BSES Expeditions is a youth development charity which aims to provide young people with inspirational, challenging scientific expeditions to remote, wild environments and so develop their confidence, teamwork, leadership and spirit of adventure and exploration.

The Society is accessible to all young people, whom it encourages to apply to become Young Explorers and leaders. It sets out to provide each person with opportunity to:

 

• plan, organise and raise funds for participation in a major expedition
• experience personal challenges and adventure
• gain a better knowledge of their strengths, weaknesses and potential
• learn to fend for themself and broaden their outlook
• develop their teamwork and leadership skills as well as a feeling of community
• gain practical experience of the essentials of exploration, including scientific fieldwork
• balance the enjoyment and the preservation of wild environments
• produce general expedition and scientific reports
• become a leader of society

Achievements

Over the past 75 years, the BSES has:

• Discovered one new site of bushman artwork and artefacts in Africa.
• Trekked 57.6 times around the world. (That's 2,303,840 km!)
• Measured 133 glacier snouts in the Arctic.
• Recorded 13,860 blood pressures in high altitude physiology studies.
• Protected 30,000 turtle eggs.
  

And Much, much more...

Recently honoured by the Royal Geographical Society with IBG at their annual awards ceremony, BSES Expeditions received The Geographical Award for 'engaging young people with scientific fieldwork through expeditions' for the past 75 years.

Science

Research in the field has always been a key part of our expeditions. We encourage young people to engage with and explore remote environments for themselves, allowing them to learn about key issues which are affecting the world around us today though hands-on, personal experience.

The three key areas of scientific research that we focus on are:

• Monitor climate change in the Arctic
• Measure biodiversity in the jungle
• Investigate human interaction with, and impact on, the environment in mountainous regions
  

Early expeditions collected valuable fieldwork data and brought back specimens for the Natural History Museum and the British Museum. These days we 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 we currently have links with include the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), The Scott Polar Research Unit (SPRU), Cambridge University and the Peruvian University of Amazonian Studies.

Youth Development - The Next Generation

BSES is strengthening its commitment to youth development in a new project that targets the kind of young people that would not normally even consider joining an expedition or have the opportunity to do so.

We believe that the unique and powerful development benefits of wilderness expeditions are important for all young people, whatever their background.

In 2007, we welcomed two Young Explorers from our outreach programme onto an expedition to Madagascar and we are hoping to bring on many more in the next generation…

 

BSES is a youth development charity. Registered charity no. 802196