Wanna be Bear Grylls, Ray Mears or Ranulph Fiennes? Then it’s time for Explore, the annual fieldwork and planning weekend at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 18th through 20th of November.

It’s an amazing opportunity to meet those who’ve just come back from expeditions, those about to go, and those just working up the courage. You’ll find inspiration, like minds, planning sessions for your trip and opportunities to raise money, film it, talk to potential sponsors or take part in someone else’s adventure. Everything from tracking whales to discovering the 21st Century equivalent of the Galapagos islands to solo expeditions across land, ice, and sea and outreach with the remote cultures, it’s all there to be had, you’ve only get there.

For full itinerary of speakers and workshops, go here: Explore 2011.
Even better yet, join the society and receive monthly updates on expeditions you could take part in and change your life forever.

Remember to drop me a line when you do!

This year’s Explore weekend will be chaired by explorer and broadcaster Paul Rose, Vice President of the Society, who will also be on hand to provide advice.

Speaker topics include; an expedition across Iceland to study remote glaciers, environmental fieldwork in Mozambique studying giant elephant shrews, and journeying the length of the Amazon River. The full Explore 2011 programme (PDF), including speakers and topics is available to download, along with our media release (PDF).

The weekend begins with a Friday night lecture by the Atlantic Rising team – 2009’s recipients of the RGS-IBG/Land Rover ‘Go Beyond’ Bursary – who undertook a 28,000 mile journey to discover how climate change is affecting communities around the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

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If you’ve got a science background and want to get hands on with the British Antarctic Survey then check out this link. http://t.co/8u0tenQE

Just a quick one today, moving home and office, more on it’s way.

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Here’s a taster of some of the work I’ve been doing with the Bedouin Heritage Project. A fantastic pilot scheme to benchmark what UNESCO classes as ‘intangible heritage’ and the cultures that are rapidly disappearing.

You can watch the videos below on NatGeoAdventure and read more about the project here. Enjoy.

The Intangibles

Part One: Survival
With the Bedouin Heritage Project we meet the Zilabia boys and the problems they face as the Bedu population leaves the desert. They take us deeper into the desert to meet tribesmen and find out how they collect water. 

Part Two: The Camel Races
A very different perspective riding alongside the controllers at break-neck speeds. Hold onto your seats!

For more info see The Bedouin Heritage Project.

Fancy a trip to Wadi Rum? Visit Jordan Tracks.

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Being Bedouin - A Talk

The evenings are drawing in, but it’s time once again to girdle your loins and brave the weather for an evening at the National Geographic on Regent Street.

This months speaker, Mark Abouzeid, is flying in directly from expedition in Jordan to join us on the 24th. His talk “Being Bedouin” will be about the disappearing desert culture of Wadi Rum, accompanied by video and images.

“How do you capture the entire character of a culture that has no written record, has lived for centuries in relative isolation and exists in complete harmony with one of the world’s most extreme environments?”

I’ve worked closely with Mark over the last couple of years, from the North Pole to the desert, and I can guarantee that he is a totally engaging speaker and this is an opportunity not to miss.

He is one of the founders of the Bedouin Heritage Project and I’ll be featuring some more videos from them over the coming weeks.

As ever the talks are free and last an hour and you will retire to a local hostelry after.

WHERE: 1st Floor, The National Geographic Store, 83-97 Regents Street, London W1B 4EW (see map)

WHEN: 6.30pm, Tuesday, 24th November, 2009.

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If you want to be an explorer get yourself along to the Royal Geographical Society for the EXPLORE weekend in London and find out about all the opportunities open to you. Starts this Friday, the 13th of November with drinks and an opening lecture from George McGavin.

Full details on the talk below, more details on the weekend here, or go to: www.rgs.org/Explore.

George McGavin Lecture: Full Details Explore 2009 Friday night lecture Exploring biological discoveries from the ends of the earth. A talk by George McGavin · Friday 13 November 2009 at 18.30 · Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London SW7 2AR Cost: £10. Free to Explore delegates and speakers. A handful of scientists and some of the world’s top wildlife filmmakers have visited remote locations in the dense jungles of Borneo, Guyana and Papua New Guinea to document the wealth of wildlife that lives there and highlight the threats to its survival. Working in these difficult environments can test people and equipment to breaking point but the rewards are more than worth it. Nothing else comes close to exploration and biological discovery for drama, excitement and danger. George McGavin shares his exciting discoveries with film clips from his three BBC expeditions, with a talk to open  the Explore 2009 weekend. George McGavin is an Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and Visiting Professor of Entomology at the University of Derby. His research has taken him from the tropical forests of papua New Guinea to the caves of Thailand and from the jungles of Belize to the savannas of Tanzania. George has written numerous books on insects and other animals , and was the chief scientific consultant for the BBC landmark series, Life in the Undergrowth, presented by David Attenborough. He co-presented Expedition Borneo a five part BBC series shown in 2007 and Lost Land of the Jaguar, a three part series screened in 2008. The most recent BBC expedition series,Lost Land of the Volcano, filmed in Papua New Guinea, will be shown on BBC1 in September 2009.

Watch the Video: What is Explore?

Ever wanted to plan your own expedition? Raise funds? Learn how to communicate and navigate, deal with logistics and politics when you’re on the road, or find out what to do with all that information and experience when you’re back?

Then you need to get yourself along to EXPLORE – the expedition & fieldwork planning weekend. Held each year for the last four decades it’s where the potential explorers of the future meet to plan their expeditions, network, and learn from those who’ve already been. 

It’s the kind of thing I wish I’d known about years ago.

The weekend includes lectures and workshops with expert speakers in all fields designed to help you realise your dreams and give you the opportunity to mingle with other like minded people. So don’t sit there wondering ‘What if?’, make it happen.

You could be designing and leading your own expedition before you know it, whether it’s a mountaineering and trekking expedition, tropical forest expedition, polar & arctic environment, desert and savanna environment, above and below the oceans, river canoeing and kayaking, vehicle based expedition, or a bicycle expedition.

To find out more click one of the following links or watch the ‘What is Explore?’ video presented by Paul Deegan.

Programme | Speakers | Opening Lecture (with George McGavin) | Book Online