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Polar Auction

Our 4th Polar Auction is all scheduled for end of April 2023. This is to raise money for the legacy fund set up by the Kent Scouts REQUEST2021 Antarctica Project in 2021 to extend our educational outreach activities about Antarctica as well as to support more young people in Scouting and Girlguiding to do polar research and expeditions.

Polar related Auction items welcomed – please email alan.noake@kentscouts.org.uk

Winning bids outside of the UK will be expected to agree a fair additional delivery cost donation.

Feel free to browse in advance. 

The auction will run from 9am on Saturday 22nd April to 9pm on Sunday 30th April 2023.

Kent County Scout Council Charity Registration No. 303471

REQUEST2021 Project Report

Full PDF Version of our REQUEST2021 Project Report available free of charge now on:

REQUEST2021 Project Report

BY THE REQUEST TEAM

ALAN NOAKE ~ CATHY MUMMERY ~ MATT WOOD ~ HELEN SMITH ~
DARCEY HOLMES ~ GEORGE STONOR ~ GENEVIEVE SCULLION ~ LUCY MORGAN ~ SAM PAYNE ~ ALEX MACIVER

THE FULL HARDCOPY PRINT EDITION OF THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE FROM LULU.COM
https://www.lulu.com/shop/alan-s-noake/request2021/hardcover/product-r9v9y2.html?q=request2021

REVEALING DATA PUBLISHED FROM KRILL PROJECT

PRESS RELEASE – JANUARY 2023

REVEALING DATA PUBLISHED FROM KENT SCOUTS KRILL PROJECT

  • The T.A.S.K. (“THE ANTARCTICA SCOUT KRILL”) project was carried out by the Kent Scouts REQUEST2021 Antarctica expedition team in partnership with British Antarctic Survey to study and raise awareness of the importance of Antarctic krill to the Southern Ocean ecosystem.
  • British Antarctic Survey loaned the team of Scouts a replica Nansen Net and all the other necessary equipment for capturing the krill samples.
  • Twelve samples in total were taken by the team a year ago between the 7th and 13th January 2022 whilst on board the Bark Europa tall ship in the waters of the Antarctic peninsula.

After analysing the samples taken by the team, Prof Geraint Tarling FMBA, Ecosystems Science Leader, British Antarctic Survey, said:

There were a small number of krill (Euphausia superba) captured. However, most interesting were the larger number of krill eggs. These are negatively buoyant and will quickly sink to beyond 500 m once spawned, so it indicates that there was a very recent spawning event during the period of sampling.”

Bear Grylls, Chief Scout, had sent the team off on their expedition with these encouraging words:

“You are truly following in the footsteps of many legends including the great Sir Ernest Shackleton who set off on his Quest expedition. You are also doing vital work in how we can protect the world around us, which is so important.”

[236 Words] For more information, please contact alan.noake@kentscouts.org.uk 07525 633435
High resolution images available upon request. ENDS

Notes to Editor:

About the Project

  • Tarling, G. A., Ward, P., Fielding, S., & Noake, A. (2022). Mesozooplankton collected by the Bark Europa in Gerlache Strait, Antarctic Peninsula (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/6676EC60-9E37-45A8-B447-938256438E9F
  • Taxonomic analysis of the plankton samples was carried out by Dr Peter Ward and the data curated by Petra Ten Hoopen of the Polar Data Centre at the British Antarctic Survey.
  • The ReQuest2021 project was a wider programme of activity centred around the expedition to Antarctica to commemorate the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition of 1921-1922 which included two Scouts: James Marr and Norman Mooney. 100 years after Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Quest sailed to Antarctica a ten strong team of Scouts and leaders were recreating the original ethos of the expedition by undertaking their own voyage to the frozen south. The ten participants have been undertaking research projects whilst in Antarctica. Findings will be presented in a range of engaging formats including photography, soundscapes, reports, artwork and interactive forums.
  • For more information about the ReQuest2021 expedition and the various research projects, please visit http://www.request2021.org.uk 
  • The ReQuest2021, Antarctic Research Project Team sailed on board Bark Europa tall ship from Ushuaia, Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula from 30th Dec 2021 to 20th January 2022.
  • Over the past four years the ten Scouts have undertaken fundraising activities including a rowing challenge, grand auction and online merchandise sales to raise £140,000 for the expedition.
  • Individual Projects: CLIMATE CHANGE (LUCY), PHYSIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT (GENEVIEVE), 3D ICEBERG SIMULATION (GEORGE), COLLABORATIVE ARTWORK (DARCEY), OCEAN CURRENTS (SAM), ANTARCTIC SOUNDSCAPE (ALAN), MOTION SICKNESS STUDY (CATHY), PLASTIC POLUTION (HELEN), ELECTRICITY GENERATION (MATT), GEOMAGNETICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS (ALEX)
  • Expedition participant names and locations they are from: –
    • Alan Noake, Deal, Walmer, Sandwich & District Kent
    • Cathy Mummery, Weald District, Kent
    • Matt Wood, Malling District, Kent
    • Helen Smith, Gravesham District, Kent
    • Lucy Morgan, Sevenoaks District, Kent
    • Genevieve Scullion, Deal, Walmer, Sandwich & District, Kent
    • George Stonor, Faversham District, Kent
    • Darcey Holmes, Thanet District, Kent
    • Sam Payne, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
    • Alex Maciver, Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland

