A 22-year-old former Greenhill School student is busy fund-raising for an arctic adventure of a lifetime.

Cardiff university graduate, Llinos Jenkins (pictured), who hails from Penally, will be taking time off from her day job with the Environment Agency as a permit officer in the National Permitting Service Water Resources team dealing with water abstraction licences, when she embarks on her charity challenge.

"I've never done an expedition like this before, but a few years ago my brother took part in the Mongol Rally and that made me realise that we could all do something extraordinary to try and make a difference in the world by embarking on a charity challenge," said Llinos.

Llinos will be embarking on a challenge to take a pack of Husky dogs through the Arctic Circle, sledging over 200 kilometres into the wilds of the most northern European country of Norway in March.

An odyssey of ice, the teamwork between man and dog means the difference between life and death. Participants will need to go right back to basics, with many effectively re-learning the simple truths of life as a result of their experiences.

During March, the daylight will last between 12 and 16 hours and the temperature will generally range from -5 to -35 degrees centigrade.

Said Llinos: "Varying degrees of snowfall may be experienced, along with the possibility of freezing wind that will cause the temperature to fall sharply, so we will be in for a bumpy ride along the way, but it will all be worth it in the end."

At the moment, Llinos, who has a fascination with the polar environment, is working hard on getting fit enough to endure this task, mainly through walking and stretching her muscles. She hopes to be able to easily cover 20-25 miles a week by the time she leave for the Arctic Circle. 

Continued Llinos: "The purpose of this great endeavour is not purely for enjoyment, my aim is to raise money and awareness for the Scott Polar Research Institute, part of the University of Cambridge.

"The institute was founded in 1920 as the national memorial to Captain Scott and the Polar party. The institute has been an international centre for polar explorers, scholars and enthusiasts ever since. From rigorous scientific enquiry into the nature of climate change to protecting our historic polar heritage, the institute has remained at the vanguard of polar work since its foundation.

"The protection of the polar environment should now be paramount in all our efforts to combat climate change, with predictions estimating that the polar ice caps will have melted by as early as 2012, and two-thirds of the world's polar bear population extinct by 2050 - now is the time for action.

"Through support and donations, the institute can continue its massively important work in this field and hopefully find a way to preserve what our future generations may miss out on - a polar environment."

Llinos is trying to raise a minimum of £3,250 for not only the sake of the Poles and all that depends on them to survive, but for the sake of future generations who may never see a polar bear that isn't in a cage.

Meanwhile, if anyone feels inspired and wants to join the expedition, there are nine places still available and you can read all about it at the same web address as above.

Concluded Llinos: "My background in the environment has really given me the inspiration to do something worthwhile with my time and something that will really get the message out to people the climate change is happening and the evidence of this is never more obvious than it is in the polar regions."