It’s competition time for schools.

This year’s South Pole Expedition will see our biggest competition for schools yet. Building on previous competitions we are launching a range of categories for different subjects so that we can include as many students and schools as possible.

Winning entrants will receive a Polar Medal and South Pole Certificate, whilst runners up will each receive a South Pole Certificate. Schools will also be able to gain the ETE School Award for their involvement in the project and there will also be a special surprise award for a nominated teacher category.

More information about gaining access to the classroom resources, activities and becoming part of this project can be found at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-polar-classroom

The competitions and deadlines are;

• Design the Official Expedition Logo (Deadline: 15th October)

• Creative writing competition: Write a letter to Antony – One of these will be blogged per day along with Antony’s expedition update. Suggested categories – Climate Change, Expedition Life, Expedition History, Why stay healthy? (10th November) 55 letters will accompany Antony on his expedition and will be included in his dispatches and blog from the ice each day. It will be fantastic for Antony to hear your thoughts on these subjects and to help share those thoughts with the global community.

• Compose a piece of music for my expedition video (30th October) This will be played at the South Pole and accompany Antony on his trip, helping to motivate him to reach the South Pole.

• Design a locally sourced 3 course meal, with a list of ingredients its nutritional value and carbon footprint – to support the expedition’s aims of promoting healthy, sustainable living (30th January)

• Two competition for a designed Expedition and Healthy Lifestyle Poster (30th October 1st competition, 30th January 2nd Competition)

• Produce a short informative video, either animated or including the pupils in the following categories – Climate Change, Healthy lifestyles and training, Exploring the Outdoors (30th January)

Climate change from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.

Please send your entries and contact details to;

Polar Classroom Competition
Education Through Expeditions
Sherwell Centre
Plymouth University
Plymouth
PL4 8AA
UK

If you have any further questions please email the team on info@ETEhome.org. We look forward to hearing
from you.

Can you help ? Would you like a postcard from the Pole.

 

The Polar Classroom project will accompany ETE founder and veteren Polar Explorer Antony Jinman as he travels to the Geographic South Pole this November. As a flagship project for ETE we will be looking to educate students around the world about Antartica but also of issues closer to home including environmental sustainability, healthy living and lifestlyes.

Please visit this website for more details.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-polar-classroom

The reason behind the next expedition? Why?

You may have seen the previous articles, video’s and images releasing information on my training and declaration of heading to Antarctica and the South Pole but what I haven’t yet explained is why? Yes I have to admit it is a personal challenge, it is something I would like to achieve but it is also much more then that. Being an expedition leader is my profession and something that I’d like to think I am good at. I take a lot of pride in the work that I do and realized that I am very fortunate to have developed a career in the polar regions. I want to use these skills and my work to be able to contribute something back into my community and to the world as a whole, I want to help make a difference, if that is only but just a small contribution.

 

The development of my non-profit Education Through Expeditions has enabled me to share my experiences with young people and help make classrooms and fun and enjoyable place to learn. I am delighted in the team that have helped me to grow and develop my work within education and I am looking forward to continuing on this work for many years to come.

Recently I learned of some shocking statistics through my local paper on obesity and health related issues with young people here in my home city of Plymouth. Plymouth is not alone with these issues and I started thinking about my own health and fitness and how I might prepare for a South Pole expedition. It was through this that I started developing the idea of tackling these social issues and bringing a new element of research and resources that can be used to enhance our community education and outreach work. Through this next project we aim to help educate young people here in Plymouth and indeed the rest of the world about nutrition and healthy lifestyles, helping not just ourselves but also our communities and the environment.

 

Laura Jack here at ETE has prepared a great article about some of the health issues facing Plymouth.

Please read the facts below about health issues in Plymouth to understand why the outreach work of Antony’s next expedition will focus on the importance of choosing to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Across Plymouth about 10,400 children live in poverty.

Life expectancy is lower than the National average for both men and women.

Life expectancy is 9.5 years lower for men and 4.0 years lower for women in the most deprived areas of Plymouth than the least deprived.                            

About 18.8% of Year 6 children in Plymouth are classified as obese.

Estimated levels of healthy eating and smoking in Plymouth are worse than the England average.

There are also a number of significant health inequalities that exist in Plymouth, for example:
39% of mums in Whitleigh smoke during pregnancy, the figure is 0% in Glenholt and Woodford.