About Scouts:

  • All genders, races and backgrounds are welcome at Scouts. Every week, it gives almost half a million people aged 6-25 the skills they need for school, college, university, the job interview, the important speech, the tricky challenge and the big dreams: the skills they need for life.   
  • Scouts helps members gain these skills by encouraging them to ask the big questions and listen with wide open minds. It helps them to take a deep breath and speak up, think on their feet, ignore the butterflies and go for it. With Scouts, young people don’t give up – they get back up and try again, often with the support of the friends they’ve made there.   
  • Our volunteers contribute more than 50 million hours of voluntary work each year to their local communities.   


Alan Noake

Assistant County Commissioner, Global Projects & Community Impact (Kent)

District Appointments Secretary (Deal, Walmer, Sandwich & District)
Mobile: 07525 633435
alan.noake@kentscouts.org.uk

New Year’s Day (2022)

01/01/22 – New Year On The Drake (Author: Lucy)

The first day of the year arrived on the Bark Europa as somewhat of a non-event. As pointed out by our guide Sarah, it was unusual to spend New Year’s Day not really acknowledging that it was New Year’s Day at all – we had far more important challenges to be worrying about at the time!


One noticeable aspect of this day was that it was the beginning of the watch system. All of the voyage crew were split into three watches: red, white and blue. Each group included approximately ten people, with a couple of REQUEST2021 members in each. Red Watch began the first shift of the New Year: four hours of half-hour rotations, swapping between steering the ship, manning lookout, sail handling and warming up inside the deckhouse. Whilst this rhythm of four hours on, eight hours off, was something we would all get more used to with time, the initial shock of waking up at midnight and making our way out onto deck in the pitch black, bitingly cold wind to carry out a task which required both physical and mental concentration, was a huge challenge to overcome on the first day… especially at such an extreme angle. This day was quoted by many on the expedition as their “worst memory” of the trip and it had several of us questioning our choices. The worst part about it was not the tiredness, cold, hunger, physical strain or even boredom, but the raw, all-encompassing and persistent sea sickness. In most cases it takes several days for landlubbers like us to get their sea legs, and for some, these ‘legs’ never came at all! Most of the team began their shifts with strong entries onto the ‘chunder chart’ and we very quickly learnt the importance of locating yourself on the leeward side of the ship, rather than facing upwind should you need to make a hasty dive for the edge.

For most of the team, even standing up straight was a huge difficulty, particularly on the first day. Europa sailed at, what felt like, a very extreme angle and it was not unusual for plates, cups, belongings or even people to find themselves flying across the deckhouse with an unexpected jolt of a wave. The unfavourable winds, which forced us to sail close-hauled into the waves, made the rhythm of the rocking far more unpredictable and crew had to have their wits about them to avoid accidents. We were advised to always keep one hand ‘free for the ship’ should something need to be grabbed at the last minute for stability. It was not unusual to have only half of shift members remaining by the end of a watch and the eventual return to bed came with an unrivalled relief. Stripping off layer after layer of cold, wet clothing to crawl back into the warmth of a swaying bunk was something we spent much of the four-hour shift dreaming about. Not only was lying down the least sickening position to be in, but tiredness was also a side effect of the sickness medication. Consequently, the remaining eight hours off shift would primarily be spent cuddling a yellow bucket in the safety of a bunk. – What a start to the sailing experience!

Request2021 Podcast Ep.45

FINAL EPISODE 45 – Project Legacy

Episode 45 – the very final episode – of the REQUEST2021 Podcast. I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to represent the legacy of the project by including my recent visit to the Downs Primary School. It includes me sharing the story of REQUEST2021 with the year 6 class there as part of their work on Shackleton and Antarctica.

