BSES Expeditions
Encyclopedia
History
BSES Expeditions is one of the longest-running and most distinctive youth development charities of its kind. Based at the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, BSES Expeditions was founded in 1932, by an original member of Captain Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
's final Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13, Surgeon Commander George Murray Levick
George Murray Levick
George Murray Levick was a British Antarctic explorer, and founder of the British Schools Exploring Society.He was born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, the son of George Levick and Jeannie Sowerby. After a short medical career, he joined the Royal Navy in 1910 but was quickly given leave of absence to...
Royal Navy to provide young people with an intense and lasting experience of self-discovery in some of the world’s last true wilderness environments around today.
For over 75 years, BSES Expeditions has provided the opportunity for young people, aged 16–23 years old, from different schools, universities and many other walks of life to take part in valuable adventure and environmental research projects in challenging areas of the world from the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
to the Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
. Led by experts drawn from a host of professions such as universities, teaching and the Services, all the expeditions aim to help in the development of young people through the challenge of living and working in remote and testing areas of the world.
Previous names for the society were:
- The Public Schools Exploring Society
- The British Schools Exploring Society
Fatal Polar bear attack
In August 2011, a member of a BSES expedition to SvalbardSvalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
, Horatio Chapple, was fatally mauled by a polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
.
Membership
BSES is a society which is formed from those who have taken part in a BSES Expedition. Typically, students aged 16-23 apply to take part in an expedition. They are selected by interview, and are then members of an expedition, being known as a Young Explorer ("YE").When a YE successfully completes an expedition, and on the recommendation of the expedition Chief Leader, they are admitted to the society.
Society members may vote in the AGM
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
, and help to govern the future of the society.
One other way of entering the society is by becoming a leader.
Expedition locations
BSES is most renowned for its expeditions to the Arctic. However, BSES Expeditions also mounts expeditions to warm climates.Places visited by BSES Expeditions:
- AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
- The AmazonAmazon RainforestThe Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
- Peruvian AndesAndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
- Antarctica
- Australia (QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
) - CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
- GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
- IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
- IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
- KwaZulu Natal
- LadakhLadakhLadakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
- Lapland
- LesothoLesothoLesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
- MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
- MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
- MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
- NewfoundlandNewfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
- NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
- Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
- PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
- Sinai
- South Georgia
- SvalbardSvalbardSvalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
- see Svalbard Polar Bear Attack (2011) - SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
- TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
- Tien Shan
- YukonYukonYukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
- ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
Funding
Participants are expected to raise money to pay for expeditions through personal fundraising. A typical expedition may cost in the region of £4000 (excluding flights).BSES science projects
Early expeditions collected valuable fieldwork data and brought back specimens for the Natural History MuseumNatural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
and the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. These days BSES collaborate with a range of scientific research institutions from universities and world-respected scientists; to in-country NGOs and conservation organisations. Some of the organisations BSES currently have links with include the Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
(WCS), The British Mountaineering Council (BMC), Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology is a subdivision and research institute of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kent, started in 1989 and named in honour of the famous British naturalist Gerald Durrell...
(DICE), Scott Polar Research Institute
Scott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south of Cambridge ....
(SPRI), University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and the Peruvian University of Amazonian Studies.
The expeditions contribute to long-term research projects by:
- Helping gather objective scientific data
- Funding and training local fieldworkers and university students
- Involvement in local community conservation and education initiatives
Many of the Society's full members, who qualify as such by successfully completing a BSES expedition, have gone on to play a leading role in major international adventurous and scientific projects.
Notable BSES members
The society has a strong record of developing young people and its alumni include:David Rhind, Vice-Chancellor of City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
, began his early surveying with BSES Expeditions as a Young Explorer in a 1962 expedition to Swedish Lapland
Swedish Lapland
Lappland is a province in northernmost Sweden. It borders Jämtland, Ångermanland, Västerbotten, Norrbotten, Norway and Finland. About a quarter of Sweden's surface area is in Lappland.Lappland originally extended eastward...
. Prof Rhind was previously Director General and Chief Executive of The Ordnance Survey of Great Britain (1992–98).
BSES president John Chapple
John Chapple
Field Marshal Sir John Lyon Chapple, GCB, CBE was a career British Army officer in the second half of the 20th century. He served as Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 1989 to 1992.-Army career:...
went on an expedition in the 1950s and went on to become a the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, between 1989 and 1992. He also served as Governor of Gibraltar from 1993 to 1995.
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
, author, joined a BSES expedition to Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
at eighteen, instead of entering university.
Admiral of the Fleet Terence Lewin, Baron Lewin
Terence Lewin, Baron Lewin
Admiral of the Fleet Terence Thornton Lewin, Baron Lewin, KG, GCB, LVO, DSC was a former First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, and Chief of the Defence Staff.-Naval career:...
went to Newfoundland with BSES in 1938 as one of the first young explorers from a state school (The Judd School
The Judd School
The Judd School is a state secondary school in Tonbridge, Kent, southeast England. It was established in 1888 at Stafford House on East Street in Tonbridge, where it remained for eight years before moving to its present location on Brook Street, in the south of the town...
in Tonbridge, Kent). Influenced by his leader on the expedition he entered the Navy in 1939 where he served with distinction being mentioned in dispatches three times and being awarded the DSC. Post war he rose rapidly through the ranks and was eventually appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff.
Tori James was a Young Explorer on a BSES Expedition in 2000 to the Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in Iceland. It is located in the south-east of the island, covering more than 8% of the country.-Size:With an area of 8,100 km², Vatnajökull is the largest ice cap in Europe by volume and the second largest in area Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in...
Glacier in Iceland. She went on to work in the BSES office for 3 years. In 2005, Tori joined the Pink Lady PoleCats team and became the youngest ever female to complete The Scott Dunn Polar Challenge
Polar Challenge
The Polar Challenge is a competitive, 350 nautical mile team race taking place in the Arctic, to the 1996 location of the Magnetic North Pole. The race runs between mid-April and mid-May each year, taking teams approximately 4 weeks to complete, including the training time...
, a gruelling 360-mile race to the Magnetic North Pole.
On 2 October 2005 Tori became the "highest Welsh woman ever" having summited the world's sixth highest mountain, Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal...
(8,201m). Tori became the youngest British female and first Welsh woman to climb Everest when she summited in May 2007.