The historic Arctic Jubilee Expedition aims to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II by visiting the highest point on the Queen Elizabeth Islands, renamed by Canada on the coronation of HM the Queen in 1952.
Barbeau Peak has only been summited 8 times throughout history and is the highest point within the British Empire Range as well as the Arctic Cordillera. More people have summited Everest than Barbeau Peak, outlining the remoteness and the momentous impact of the project. Central to the ascent of Barbeau peak, and as part of a legacy to the expedition, is our education and outreach programme. Through the linking of Inuit and UK schools via our interactive IT learning platform, a sense of global citizenship will be fostered. Our interactive discussion boards will enable student from both cultures to interact and discuss questions relating to cultural identity, the Arctic environment and issues of climate change and sustainability.
This education and outreach campaign is an extension to the work of Education Through Expeditions (a social enterprise organisation) which has already completed over 350 school visits and workshops. Workshop activities have led to the development of a comprehensive syllabus of polar activities which have been established through strong teacher and school partnerships. We aim to continue this by presenting to over 10,000 students this year. Through our continued educational outreach work and associated increased polar awareness, we aim to leave a fitting legacy not only to this expedition, but also to that of the Queens Diamond Jubilee. This project will depart in the middle of May 2012.