Alumni News
Catch up on what our Alumni have been doing
Sarah Bouckoms
(Former Trust Staff)
Sarah has recently completed a summer season working at the Amundsen Scott South Pole station. She was the safety officer and part of the drill team for the Upgrade of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. While helping to deploy six strings of 650 instruments she additionally completed an Explorer Program virtual exchange with Reach the World students.  Over 12 weeks she taught students about detecting neutrinos and the challenges of polar fieldwork. Through her articles and live video calls she offered students a clear view of how scientific investigations unfold at the South Pole, as well as exploring STEM careers.
Read more about this here: Detecting Cosmic Messengers at the South Pole | Reach the World
David Harrowfield
(Inaugural Trust Executive Officer)
David has completed a substantial memoir reflecting on his work in physical geography at the University of Canterbury, along with a shorter personal memoir about his early years in Oamaru, NZ, which explored his lifelong interest in geology and archaeology.
He published a paper in the New Zealand Journal of Archaeology and supported four authors in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom with research for their own publications.
David also contributed his expertise to the Trust’s revised Conservation Management Plan for Shackleton’s hut at Cape Royds, which is currently in development.
Al Fastier
(Former Project Manager RSHRP)
In November 2025 Al travelled to the Falkland Islands to play an important role in the successful restoration of the historic shanty on Bense Island for its 100th year.
Working alongside a team from the Subantarctic Foundation for Ecosystems Research, the project focused on stabilising and conserving the structure, likely built in 1926, and suffering from years of exposure and neglect.
After a month of concentrated conservation work, the shanty now rests on new, reinforced piles and is protected by a fresh exterior of corrugated iron that will help ensure its longevity.
Kelsey Waghorn
(Inspiring Explorer 2023)
Kelsey has recently published her new book Surviving White Island and everything that came after, which shares her remarkable physical and mental recovery following the eruption of Whakaari White Island in New Zealand.
She has also been busy recording the audiobook version, bringing her own voice to the project, which has been an important part of sharing her story. The book is available to purchase through major booksellers.
Brendan Wade
(Conservation Season 2023-24)
Brendan has recently contributed to the RNZ series Kelly Tarlton’s Final Treasure Hunt, which has gone on to receive multiple awards including Best Podcast in December 2025.
The series follows the rediscovery of a 256 year old relic connected to early European contact with New Zealand and brings to life one of the final expeditions planned by Kelly Tarlton.
Listen to the podcast here: Kelly Tarlton’s Final Treasure Hunt podcast | RNZ
Jake Bailey
(Inspiring Explorer 2025)
Jake recently took part in a T20 charity cricket match between the Christchurch Boys’ High School (NZ) alumni and the BetterMan mental health charity team.
Jake is a former Head Boy at Boys’ High and it was his first time back on the cricket field in about 16 years.
He faced an impressive line up including New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, former All Black Colin Slade, and All Black Will Jordan.
Karina Leppik
(Former Trust Education Assistant)
Congratulation to Karina on her new role as GMTNIRS (Giant Magellan Telescope Near InfraRed Spectrograph) Systems Engineer.
Karina will be working with the Near-Infrared Spectrograph designed to study the formation of planetary systems, debris disks, small stars, Jupiter-mass planets, and other near-infrared objects in deep space.
Gord Macdonald
(Trust Design Team Member and Conservation Alumni)
Congratulations to Gord who recently published a PhD thesis on the Impacts of global climate change on polar heritage: assessment of imperilled polar heritage sites.
“I am indebted to the Antarctic Heritage Trust who graciously provided me with access to their records and data as part of my doctoral research. I have had the good fortune to work with the Trust for over twenty years now, and during that time I have had the privilege of working alongside a remarkably talented group of people who have been drawn from all quarters to conserve the legacies of Scott, Shackleton, Borchgrevink, and Hillary. I would especially like to acknowledge the support of  Executive Directors Francesca Eathorne and her predecessor Nigel Watson.”
Read Gord’s thesis here: Item – Impacts of global climate change on polar heritage: assessment of imperilled polar heritage sites – University of Leicester – Figshare
Ethan Morphett
(Young Inspiring Explorer 2023)
Ethan has recently become the leader of the Science Buskers at his school.
This is an after-school club which allows students to do experiments they wouldn’t be able to do in class and practise presenting them in shows.
Ethan leads a small team and works closely with teachers to help run the club each week, as well as organising shows and events.
Kaitlyn Martin
(Inspiring Explorer 2023)
Congratulations to Kaitlyn who has an exciting new position as Kaihautū o Ako Education Lead at Te Whatu Stardome planetarium and observatory in Auckland New Zealand.
She will be in charge of the education team, who connect 40,000 young people with the night sky every year.