More than half of Barne Barton children have experienced tooth decay, compared to none in Gleholt and Widewell.

1 in 4 children in Devonport are obese, but Glenholt the figure is 0%.

For the NHS in Plymouth, key priorities are identified as; improving health overall, reducing health inequalities and working with partners to make Plymouth a fairer place to live.

Antony Jinman aims to support these aims, helping to tackle obesity and the health problems associated with it by using his next expedition to the South Pole to educate the City’s young people about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Antony’s trip to the South Pole is aiming to provide lesson resources to educate and inspire students about a healthy lifestyle, a nutritionally balanced diet and the importance of exercising. In addition to this there will also be a comparison of the nutritional value of the foods that Antony will be taking away on his expedition, compared to historical accounts of Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton and what they ate on their expedition.

But, firstly our young people need to understand what health is.

The World Health Organisation defines health as “the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. So, being healthy includes all things from socialising with friends, taking part in physical activity and also eating a nutritionally balanced diet.

Therefore, for Antony to achieve his goal of reaching the South Pole he will need to have a very high level of health, both physically and mentally. To achieve this, Antony will undertake a tough training programme and consume a specific diet. This is required so that after each intense work out his body will recover fully and repair any muscle damage and replenish his energy stores ready for the next training session.

The purpose of this South Pole expedition is to not only educate people on the importance of maintaining a balanced diet and taking part in physical activity, but to inspire people to make these lifestyle changes and choices.

 

 

A balanced and varied diet is vital to provide all of the nutritional requirements for our bodies to remain fit and healthy as all of the required nutrients are provided from each of the 5 different food groups. The other factor that needs to be taken into consideration when thinking about a balanced diet is the portion size of each food group, if you were to over indulge in one food group more so than the others then this can lead to health implications. For example, sugar, although perceived just as being ‘bad’ for you, it is actually the amount and how frequently it is consumed that matters. The other factor with sugar is that it is possibly the most irresistible food group. When we eat sugar it is broken down into glucose and fructose, then the fructose is converted to glucose in the liver, if there is more sugar consumed than burned through activity then the excess glucose is converted into fat.

ETE’s lesson plans and teaching resources linked to this expedition will provide students with a new approach to understanding of the importance of food and to not over or under consume as both can lead to health problems. Food, in the right balance, provides the body with all that it needs to allow it to grow, repair, heal, and to fight illnesses and disease. The classroom resources that ETE will produce to support this expedition aim to eliminate the immediate thought that healthy eating is eating only salads and will educate students on the varied foods and meals, portion size, the reasons for eating these foods and the importance of consuming fluids.

The students will also get a chance to look at processed foods and how they can appear to look healthy and are often chosen to eat due to their convenience. Most processed foods are high in salt and chemicals which are used to preserve the food and make them have a longer shelf life. There are links that show that eating too much processed meat may lead to a lower life expectancy.

The classroom resources will also educate children about the carbon foot print associated with getting foods from their origin to your cupboards, and will educate and encourage the students to eat fresh, local and seasonal produce, which will also help to encourage a varied diet. By eating fresh local produce will it not only benefit health, but it will also have a positive and sustainable impact on the economy by supporting local businesses and will also have a positive impact on the climate, through a smaller carbon foot print.

If you, your school, or community group would be interested in following Antony on his expedition and asking him a questions whilst he is away, using the lesson plans and resources, or even having Antony come to your school, then please get in contact with ETE on info@etehome.org to find out more information about Antony and his expedition to the South Pole.

Why is it important to keep fit and active ?

Obesity and associated health problems are a big issue in England, with 61.3% of adults and 30% of children aged between 2 and 15 being either Overweight or Obese. (source: http://www.gov.uk)

I have always considered myself fit and have always enjoyed leading expeditions, overcoming challenges and developing team dynamics. Since my last expedition in 2012 I have increasingly found myself sitting behind a desk and running my non-profit, community interest company, Education Through Expeditions (ETE). Whether it was in my head or not, I felt sure I had started putting on weight and my fitness was suffering. I started using work as an excuse and I simply did not have the time to go for a run or visit the gym, it was at that point that I said to myself that something had to change. I needed to look at my diet and nutrition as well as start a training program to knock myself back into shape but, where to start?

