PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The third Eco-Hero contest is taking a lucky South Florida high school student to Antarctica.
In past years, Eco-Heroes have gone to Machu Pichu and to Canada to see the beauty of the Rockies, but this time the winner will go with Local 10’s Kristi Krueger and Zoo Miami's Ron Magill to the end of the Earth.
"This year we are going to a place I've dreamt about all my life. We are going to the bottom of the world -- Antarctica," Magill said. "It's something I've dreamed about all my life. It's a place I thought I'd never be able to see, but now to be able to go there and to document it and to bring a student."
The changes in Antarctica do affect South Florida. As the glaciers melt, sea levels rise and that could devastate the coastal cities.
"Really, Antarctica is the indicator continent for our planet. It is where we can see things that are changing, indicators of what's going to happen with the rest of the planet," Magill said.
Along with the environmental affects, the lucky winner will also get to see the wildlife in Antarctica, which is a far cry from wildlife in South Florida.
"We'll be seeing things like penguins -- not two or three penguins -- hundreds of penguins on big sheets of ice," Magill said. "[We'll] be able to walk among them because they don't have a natural fear of humans yet. So this is a wonderful experience to go into a place and be accepted as if you're part of the natural landscape."
As school gets ready to end, this is the time for a student to do an environmental project over the summer to apply for a chance at our trip. Local 10 will begin accepting applications in September.