Teen Explorer On Journey Of Discovery, Climate Change Awareness In Antarctica!

Photo Credit: Students in Antarctica

Imagine getting to hike through ice tunnels and sleeping outside at -17°C! L’chelle Bester got to experience it all through a once-in-a-lifetime Antarctic expedition with four other amazing students from around Africa. The experience afforded the KZN teen the learning experience of the environment and the interconnectedness of climate change.

Antarctica (10 January 2025) – “Genuinely the most insane experience of my life!”. That is how L’chelle Bester best describes the amazing opportunity to join explorer Riaan Manser on the Students in Antarctica expedition in December.

Good Things Guy shared about her selection as one of five learners across Africa to travel and explore the icy continent and all its environmental significance.

We recently caught up with the eco-minded changemaker who shared all about the once-in-a-lifetime trip, which has greatly inspired her.

“The Antarctic landscapes were breathtaking, but the best part of the trip was who I got to share it with,” L’chelle shares.

“Getting to know the other four students selected (from Ghana, Tanzania, Italy and South Africa) was by far my favourite part. Our diverse backgrounds made for fascinating conversations and many laughs.”

The group travelled with ‘educators’ comprised of one of the top environmental lawyers in South Africa, a genetic scientist studying sub-Antarctic zoo-plankton, a decorated documentary filmmaker, an electrical engineer working on making Antarctica solar-powered, an Ichthyology expert who hunts down illegal fishing vessels, as well as Riaan Manser himself, the programme’s founder who has casually circumnavigated Africa on a bicycle.

“I learnt so much from each of them – each person had astronomical value to offer and left an indelible imprint on me,” recounts L’chelle.

The trip included several epic highlights, such as running a half marathon, hiking through ice tunnels, visiting an ice wall, and sleeping outside without tents in -17°C temperatures. The students also baked cupcakes, took cold plunges, and had plenty of snowball fights—truly an adventurer’s dream come true!

L’chelle’s biggest takeaway from the expedition has been the realisation of how complicated and interconnected climate change problems are.

“No problem can be solved in isolation – it’s all part of a system. In the same way in nature when you remove one small animal from the food chain everything is thrown out of proportion and ecosystems are drastically affected – trying to solve any part of the climate change problem has a knock-on effect on other issues.”

She illustrates how using paper straws rather than plastic straws reduces plastic consumption. However, this shift increases the demand for paper and contributes to deforestation, leading to higher CO2 emissions.

Looking forward, the Grade 12 Curro learner hopes to study Mechatronic Engineering after school to equip herself with the technical skills needed to turn project ideas into realities.

“I’m also really interested in the social justice and policymaking side of things, so I hope to do a post-graduate in law after my engineering.

“I think the intersection of the two fields – understanding the social and technical side of things will be what enables me to make a real change in whatever I decide to pursue long-term,” shares a very driven L’chelle.

Watch out, world; L’chelle is ready to make a difference!