It was at the same time around Christmas that I started to plan my next expedition, to the Geographic South Pole. If I was serious about this project (and I am), then I needed to focus and start making the changes to my lifestyle to achieve this goal. I needed to feel positive in myself and boost my energy levels through physical activity. I have never always enjoyed training, it can sometimes be, well uncomfortable and hard work, but afterwards I’ve always looked back and said “I’m glad I did that”. It was time, time to get out from behind the desk, time to start training for the pole!

Through our school outreach work at ETE, my team and I have delivered workshops focusing on the sciences, arts, English and maths but we have never looked at nutrition and healthy living. Recently I have been shocked to see in the media about how child obesity is a major problem in the UK; Plymouth (my home town) has the highest childhood obesity rate in the South West (Plymouth Herald). So I thought why my next project couldn’t help to tackle this issue and develop resources, not just to promote healthy living but to inspire young people to care about their lifestyle choices.

This will be the first in a series of articles promoting how I have decided to get myself fit and start to train for my expedition in November 2013. The expedition will not simply take 55 days to ski to the South Pole, it will take that best part of a year to get myself physically fit and mentally strong for this expedition. Potentially this could be the biggest challenge of my polar career!

I decided I needed to start by building up my core body strength and, to help me with the motivation, and the nutrition side, I needed to join the right gym, a gym with a difference. I had heard great recommendations from friends about Plymouth Performance Gym and the owner Wiliam Badenoch. After arranging a meeting with Wil I knew I’d found the right place to start regaining my strength. This video helps show some of the exercises I started completing, not to become a big strong body builder, but to develop strength again in my muscles. This video was made a few months ago and watching it now I am delighted to see how I am now lifting more weight and lost personal body weight.

 

After 6 and 11 weeks I was rewarded by seeing a steady increase in the amount of weights I was able to lift for all exercises, this graph below shows the improvement for both the Trap Bar Deadlift and Back Squats. These exercises help to develop both leg and core muscle groups. Needless to say, this is a work in progress but after 3 months of 2-3 one hour sessions a week, I am already feeling stronger and fitter both physically and mentally. I still have a long way to go, but I am excited to see the improvements and the start of developing the strength to endure a South Pole Expedition. So how does this fit in with our education and outreach work? Find out in our next article about the research we will be undertaking with Plymouth University and the resources we will be developing for schools.

Press Release South Pole

Press Release – Heading to the Geographic South Pole 2013

“I am delighted to announce my next project for Education Through Expeditions. This November I will be travelling to the Geographic South Pole to further the work of my school outreach program. This project will see me traveling on my own for over 700 miles, whilst communicating with schools and carrying out an exciting research project at the same time with Plymouth University. More news of this will be released later this week.”

 

Antony Jinman completed a 51 day expedition from Cape Discovery to the Geographic North Pole in 2010, becoming one of only 200 people to accomplish this feat. He has traveled over 2000 miles during 15 successful Arctic expeditions and polar training courses he has run, and has now set his sights on becoming the 3rd Briton to accomplish a ski expedition to both the Geographic North and South Poles, as well as climb Mount Everest.

Why? “Raising aspirations and inspiring our next generation”

Antony is the founder of Education Through Expeditions (ETE), a non-profit company which has delivered over 500 school polar fun days across the country. These school visits deliver fun and interactive activities linked to the National Curriculum, for pupils to learn about the polar environment and issues facing it such as climate change, as well as raising aspirations of the students. ETE employees a dedicated team of young ambassadors who have all traveled to the Arctic with Antony, they use their time with ETE to further develop their own employ ability skills by passing on their experiences visiting schools.

Antony has also developed a web based educational resource for schools called ETE Teachers (www.ETETeachers.org). Through this platform schools can follow and engage with Antony and his UK based team so that they too can virtually take part in his expeditions, using discussion boards, forums, blogs, podcasts, Google Earth, lesson plans and activities. It is because of this pioneering educational resource that Antony was awarded an Honorary Degree Doctor of Education by University West of England in 2011.

Antony’s expeditions’ combine both web based learning and school visits to help make classrooms a fun and inspiring learning environment. “There is no greater reward than being able to pass on your experiences to the next generation, so they too can share and learn from those experiences. Through these expeditions I hope to increase our impact in schools and raise the aspirations of young people.”

