PENGUIN WATCH / SEABIRD WATCH
SOUTH GEORGIA HERITAGE TRUST In 2025 year, guest auction contributions again supported the work of the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands biosecurity dog team. Specially trained detector dogs and handlers inspect vessels and cargo traveling to South Georgia to prevent rodents from reaching the island. After decades of effort, South Georgia is now rodent-free, and maintaining that status is vital for native bird recovery. In 2024/25, the team searched about 50 ships, added two handlers, and overcame challenges, including a temporary dog injury. Auction funds help ensure program continuity and strengthen long-term biosecurity capacity.
For more than 15 years, Quark Expeditions and its guests have helped transform Penguin Watch — and now Seabird Watch — from a single researcher’s project into an international conservation program supported by full time staff and dedicated volunteers. Together, they collect high value data from more than 100 monitoring sites across the Southern Ocean, the Arctic, and beyond. Guest support has been essential in expanding global seabird tracking and enabling the long term, cost effective datasets scientists depend on. In 2025, guest driven funding sustained a key staff role that coordinates field operations and converts research into conservation action. Support also provided cameras, drones, and field gear across the Antarctic Peninsula, while bringing in collaborators using satellite tracking and automated nest analysis to accelerate research and strengthen policy impact.
Visit SGHT.org
UK ANTARCTIC HERITAGE TRUST The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust helps people understand Antarctica through education, research and the care of historic sites linked to early science and exploration. Its work spans eight Historic Sites and Monuments across the Antarctic Peninsula, including the shipwreck of Shackleton’s Endurance . In 2025, guest auction funding supported conservation work at the remote Blaiklock Island Refuge, a historic sledging hut used by early scientists. Accessing and repairing the site required weeks of work by specialist carpenters and an artefact conservator. For a small charity operating in Antarctica, this support directly enables conservation work each season.
Visit PenguinWatch.org and SeaBirdWatch.org
Visit UKAHT.org
Photos: David Merron
20 | For more information, contact Quark Expeditions at Sustainability@QuarkExpeditions.com
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