Last weekend we held our annual end of programme wrap up event – Explorer Celebrations.
Young Explorers and Leaders from across our expedition programmes in 2024 came together to reconnect, reflect and celebrate their achievements and personal development following their expeditions this summer.
It was a packed agenda.
As part of the day, each team took time to reflect on how their expedition experience has already gone on to shape their lives. These conversations cover both the micro and the macro – things like attitudes to food, team work, tackling everyday decisions and challenges, but also career and life choices and where they see themselves headed in the future.
In the afternoon we had a session on wilderness and conservation from the John Muir Trust, followed by an Archive Workshop in which we introduced our Young Explorers to artifacts from British Exploring Society’s long history, including our founder’s original expedition diary from the charity’s first expedition back in 1932.
In the evening, Members of our wider community, as well as parents and guardians of the Young Explorers, joined us to hear the reflections and stories from each of this years expeditions. We were also joined by two very special guests – Sunny Elvy (Canadian Yukon 2023) and Ed Bussey (Alaska 1985) two Members and former Young Explorers who together helped us welcome the Young Explorers as official lifetime Members of British Exploring Society.
Our expedition programmes are designed to encourage and support young people to proactively reflect so they can find new ways to view themselves and their prospects. The sessions and activities at Explorer Celebrations form the culmination of all that hard work, and it’s always such a joy to hear what comes out of them.
A massive THANK YOU goes out to all of our volunteer Leaders and supporters – without your donation of time or resources none of what this charity does would be possible.









OUR ANNUAL AWARDS
We also got the opportunity to celebrate the nominees for our annual Young Explorer and Leader awards, and announce the winners for 2024.
- Les Morgan Memorial Award 2024: Young Explorer Danyal
- Moodgal Inspiration Award 2024: Young Explorer Abdulrahim
- Watson Emerging Leader Award in Memory of Jean Sinclair 2024: Alex Donaldson and Jude Kriwald
- Les Morgan Leader of the Year Award 2024: Susannah Cass
You can read more about all of the nominees on each of the following pages respectively.
WHAT’S NEXT?
With our 2024 expedition season officially complete we’re now turning our attention to Wildestan Antarctica – our hybrid online programme which kicks off in November!
Looking beyond that to 2025, we have lots of exciting opportunities ahead. Want to join us as a Young Explorer or Leader on one of our programmes next year? Then check out the Join Us page for more information.

