The Explorer May 2024

This edition of The Explorer reports on the Trust’s On-Ice Conservation team that spent thirteen weeks in Antarctica, successfully undertaking an intensive digital data capture project, followed by the annual conservation programme at the historic Ross Island explorer bases of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, and Sir Edmund Hillary. In addition, there are updates to the planning of conservation work at Cape Adare and the Trust’s conservation team working collaboratively alongside our partner UKAHT.

We celebrate the achievements of Pip Cheshire and Julian Bickersteth, members of the Trust’s Conservation Design Team who both received high honours, and the premiere of Polheim, the documentary film following the Trust’s 2022 Inspiring Explorers Expedition™ to the South Pole, at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival.

We share highlights from the Trust’s Inspiring Explorers™ Education team’s productive year touring our education programme and virtual reality (VR) experience of Sir Edmund Hillary’s Antarctic hut and showcase the outreach projects undertaken so far from the Trust’s Inspiring Explorers Expedition™ to South Georgia.

We also share a story from Antarctic Explorer Member, Richard Clement, about his connection to the Trust, and we ask you to help us conserve the Ross Sea Party tent – an invaluable piece of history and possibly the most challenging artefact we will ever conserve. The Trust welcomed new staff, and the relocation of our office marks a new chapter, ensuring we can continue our mission to conserve, share and encourage the spirit of exploration, amidst expanding operations.