Considering himself a nature poet and with a geography degree Simon Armitage pledged to put the environment at the heart of his thinking when he became Poet Laureate in 2019. In this series he travels to the Arctic to see for himself what's going on in this part of the world which is so crucial to the climate change debate. He starts with a visit to a glacier

The Steindalsbreen glacier in the Lyngen Alps is over 10 000 years old. His guide is British biochemist Professor Jemma Wadham from UiT, the Arctic University of Norway. After a lifelong obsession with glaciers, Jemma has recently made the north of Norway her home. Her visits to the Arctic, and Svalbard in particular, began when she was studying for her PhD. Her regular study trips mean she has witnessed the changes that are happening here due to climate change and warming for herself. In the Arctic and Antarctic these changes are happening four times faster than the rest of the planet.

As well as experiencing the Arctic for himself and seeing first hand what's happening, Simon tries to capture the majesty and vulnerability of the place in new poems written in response to what he finds .

Producer - Susan Roberts Show less