Thirteen years ago, Ute came to New Zealand from Germany to learn to read write and speak English. At that time she could not have imagined, even in her wildest dreams, how much that decision would change her life. Nor could she have foreseen that one day she would inspire a number of young New Zealanders to take a real interest in Polar Science because of two subsequent decisions she made to travel to the Arctic and then the Antarctic in 2005 and 2006.
Through the wonders of modern communication systems, students at Te Aroha College where I was teaching, were able to follow the exciting scientific experiments and observations which Ute was involved in while on the icebreaker Healy in the Arctic in the northern summer of 2005. The special 'live' lesson from the North Pole was simply out of this world-certainly out of our world. What the communications team did that day was a famous first for New Zealand. Thank you Ute for your part in those inspiratioal lessons.
Most of the recent voyage to Antarcticia took place when our students were on their summer holidays. However, when we return to classes later this week I will be able to give interested students and teachers the information as to how they can see what Mrs Kaden was doing while working at the bottom of our planet.
Ernest Rutherford was one of the world's greatest scientists. Ute has been to his birthplace at Brightwater near Nelson, New Zealand and inspected the beautiful monument on the farm where he spent his early years. I know she was impressed and inspired by this and by the time she spent at the little school at Foxhill where Rutherford began his education.
I think Mrs Kaden and the TREC team may have already inspired a number of young New Zealanders to at least think about science from a new and exciting perspective.
Danke, gracias, thank you once again Ute. You should have been born a Kiwi.
Mike Cotter (New Zealand Teacher)