Qaqortoq to Qaanaaq 2023

In April this year I will be heading off to Greenland to start what will be an almost 3000km solo kayak expedition up the west coast from the south to the north. I will be raising money for ClientEarth and MIO, a Greenlandic children's charity. 

On the way I will be taking microplastic samples of fish and sea mammals for pollution analysis. I will also be eating a purely traditional Greenlandic diet; I have a team of microbiologists who will be analysing my microbiome and the foods I eat to see what correlation the two have. This comes from my life as a chef - I am a passionate advocate of eating your environment, a common sensical, ancestral way of eating that flies in the face of the crazy global food system we currently have. I will be posting on social media most days (connection permitting) and will be talking about the effects of climate change in one of the most beautiful and remote parts of the world.

Any money I raise will go to two amazing charities - the first being ClientEarth - in a time when governments and big companies seem to be actively acting against the environment in favour of continual, unsustainable payouts for shareholders ClientEarth are beating them at their own game - using the law to actively prosecute for change and rollbacks of jawdroppingly poor policy changes that we're all getting increasingly fed up with. In their own words "We work in partnership across borders, systems and sectors. Our work focuses on changing the system – informing, implementing and enforcing the law, advising decision-makers on policy and training legal and judicial professionals. Because a future in which people and planet thrive together isn’t just possible: it’s essential."

And I really wanted to support a Greenland specific charity - and MIO are a great one - their Qamani project has done some brilliant work with youngsters facing mental health challenges. Greenland is such a fantastic country and the people unbelievably hospitable and proud - the kids I've had the good fortune to meet over the last few years are full of life and mischief and never fail to make you smile. But they face some huge challenges - not least being climate change and their national identity in the face of growing modern pressures and international interest in the arctic. Greenland is and will continue to be a poster child for the war against man made climate change, it's vital that the younger generation of Greenlanders are in a sound position from which to rise to the challenge. And for that to succeed they need a solid support network. MIO and Qamani are providing that.

"In MIO we believe that all children are important and all children should have the opportunity to know their rights.

All children have the right to a safe, secure and healthy upbringing. And they have the right to express their beliefs and convictions."