During COVID-19, 129 billion masks and 65 billion gloves are being consumed, while 42 billion plastic cups and 40 billion plastic bottles are being used on a monthly basis. This is contributing to a rise in major health and environmental issues such as entanglement of wildlife, microplastic bioaccumulation, even reproduction issues in people, eight women in STEMM from #TeamHB4 and #TeamHB5 have found.

Dr Hinemoa Elder is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in New Zealand. She is of Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi descent and is a staunch advocate for Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga, the Māori language and cultural lore. The HB4 participant is a new recruit to Homeward Bound’s Busara Circle, a group of women who Homeward Bound calls on for their wisdom, experience and leadership.

Women remain underrepresented in emergency medicine and in the niche fields of wilderness and high altitude medicine. We need women leaders as role models, and the women leaders we have need to actively raise up the next generation.

“Leadership calls on us all not to ignore global human suffering.”
The board of Homeward Bound makes this statement in response to the wars being fought around the world.

I’ve just wrapped up the first part of an experience like no other. It all began in June 2019, when I was selected for the fifth cohort Homeward Bound (HB), a global leadership program for women in STEM. This connects likeminded women from around the globe for an intensive online leadership program that culminates with a voyage to Antarctica.

Most tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, but a significant percentage (about 15%) are caused by landslides or volcanoes. Some of these may be interlinked – for example, landslide tsunamis are often triggered by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. But does climate change also play a role? #TeamHB6’s Jane Cunneen is a geologist specialising in plate tectonics, geophysics, earthquakes, tsunamis, and natural hazard mitigation.