Airbnb’s Second Sabbatical Program: Antarctica

In November and December, five winners of an Airbnb contest will head to Antarctica for a month-long sabbatical with Ocean Conservancy.

After receiving nearly 300,000 applications for its summer 2019 sabbatical program in Grottole, Italy, Airbnb decided to continue the program, this time in a destination a little bit harder (and more expensive) to reach.

This month, the five winners will fly to Antarctica to join scientist Kristie Jones-Williams. A scientific background is not required. The five volunteers will collect snow samples and learning about the presence of microplastics in the central areas of Antarctica in hopes of bringing awareness to the dangers of plastic material, even in one of the most remote places on the planet.

The five participants will spend two weeks in Chile during which they will receive training in glaciology, field sampling, equipment and lab work. Then they will fly to Antarctica for their 10-day mission. Along with collecting snow samples and analyzing them for foreign microfibers, the participants also will be able to visit the South Pole, the Drake Icefall and the Charles Peak Windscoop.

The final week of the excursion will be spent back in Chile where they will analyze what they collected and work with Ocean Conservancy to spread the word about the effects of plastics on the planet.