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[ STORY 03 ] LIFE LESSONS
FROM THE
FROZEN NORTH LIFE LESSONS
FROM THE
FROZEN NORTH

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

Filmmaker, polar expert,
environmentalist, polar bear authority Filmmaker, polar expert,
environmentalist, polar bear authority

DISCOVER

LAT.LNG： 78°13'N 15°33'E

[ CEST:UTC+02:00 | LYR-ENSB ]

earth

[ INTRODUCTION ] [ INTRODUCTION ]

LIFE LESSONSFROM THEFROZEN NORTHLIFE LESSONSFROMTHE FROZENNORTHLIFE LESSONSFROM THEFROZEN NORTH

Svalbard,
Norway
Longyearbyen

A remote icy archipelago located midway between Norway and the North Pole, Svalbard is home to burgeoning populations of whales, polar bears and reindeer—but this pristine wilderness is also warming at seven times the speed of the rest of the planet. Jason Roberts, an Australian film-services entrepreneur based there, tells us what he has observed over three decades living and working on the climate change front lines.

Norway Norway

Svalbard

Svalbard

Longyearbyen

THE
MOVIE THE MOVIE

movie

THE MOVIE THE MOVIE

[ STORY 03 ] [ STORY 03 ] LIFE LESSONS
FROM THE FROZEN NORTH

“WE’RE OFTEN ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE AND ALWAYS PUSHING THE LIMITS.” “WE’RE OFTEN ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE AND ALWAYS PUSHING THE LIMITS.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“WE’RE OFTEN ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE AND ALWAYS PUSHING THE LIMITS.” “WE’RE OFTEN ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE AND ALWAYS PUSHING THE LIMITS.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“WE’RE OFTEN ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE AND ALWAYS PUSHING THE LIMITS.”

For anyone who loves outdoor adventure, Jason Roberts may just have the dream job. PolarX, his Svalbard-based company, provides logistical support and services to documentary and feature film crews creating content in harsh polar environments. Jason’s CV extends from the seminal BBC series Blue Planet (2001) and Frozen Planet (2011) through to blockbuster Hollywood action franchises. The job, however, is by no means all film-star glamour, with everyday challenges that include frostbite, inquisitive polar bears and long separation from family and friends. “We’re often working in terrible conditions. The longest wildlife filming expedition I’ve ever done was seven and a half months in a tent, and the coldest day was minus 58 Celsius!” Jason says.

While the nature documentary crews Jason works with are reasonably accustomed to these brutal conditions, it’s a different story with Hollywood film crews, especially in winter. “They’re stepping off planet Earth onto Mars; they may even be scared. Filming in these environments is much more about logistics and the safety of the crew than in traditional locations. We’re on the edge of existence and pushing the limits, so experience really matters! What we do at PolarX can’t be learned in a classroom,” Jason says. Nonetheless, the experience of the polar regions can be life-changing, with film crews returning home as “ambassadors for the wilderness” equipped with a new awe and appreciation of nature.

“WE’RE OFTEN ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE AND ALWAYS PUSHING THE LIMITS.”

“SHOWING THE NATURAL WORLD IN ITS RAW FORM, ESPECIALLY TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION, IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.” “SHOWING THE NATURAL WORLD IN ITS RAW FORM, ESPECIALLY TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION, IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“SHOWING THE NATURAL WORLD IN ITS RAW FORM, ESPECIALLY TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION, IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.” “SHOWING THE NATURAL WORLD IN ITS RAW FORM, ESPECIALLY TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION, IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“SHOWING THE NATURAL WORLD IN ITS RAW FORM, ESPECIALLY TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION, IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.”

Although Jason’s original motivation for setting up PolarX was to give himself an excuse to go on exciting expeditions, over time he has come to see the messages conveyed by the films and documentaries he helps produce as the key element of his work. “The human race is becoming more and more removed from the natural world, which is dangerous. Showing the natural world in its raw form, especially to the younger generation, feels more important than ever,” he says.

And Svalbard is about as raw as nature gets: More than half of its area is covered by glaciers and well under a tenth by vegetation. There are mountains of up to 1,700 metres and a human population numbering just 2,500, nearly all concentrated in the single port town of Longyearbyen. “The first time I experienced the raw beauty of Svalbard, it stopped me in my tracks. To me, it will always be the breathtaking wilderness, the extremity of survival and the natural environment on your doorstep,” Jason says.

“SHOWING THE NATURAL WORLD IN ITS RAW FORM, ESPECIALLY TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION, IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.”

“THE MIDNIGHT SUN IS A BEAUTIFUL PHENOMENON THAT’S SPECIAL TO THE POLAR REGIONS.” “THE MIDNIGHT SUN IS A BEAUTIFUL PHENOMENON THAT’S SPECIAL TO THE POLAR REGIONS.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“THE MIDNIGHT SUN IS A BEAUTIFUL PHENOMENON THAT’S SPECIAL TO THE POLAR REGIONS.” “THE MIDNIGHT SUN IS A BEAUTIFUL PHENOMENON THAT’S SPECIAL TO THE POLAR REGIONS.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“THE MIDNIGHT SUN IS A BEAUTIFUL PHENOMENON THAT’S SPECIAL TO THE POLAR REGIONS.”

One reason tourists flock to Svalbard is to see the famous midnight sun, the “nightless nights” between April and August when the sun never sets. “On Svalbard we're the closest population to the North Pole so we have the midnight Sun for five whole months. It’s a beautiful phenomenon special to the polar regions,” says Jason, who famously uses the long days for marathon wildlife filming sessions. The transition periods between the midnight sun of summer and endless darkness of winter are actually his favourite times of year because of the amazing lighting effects on display. “It's hard to describe if you haven't seen them,” he explains.

