Meet the Team – Michael

The staff that make up the Polar Latitudes expedition and home teams are much more than a team – we are a tight-knit family. Most of us voyage together year after year, sharing a deep love for Antarctica. We take immense pleasure in making sure your trip is one you’ll never forget, and are proud of how highly experienced and synced to our guests’ needs each staff member is.

Here’s a chance to get to know some of the members of our amazing team a little bit better.

Michael Jackson, Naturalist/Geologist

Where are you from? Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

What is your background/education/field of study? I have my MA in Natural Sciences – Applied Biology from Cambridge, MEDes in Environmental Science from the University of Calgary, High School Science teacher (retired after 3 years) for geology, environmental science, and physics.

How did you first get interested in Antarctica? I have worked off and on as a Naturalist (Galapagos and elsewhere) for over 40 years and was always hoping to get to Antarctica – I had heard about the abundant and fearless wildlife.

What’s your favorite thing about Antarctica? The amazing wildlife and scenery.

What is your favorite Antarctic animal? I don’t have just one – I love all the penguins, whales and seals

Tell us about your job! As part of the expedition team, I get to take guests out on excursions on foot and in zodiacs through some of the most amazing places on the planet.

What do you love about your job? Sharing my love and knowledge of the natural world and how it works.

What are your favorite hobbies? Photography, technology, and Sea Kayaking

How do you explore? I do a lot of sea kayaking. I try to get out once or twice a week and have a goal of 500-1000 km a year and 50-100 paddles. I have maintained a blog of my sea kayak trips for the past 15 years. I love the closeness with nature and the ocean, the exercise, the challenge (kayaking can be quite exciting if conditions are right!) the company (kayaking allows one to chat) and how it allows me to see places most people can’t.

What was one thing you learned while in isolation during COVID? I learned to identify many more birds by sound. I also got to know my local marine birds much better.

If you could go to Antarctica with anyone, who would it be? My wife or one of my daughters

What is an achievement you are proud of? I wrote a guidebook to the natural history of the Galapagos Islands 35 years ago and it has been selling steadily ever since. The Galapagos were my gateway into natural history work which has been a passion of mine ever since. I just returned from a 6-week debris cleanup expedition on the BC coast. As a team, we collected over 210 tonnes of plastic debris. I was an Assistant Expedition Leader for this venture and was responsible for organizing the data about what we collected.