Airbnb wants to send you on a monthlong climate research expedition to Antarctica
Calling all environmentalists looking for an adventure — Airbnb wants to send you on an all-expenses-paid trip to Antarctica. Five lucky travelers will get the chance to work with researchers studying climate change this winter on the freezing continent.
Airbnb is partnering with the Ocean Conservancy for the trip to Antarctica this December with Kirstie Jones-Williams, an environmental scientist studying the impact of microplastics in Antarctica.
"I am looking for passionate individuals who are excited to partake in the work and return home eager to share our findings with the world," Jones-Williams said in a press release.
The company is calling the trip the Antarctic Sabbatical, "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to journey to the frozen frontier and help us better understand humans' environmental impact." But you don't need scientific expertise to apply — the only formal requirements are a love for adventure and a passion for preserving the environment.
The citizen scientists who participate will collect snow samples to aid in the study of how microplastics have affected the remote continent. Researchers will also be looking for pioneering solutions on how people around the world can protect the Earth from plastic pollution.
"The goal of the Antarctic Sabbatical is to bring greater awareness to humans' impact on the climate in one of the world's least understood and most isolated ecosystems," Airbnb said.
Training for the intense monthlong adventure starts in November in Chile, where the team will get to know each other and take courses to prepare for their research. Ten days will then be spent doing research in Antarctica, where you will also get to visit the South Pole and explore sites like Drake Icefall, Charles Peak Windscoop, and Elephant's Head.
"This expedition will be hard work, with scientific rigor required during unforgiving wintery conditions," said Jones-Williams. "We are looking for passionate individuals, with a sense of global citizenship, who are excited to be a part of the team and to return home and share our findings with the world."
The trip ends back in Chile, where you will study the data and learn how to spread the message of ocean conservation to a global audience. If successful, organizers say the findings could lead to policy change surrounding plastic and further research on protecting the planet.
If you are seriously interested in the trip, act fast — Airbnb's last sabbatical in Grottole, Italy received over 280,000 applicants last spring. You have until October 8 to apply and make your chilly dreams come true.