“Often when the sun’s hitting to the north, you'll have pink skies in the south, while in the north there’ll be a blue like nothing you’ve ever seen.” Helicopters and planes are a big part of Jason’s life, whether transporting crews and their equipment to remote locations, filming wildlife from the air for documentaries or filming aerial stunts for features. Jason himself started going up in gliders at 13 and first flew solo at 15. “Ever since I watched the local gliding club aircraft soaring above the fields from the back of my father’s pick-up truck, my childhood was filled with dreams of flight. I love that feeling of flying alone,” he says.

“FROM ABOVE, YOU EXPERIENCE THE VASTNESS, THE INFINITY, THE ENDLESSNESS OF THE POLAR REGIONS.” “FROM ABOVE, YOU EXPERIENCE THE VASTNESS, THE INFINITY, THE ENDLESSNESS OF THE POLAR REGIONS.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“FROM ABOVE, YOU EXPERIENCE THE VASTNESS, THE INFINITY, THE ENDLESSNESS OF THE POLAR REGIONS.” “FROM ABOVE, YOU EXPERIENCE THE VASTNESS, THE INFINITY, THE ENDLESSNESS OF THE POLAR REGIONS.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“FROM ABOVE, YOU EXPERIENCE THE VASTNESS, THE INFINITY, THE ENDLESSNESS OF THE POLAR REGIONS.”

Flying affords Jason a privileged view of the polar regions that few others get to see. “Svalbard from the air is majestic, massive, other-worldly. A true untouched wilderness of glaciers and mountains, frozen in time. It’s hard to describe the sheer beauty of the ice caps and endless peaked mountains. From above, you really experience the vastness, the infinity of the polar regions,” he says. But flying also gives Jason a front-row seat on the impacts of global warming and he is shocked by the sight of the body mass of Svalbard’s 2,100 glaciers shrinking away.

A plane is also a good vantage point from which to appreciate the archipelago’s abundant wildlife. From the 16th century, Svalbard was always a place where humans went to exploit nature’s bounty, whether hunting whales, polar bears, seals, walruses or reindeer. Now, thanks to warming-induced mosses and vegetation, the reindeer population is booming. So is the polar bear population, which has risen to around 3,000 animals since protections were introduced in 1973. Encouraging though this may sound, the sustainability of the situation is unclear: Ocean warming is causing a shrinkage in the area of the sea ice where the bears hunt and also threatening the phytoplankton at the bottom of their food chain.

“FROM ABOVE, YOU EXPERIENCE THE VASTNESS, THE INFINITY, THE ENDLESSNESS OF THE POLAR REGIONS.”

“THE ACTIONS OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON COUNT. WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET CALLED EARTH.” “THE ACTIONS OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON COUNT.WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET CALLED EARTH.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“THE ACTIONS OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON COUNT. WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET CALLED EARTH.” “THE ACTIONS OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON COUNT.WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET CALLED EARTH.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“THE ACTIONS OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON COUNT. WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET CALLED EARTH.”

Humans have concerns about the sustainability of their own food supply too. The Global Seed Vault—aka the “Doomsday” vault—which opened on Svalbard in 2008, is designed to guarantee humanity’s food security in the event of local wars or global apocalypse by storing seeds of 1.3 million crop varieties in the permafrost deep inside a mountain. On a less grand scale, Jason is taking direct steps to protect Svalbard and give back to the polar regions. For the last few years, he has been organising a clean-up of marine plastics, mostly from fisheries, that have washed up on Svalbard and are getting into the food chain as microplastics. He is very passionate about cleaning up Svalbard, he says, because it’s his back garden.

In fact, this idea of people taking personal responsibility for their immediate environment, wherever they live, is at the core of Jason’s philosophy. “You should respect your local wilderness, even if it’s just your back garden or your local park. Learning to appreciate the wilderness is part of our existence. The actions of every single person count. We only have one planet called Earth,” he says by way of signing off.

“THE ACTIONS OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON COUNT. WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET CALLED EARTH.”

“THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED THE RAW BEAUTY OF SVALBARD, IT STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS.” “THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED THE RAW BEAUTY OF SVALBARD, IT STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED THE RAW BEAUTY OF SVALBARD, IT STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS.” “THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED THE RAW BEAUTY OF SVALBARD, IT STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS.”

JASON ROBERTS JASON ROBERTS

“THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED THE RAW BEAUTY OF SVALBARD, IT STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS.”

INTERVIEW WITH

  • JASON ROBERTS

    Filmmaker, polar expert, environmentalist, polar bear authority

    PROFILE
    JASON ROBERTS

    JASON
    ROBERTS     JASON
    ROBERTS

    Filmmaker, polar expert,
    environmentalist, polar bear authority

    Jason Roberts is an award-winning filmmaker, polar expert and environmentalist, as well as a world leading authority on polar bears. He has devoted his life to the Arctic and Antarctic, working on the production of natural history documentaries, Hollywood feature films and landmark drama series. Prior to filmmaking, he worked for research institutes doing field studies on projects on the polar regions. Through his passion for the poles, he has helped yachtsmen, artists and explorers to achieve their goals. It is Jason’s hope that natural history programmes, art and exploration will inspire younger generations to protect the planet’s natural environment.

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