Geoff Green

Profile

Geoff Green is one of North America’s most passionate and inspiring speakers on the topics of Education, Environment, the Polar Regions and Adventure.

Adventurer, social entrepreneur and environmental educator Geoff Green has been leading expeditions and adventures from Pole to Pole for the past two decades, and inspiring thousands around the world with his passion for the awe and wonder of Planet Earth. 

Outpost Magazine called Geoff Green one of the Top six Canadian Explorers to follow in 2004. 

In 2005, Geoff received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the U.S. Congress for his work with youth and the environment. He was also voted one of Canada’s "Top 40 under 40" - an annual national prize event saluting Canada's top young leaders.  Outpost Magazine chose Geoff as one of the “Top 5 Canadian Explorers” to watch.  In 2007, Geoff was awarded the Citation of Merit for outstanding feats of exploration and service by the prestigious Explorers Club in New York City.  Most recently, he was honoured by the Inuit when he was given the Inuktitut name “Pitsiulak” by the Commission of Nunavut Ann Hanson at a naming ceremony in the Nunavut Legislature in Iqaluit. “Pitsiulak” is Inuktitut for Black Guillemot – an Arctic seabird which travels to the Arctic each summer and is revered by the Inuit.  In a March 20, 2004 Globe and Mail story, they called Geoff the man who has “revolutionized Polar and environmental education.” 

Geoff is the founder and executive director of the Students on Ice Expeditions, an award-winning educational program that has taken over 1,500 students, teachers and scientists from around the world on expeditions to both the Arctic and the Antarctic since 1999. The goal of the pioneering project is to give the world’s youth a heightened understanding and respect for our planet’s global ecosystem, and the inspiration to protect it.  

In 2003, Geoff was awarded the prestigious Michael J. Smith Award for Science Promotion, an annual award presented by the Canadian Government for an outstanding contribution to the promotion of science, through activities encouraging popular interest in science or developing science abilities.

As an expedition leader, he is a veteran of 76 Antarctic expeditions and 32 Arctic expeditions. He has been spotted in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, on horseback in Patagonia, on the shores of Pitcairn Island, and in the rainforests of Madagascar.  A former school teacher, Geoff has skippered yachts; taught skiing in the Swiss Alps; was the first person to water-ski in both the Polar Regions; has been three times through the Northwest Passage; and led the largest ever expedition to Antarctica during the Millennium. 

A fan of Sir Ernest Shackleton, Geoff retraced parts of the Endurance journey six times, including in 1998 when he led the retracing expedition together with descendants of Shackleton’s crew. Many notable organizations such as the Discovery Channel, World Wildlife Fund, National Audubon and the Smithsonian Institution enlist Geoff to lead their groups into the world’s most remote regions. 

Geoff has led over 200 worldwide expeditions to some of the most remote corners of the globe, including over 100 expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic. 

When not leading expeditions, Geoff shares his experiences and perspectives by speaking at schools, conferences, corporate, and special events around the world. He has recently been a guest speaker at the Royal Geographical Society in London, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization. He has taken dignitaries such as FW de Klerk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his expeditions, as well as leading scientists, explorers and celebrities, such as Diana Krall and Dan Ackroyd. 

In 2007 Geoff was awarded the Citation of Merit for outstanding feats of exploration and service by the prestigious Explorers Club in New York City. 

Geoff is a Fellow of The Explorers Club, and regularly advises on conservation, film and expedition related projects around the world. He is a board member for the Ottawa Riverkeeper, the Mingan Island Cetacean Study, The Arctic Circle Club, and the Canadian National Committee for the International Polar Year. He is also the national spokesperson for Brita’s FilterforGood.ca campaign, and a national ambassador for the Jardin des Glaciers project (jardindesglacers.ca) in Baie Comeau, Quebec. 

Geoff Green was voted one of “Canada’s Top 40 Leaders Under 40” in 2005.

Geoff and his expeditions have been featured extensively in international media, as well as in numerous documentaries and television programs. 

Clients Comments

“Endowed with unique and newly endangered life forms and subject to exceptionally rapid climate change, the Antarctic and Arctic regions have a great importance for the generations immediately ahead. I’m glad that Students on Ice is leading the kind of environmental education most needed.” - Dr. Edward O. Wilson,Professor Emeritus, Harvard University

“Students on Ice is an outstanding educational program. Just one of their shipboard expeditions to the polar regions equals two or three academic courses in a traditional university setting. I am proud and honoured to participate in this unique shipboard program.” - Captain Don Walsh, Honorary Life Member of the Explorers Club; Former Environmental Advisor to the President of the United States of America.

“Geoff’s presentation was nothing short of an inspirational tonic for the whole group. He took us far from the everyday grind of our demanding jobs. It was motivational and refreshing without being contrived or forced. Almost every team member wrote, called or stopped me later to express their appreciation for and enjoyment of Geoff’s speech.” - Rick Seifeddine, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Tel

“On behalf of our members, I would like to thank you for being our guest of honour at the 56th Annual Dinner of The Arctic Circle Club! We were fully absorbed by your talk, “Exploring Minds at Both Poles”, as you took us to both ends of the Earth.” - Tom Lukowski, President of The Arctic Circle Club