The Explorer August 2025

This edition of The Explorer newsletter, we highlight the Trust’s work in collaboration with Canterbury Museum, conserving the tent used by Shackleton’s Ross Sea Party over 110 years ago, so this incredible story of survival can inspire generations to come.

Read about our international engagement partnering with UK Antarctic Heritage Trust to tour Scott’s Discovery Hut Virtual Reality Experience alongside UKAHT’s VR A Frozen Night to UK schools, museums, and a special event with HRH The Princess Royal. The Trust also joined New Zealand’s non-governmental delegation at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in Italy to better understand how the ATCM and its Committee for Environmental Protection operate, and to identify where the Trust can contribute most effectively.

Back in New Zealand, over 500 visitors, including Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Hon. Paul Goldsmith, experienced Scott’s Discovery Hut virtual reality at Te Papa Tongarewa.  Meanwhile, 85 students attended our first Explorer Conference in Christchurch, participating in hands-on workshops and developing their ‘Explorer Mindset’ with guidance from Inspiring Explorers™ and world record-breaking sailor Lisa Blair.

The Trust also launched a pilot programme that will see young people work together to maintain backcountry huts, learning new skills while experiencing New Zealand’s remote landscapes and sparking curiosity in exploration.