The Explorer September 2024

This edition of The Explorer highlights the launch of our latest, cutting-edge VR project, Scott’s Discovery Hut Virtual Reality Experience, offering an immersive exploration of the hut and its surroundings. This innovative project, developed with StaplesVR, brings Antarctic history to life for a wider audience.

The Trust bid farewell to Al Fastier, who retired after 18 years as Programme Manager of the Ross Sea Heritage Restoration Project, celebrating his significant contributions to Antarctic heritage conservation. We recognise the passing of June, Lady Hillary, who served as Trust Patron since 2008, remembering her dedication and invaluable support for the Trust’s mission.

Looking ahead, we share plans for the 2024-25 Conservation Season, with teams working at Cape Adare, Ross Island, and the Antarctic Peninsula. The focus will be on archaeology, maintenance, and conservation across various historic sites.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Inspiring Explorers™ programme, we announced an Inspiring Explorers Expedition™ to the Ross Sea region in 2025, offering young explorers aged 18-35 the opportunity to visit historic bases and learn about conservation efforts. We also share highlights from the recent Young Inspiring Explorers™ Summit and Explorer Conference.

The newsletter features a supporter story by Rewa Rendall, an Antarctic Explorer Member, who shares her journey into Antarctic photography and we share details of a recently published research paper co-authored by Trust staff and alumni. We also share the success of our recent fundraising campaign for the Ross Sea Party tent conservation project, and the significant impact the Trust’s digital image database, Icy Heritage, has made since its October 2023 launch.