The Historic Challenge

With your help Antony will continue to inspire children, as well as deliver a high impacting curriculum related project into schools. During November 2013 Antony will travel to Antarctica and begin his journey to the Geographic South Pole, a journey which he will aim to complete in 55 days.
For further details about the opportunities available please contact Antony directly

e: explore@antonyjinman.com
t: 01752588347
w: http://www.antonyjinman.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ETEorg
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/polarAJ

Opportunity for Plymouth University students

The Education through Expeditions Leadership Award

The Education Through Expeditions (ETE) Leadership Award is a challenging course designed to help you develop and enhance your self-confidence, project management skills, and leadership styles in preparation for future work and study.

 

Taking part in the course involves putting yourself outside your comfort zone, navigating and wild camping on Dartmoor, working as part of a team to overcome a series of challenges.
Through a series of workshops and practical activities led by Polar Explorer and Plymouth University’s ‘Explorer in Residence,’ Antony Jinman, you will learn the skills required to safely and effectively run your own expedition, developing transferable skills that can be applied in any workplace or future study.

At the end of the course you will be expected to reflect on your experiences throughout the course, and use this to update your CV. This will be used as part of a mock interview process to put your new skills to the test. You will be awarded an ETE Leadership Award certificate on successful completion of the course.

Course dates
There are two courses running this summer:
Week 1 – Monday 27th to Friday 31st May 2013
Week 2 – Monday 3rd to Friday 7th June 2013

How to apply
To apply, please send your CV and a covering letter detailing why you would like to take part to info@eteteachers.org
The letter must include your name, course, year of study, and contact etails, together with your preferred course dates (Week 1 or Week 2, see above).

Applications close on the 31st March

Earth Day 2013 – The Face of Climate Change

For many, climate change seems like a remote problem, but the reality is that it’s already affecting people, animals and places around the world. Whether that is food security, sea level rise, floods or drought, climate change will affect us all.

The global theme for Earth Day 2013 is “The Face of Climate Change.” The Earth Day Network has been collecting images to depict The Face of Climate Change, showing the many people that are affected by climate change in different ways.

As these Faces of Climate Change begin to multiply, others are multiplying too: the faces of those stepping up to do something about it. Tell your friends and families to take a picture of how climate change is impacting them and upload it to our site or instagram or twitter, and include the hashtag #faceofclimate!

Education through Expeditions (ETE) is proud to support the Earth Day Network in raising awareness of climate change and its effect on our planet and its people. ETE has been delivering educational activity days about the Polar Regions and the changing climate in schools for the last three years. Since 2010 we are proud to have delivered over 500 Polar Fun Days, engaging over 20,000 young people with this important aspect of environmental education.

ETE’s Climate Change Story
Through our work, even in the last five years we have seen many examples of how climate change is affecting the Polar Regions

Three Years ago today, ETE’s Founder Antony Jinman reached the North Pole, on Earth Day 2010, after completing a full-length trek from land to the Pole. Already, increased melting of the Arctic sea ice has now made this expedition almost impossible in the Spring and Summer.

Past expeditions to Baffin Island in Northern Canada have also seen evidence of how climate change is affecting the polar regions – just take a look at these three pictures of the same glacier, taken over just four years.

As part of Earth Day we’re encouraging people to upload your own photos and share your stories at http://www.earthday.org/2013, or post your photos to Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag: #FaceOfClimate. And check out the Face of Climate Change photo display at http://www.earthday.org/faces!

Together, we’ll personalize the challenge that climate change presents, while uniting people around the globe into a powerful call to action. Go to http://www.earthday.org/2013 to learn more.

To learn more about our Polar Education work or to invite the Education through Expeditions Team to visit your school, please see www.polarfundays.co.uk

SCHOOL OUTREACH CO-ORDINATOR VACANCY.

ETE has a upcoming job vacancy for the Role of The School Outreach Co-Ordinator. If you think you would be perfect for this role then please email your CV and a covering letter to Laura Jack at info@etehome.org

The closing date for applications is 15th May 2013.

Role: School Outreach Coordinator

Full time/ Part time: Full Time during term time. Part Time during school holidays.

Salary:  £15,600 pro rata (plus commission)

Role Summary:

Education through Expeditions (ETE) is a not-for-profit organisation which has been running Polar education outreach activities, ‘Polar Fun Days,’ for both primary and secondary schools for over 4 years. The post holder will be responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of the ETE outreach programme in schools across the country. The ideal candidate for this position should have a passion for the Polar Regions, have experience of work or travel in the Arctic or Antarctic, from either an adventure or science background and should wish to share their experience with young people. This role might also include the further development of educational resources for schools.

