A Croydon student is gearing up with four of her fellow undergraduates for an expedition to the north of Lapland.

Jennifer Pannell has been fundraising for the past six months along with her companions. The aim is to raise enough money to bankroll the trip and provide cold weather gear for those taking part.

The 21-year-old is part of a European team heading off to a Helsinki Arctic research station in the June. Her team will spend two months on the ice, taking core, soil and tree samples to measure the effect that climate change is having on the forests there.

Their fundraising has taken the form of club nights, supermarket bag-packing, car washes and educational talks and continues as they try and reach their £12,000 goal.

Since beginning their quest in the summer of last year, the team has raised more than £5,000 towards their costs but are still eager for more.

The Edinburgh University student said: "We've been working really hard since last autumn to try and get the money together. The main cost is coming from having to buy an ex-army Land Rover to get there.

"We are all looking forward to the trip but it is quite daunting. There are going to be a couple of nights that we'll be spending out on the ice and we are very aware of the threat of Lapland's black bears.

"We're staying on a nature reserve so shooting them is out of the question, we're getting hold of things called bear bangers which explode with a loud noise designed to scare them off."

The expedition is fully supported by the University of Edinburgh and is a joint venture with the University of Helsinki.

Miss Pannell added: "This expedition is the ideal opportunity for us to study the real effects of climate change."

Those wishing to donate to the trip can email Croydon Guardian reporter Harry Miller hmiller@london.newsquest.co.uk or Miss Pannell on J.L.Pannell@sms.ed.ac.uk