“Lenticular Flow Clouds. Walking on sea ice shelves. Film crew cameras up close and personal. Stories shared from all over the world. Tales of women in leadership, women in science, women in activism, women who have faced adverse challenges in their lives, and in the journey to make it to Homeward Bound.”
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kate MacMaster is still pinching herself. The Yass social scientist has just returned from the other side of the world. In December, she joined 76 of the world’s top women scientists on the trip of a lifetime to the southern ice cap, on a mission bigger than science itself. Kate has only been home a few weeks and yet her voyage to Antarctica seems like a lifetime ago.
“We are all missing that beautiful place, with all of our being; it is a place that cannot be described with all the words in the English language; it is majestic and gigantic, and so tough and precious and fragile, it is filled with life in a place so inhospitable, it has secrets and stories,” Kate said.
The Homeward Bound 2016 project was the first year of a ten-year outreach initiative to build a 1,000 strong global collaboration of women in science who will, it is hoped, go on to shape a sustainable future – at home and away.
“What I have learned about Homeward Bound is that the name celebrates what women bring to the table that is different from, and deeply complementary to, what men bring,” Kate said.
“That Homeward Bound is a metaphor for the planet, and our responsibility for our ‘home’; a link to the care women bring to living spaces, a sense that home includes the whole planet...and we as leaders have a duty of care to care for the planet as home because we have no other. We know this in every action, small or large, that we all have capacity to help shape the world around us. Even in small country towns in NSW.”
Supporting scientific endeavours and supporting women in leadership in science has never been so important, according to Kate. In Antarctica, Kate found hope. Hope for the future and hope for the world.
“I am bound by these messages of hope, to keep on. Just to keep on with teaching my children, living to my values, remaining true to my purpose, enabling those around me to do the same and to care for our place. I suppose that’s where the power lies, in imagination, daring to think what kind of compassionate, ethical, and kind world might be possible if we became the majority. Movements have to start somewhere.”
Kate plans to kick start the movement in Yass by hosting a number of her fellow female scientists, and now friends, at The Workshop at Trader and Co this year. She will also give a free public talk and slide show there about her Homeward Bound journey on Thursday, February 9 from 6-7pm. Bookings to meet@traderandco.com.au are essential.
Kate stressed her participation in the groundbreaking project could not have been possible without the support of the Yass Valley community, including Yass Rotary and Yass Lions.
