The first of April in the UK is April fools day which “legally” allows you to play a prank on your friends – as long as it’s before 12 noon.
On April 1st 2018 at 12.01 pm I am launching the education program for our Mount Everest Ascent Expedition in 2019. On the 1st April 2019 at 12.01pm I will meet the camera team and together we will make our way to Everest Base Camp (EBC) to begin our ascent – see previous blog on this; https://markwoodexplorerjournal.com/2018/03/10/a-reason-to-climb/
For the first time in my exploration career I have the luxury of a 12 month build up where we can really focus on the documentary and education program.
FILMING; This will involve working with Dust Off films http://expedition8848.com – The idea is to film me delivering talks in schools around the globe and to then re-connect with the same students on Mount Everest next year live via Skype – using Inmarsat to provide the signal. The live calls is a remarkable way to link from the extremes direct into classrooms – a good example of this was in 2013 where I sat on some ice, angored to the mountain in the death zone on Everest. In minus 30 with a strong side wind I linked to a school in Australia – in a sports hall on the other side of the world over 100 students watched me delivering a lesson live.
NEPAL: In a few weeks time I will head to Nepal to deliver a talk in the Kathmandu University – this will be followed by a 2week trek where we will be uploading short films that will help teachers to run the lesson plans created by Lonely Planet.
ARCTIC 2 AFRICA; My next stop will be Resolute Bay in high arctic Canada to again give a talk in the local Inuit school – we aim to head out for a few days on ice showing a real contrast to our next venture which will be in Africa later on in the year. Different countries and cultures with the same focus on climate change.
USA 2 UK; to show inner city schools I will head with our camera team to New York to speak to the students there in November and then back home to visit the most inspiring school you would ever wish to go to – Sherbourne Fields Special School – http://www.sherbournefields.co.uk to speak to the students and teachers about the expedition.
The aim from visiting these schools is to inspire other schools around the globe to sign up for the expedition next year – its a free program. Created by myself with the support from Microsoft, Skype, Lonely Planet, Drayson Technologies https://draysontechnologies.com and others.
The aim of the expedition is to link up to 4 million students world wide to the most extreme classroom on the planet – our simple but affective messages are to encourage students to respect themselves and the environment and to think differently about life.
To sign your school up for the 8848 expedition go to ;