Key Role Responsibilities; (80%)

*The core role of the School Outreach Coordinator will be to deliver presentations and classroom activities/assemblies for schools based on personal Polar experience. The post holder will lead on the delivery and continuous development of an effective and flexible service for schools.

* Serve as a key external representative of ETE by gaining and communicating a thorough understanding of the ETE Brand positioning and services offered.

* Promote the additional benefits and opportunities offered by other ETE services specifically its web platform www.ETETeachers.org .

* Conduct informal and formal feedback surveys from teachers and pupils.

* Travel to education conferences and other outreach events to market programs, engage with prospective learners and/or conduct presentations.

* Demonstrate the ability to cultivate strong relationships with key educational partners and organisations to further develop new business and learner referral programs.

* Help to coordinate and develop a network of ETE Ambassadors across the country.

* Develop additional resources and materials for schools and teachers through a good understanding of teaching curriculums.

Operational Support Responsibilities; (20%)

* Facilitate timely, complete and accurate data entry to monitor effectiveness of outreach activities.

* Follow up on actions following initial contact with prospective customers or partners through phone calls or meetings at education fairs, career fairs, meetings, or outreach event.

* Support the preparation of reports and marketing materials as requested.

* Accept accountability for specific outreach and lead generation metrics and key performance indicators including the timeliness and accuracy of data entry of feedback.

* Serve on various committees and other special projects as needed.

* Perform consistently to meet or exceed performance targets.

* Work on other duties as reasonably requested on an ad hoc basis.

Person Specification 

Qualifications and training

Essential

* Bachelor’s degree in a field appropriate to area of assignment OR equivalent combination of experience, training and/or education.

Desirable

* Postgraduate qualification in a field appropriate to the area of assignment.

* Professional qualification or training related to teaching or science communication.

Knowledge and experience

Essential

* Experience of travel or field research in a polar environment.

* Working knowledge of the main learning principles and requirements of the National Curriculum.

* Experience in a Customer service or public-facing role

* Experience of public speaking

Desirable

* Two years administrative/coordinative program experience.

* Demonstrable ability to successfully manage multiple projects concurrently, and occasionally work within ambiguous situations.

Personal Attributes

Essential

* Excellent communication skills, including verbal, written, presentations, public speaking and interpersonal skills.

* Exceptionally self-motivated, creative, resourceful, and positive attitude

* Ability to work independently, as well as a member of a team, with minimal supervision and an entrepreneurial, solutions-focussed approach.

* A commitment to excellent customer-service.

* Demonstrates ETE’s core values of excellence in education, student success, educational access, equality and diversity, and integrity.

* Ability to actively listen, understand and overcome obstacles because of strong problem solving skills.

* Excellent organisation, time management skills and attention to detail.

* Accomplished and versatile professional with a relentless drive for achieving results in a fast paced dynamic work environment.

* Strong networking and relationship building skills.

Desirable

• Proven record of success in meeting/exceeding targets in a marketing, recruitment, WP or Outreach environment

• Analytical and results orientated

* A passion for assisting others in realising their goals through higher education.

Other Skills

Essential

* Good working knowledge of Microsoft Software packages such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint

MALAYSIA UPDATE!

We now have a confirmed date as to when Plymouth University students are going off to Malaysia!

The students fly off to Malaysia on 13th March 2013

Make a note in your diary and get your questions ready to ask them on the ETE discussion board

Keep your eyes peeled for more information with regards as to what the students will be doing out in Malaysia!

The ETE Team.

ETE, University students and Malaysia, up and coming events in 2013

2013 is a very exciting year for ETE and the Team; there are lots of up and coming events and trips!

Up and coming events this year…

Malaysia, China, Borneo, Kenya.

In March a group of students from Plymouth University are heading off to the rainforest in Malaysia!

These students will be collecting data and researching different methods on biodiversity, sustainability and getting to experience the country and environment first hand. These students want to share this experience by uploading resources and pictures and videos onto the ETE website for students and teachers to view and follow their progress.

These resources will be available for teachers with our web membership to use for lesson planning.

Keep looking for more updates and information!

Keep exploring,

The ETE Team.