discoveries. Since 2010, Antarctic Day has been celebrated each year to mark this milestone of peace and to inspire future decisions.
Students were given free reign to design their flags, taking into account the flora, fauna and landscape of Antarctica as well as the flags of the countries which have signed the Antarctic Treaty. It was clear that students of all ages put a lot of thought into their flags and they had an incredible range of beautiful designs using a range of mediums.
The flags were taken on board RRS Sir David Attenborough and Polar Stern and to a range of Antarctic research stations including Rothera, Halley and King Edward Point. The volunteers who helped to display our flags hailed from the British Antarctic Stern, The Alfred Wegener Institute and Oregon State University.
Zuzanna's flag was selected and travelled to Antarctica with Theresa Gossman, a lab manager with the British Antarctic Survey. She travelled to Antarctica on the RRS Sir David Attenborough. The photograph of Theresa holding Zuzanna's flag was taken in the Lemaire Channel along the West Antarctic Peninsular. Fiona Sheriff and Anona Griffiths from the Antarctic Flags Team 2023 said; 'Thank you so much for sending your beautiful artwork to us so that we could send it to Antarctica.'
Congratulations Zuzanna!