Peter's annual migration to Antarctica began in 1980 to monitor Adélie penguin populations in the Ross Sea. After 25 summers on the ice, he is a passionate advocate for the preservation of this remarkable marine ecosystem. Peter brings a wealth of scientific knowledge and experience to The Last Ocean Charitable Trust.
Michael Sidey
Michael traveled to Antarctica on the icebreaker Kapitan Klebnekov in 2006. His experiences on the Ross Sea and surrounds influenced his understanding of the unique environment. He is deputy chairman of Forsyth Barr Limited, chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, director of the Academy of Sport South Island, and a trustee of The Halberg Trust and the St Andrew's College Foundation.
David Barker
Antarctica has been an integral part of David's life since his father managed Scott Base for the DSIR in the 1970s. Now it is his turn to be involved with this pristine part of the world. David is a chartered accountant in public practice and a trustee of a number of investment and charitable trusts, including the Orana Park Trust Board and the Board of Christ's College.
Founders of the Last Ocean Project
Dr. David Ainley, Scientific Adviser
Dr. Ainley has been studying Ross Sea ecology for over 30 years, and was one of the first scientists to push for Ross Sea conservation measures. David established FORSE (Friends of the Ross Sea Ecosystem) in 2001 after he and 30 plus of his scientific colleagues became concerned about the affects of commercial fishing in the Ross Sea.
David is internationally recognized for his extensive research experience and has published nearly 175 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, as well as four books and seven monographs. He has created and managed a number of projects.
John Weller, Last Ocean founder and conservation photographer
John Weller is a nature photographer and writer based in Boulder, Colorado. He started working on The Last Ocean with David Ainley in 2004 and was recently awarded a 2009 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, which will support further development of the project.
Weller trained in economics and philosophy at Stanford University, and has been photographing professionally since 1999. His first book, Great Sand Dunes National Park: Between Light and Shadow, was published in 2004. He has had more than 20 photography exhibitions since 1999, and his work has been published in magazines including Outdoor Photographer, American Photo, Rangefinder Magazine, and National Geographic.
Peter Young, Last Ocean Charitable Trust Founder
Peter Young has been working on The Last Ocean since 2006 and spearheaded the founding of The Last Ocean Charitable Trust in New Zealand. Peter is one of New Zealand's leading documentary filmmakers with a strong background in natural history, wildlife, and arts documentaries.
He has worked for most of the major players in the documentary field, including National Geographic, Discovery, BBC and Television New Zealand. He has credits in over a hundred documentaries filmed in New Zealand and around the world and has won many awards for both his camera and producing work. He is currently working on a Last Ocean feature documentary.
Team
Cassandra Brooks, Last Ocean USA Coordinator
Cassandra has worked in marine science and public outreach for more than a decade. Her writing and research focuses on marine resource exploitation worldwide, from local New England Rivers to the remote reaches of Antarctica.
During her graduate work at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Cassandra studied the life history of the Antarctic toothfish. She's worked in the lab, underwater, and at sea and has presented her work at conferences both nationally and internationally. Cassandra is a recent graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz Science Communication Program. She contributed a lot of the content to this site.