00:00 Theme Music – “Antarctica”

00:45 Welcome Message

01:29 Driving into Deal, Kent to visit Downs Primary School

04:03 Arriving at Downs Primary School / First part of presentation to Year 6

11:33 Presentation to Year 6 (Cont.) – Downs Primary School

28:33 Last part of presentation to Year 6 – Downs Primary School

01:02:12 Leaving Downs Primary School

01:03:01 Closing Message

01:04:36 Theme Music – “Antarctica”

01:05:21 END

Sam’s 2nd Argo Launch from Bark Europa

Finally got around to editing the video of Sam Payne’s second ARGO deployment from Bark Europa back on 16th January 2022.

There is quite a lot of background wind noise however it serves as a satisfactory record of the event.

You can track the second float here: https://fleetmonitoring.euro-argo.eu/float/6904093

There is also now a fantastic new educational resource available in the form of the Argo Online School: https://www.euro-argo.eu/argo-online-school/intro.html

‘DREAM INTO REALITY’ THE BOOK

DREAM INTO REALITY‘ THE FULLY ILLUSTRATED WRITE UP OF THE REQUEST2021 PROJECT IS NOW AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE. ALL PROFITS GOING TO THE LEGACY REQUEST FUND TO SUPPORT MORE YOUNG PEOPLE IN SCOUTING AND GIRLGUIDING TO UNDERTAKE POLAR RESEARCH & EXPEDITIONS.

Written by the team in their own words in the six months since they returned from Antarctica.

ReQuest2021 Podcast Ep.44

REQUEST2021 PODCAST – EPISODE 44 – The Final Voyage

This is the penultimate episode of the REQUEST2021 podcast. This includes the team of 12 leaders and explorers and their weekend experience on the Johanna Lucretia tall ship at Plymouth. It also includes excerpts from the last two Shackleton Scouts’ Own ceremonies at Plymouth Millbay Docks and Portsmouth Gunwharf Quays.

BONUS CONTENT: If you listen on there is also some bonus content including our team intro chat with superpowers, a background recording of my interview on Radio Devon plus longer versions of the Shackleton Scouts’ Own ceremonies.

NOTE: Some of the sound quality was poor because of background noise. Every effort has been made to improve it where possible so it can be included it as an important historical record.

0:00 Theme Music – “Antarctica”

00:45 Welcome Message

02:15 Alan at Millbay Docks, Plymouth

03:28 Brief excerpt from the Shackleton Scouts’ Own, Millbay Docks, Plymouth

04:41 Walking up to Johanna Lucretia tall ship (Note: Poor sound quality)

05:37 Boarding the Johanna Lucretia

16:27 Short extract from team intro chat about superpowers and learning names

17:16 Setting off for an evening walk along the shoreside

19:14 On the end of the pier

20:51 Waking up to music on board (Saturday)

22:29 Scrubbing the decks

28:25 Alan reflecting on the day

29:45 Waking up to music on board (Sunday)

31:08 Alan’s thoughts at the beginning of the final day of the REQUEST2021 project

33:27 Arriving in Portsmouth, Gunwharf Quays

36:04 Brief excerpt from the Shackleton Scouts’ Own, Portsmouth, Gunwharf Quays

37:23 Alan’s final REQUEST2021 project speech

52:52 Closing Message

53:27 Theme Music – “Antarctica”

54:12 END

BONUS CONTENT

54:12 Longer version ofteam intro chat about superpowers and learning names

1:14:56 Background recording of Alan’s BBC Radio Devon interview

1:20:05 Longer version of Shackleton Scouts’ Own, Millbay Docks, Plymouth

1:38:50 Longer version of Shackleton Scouts’ Own, Portsmouth, Gunwharf Quays01:53:21 FINISH

FINAL VOYAGE

The FINAL VOYAGE team

On Friday 16th September the FINAL VOYAGE team held the penultimate Shackleton Scouts’ Own at Millbay Docks in Plymouth next to the Sir Ernest Shackleton blue plaques.

The FINAL VOYAGE team

Silas Maxwell [Medway Towns]
Edward Wisbey [Dover]
Jacob Websdale [Thanet]
Jack Smith [Dartford]
Amy Schipper [Royal Tunbridge Wells]
Alex Tremain [Dartford]
Rose Darnley [Devon Scouts, representing Plymouth]
Oli Cowell [Hampshire Scouts, representing Portsmouth]

They were joined by four Kent Scouts Leaders – Alan Noake, Andrea Noake, Lucy Morgan and Nick Burring.

The penultimate Shackleton Scouts’ Own ceremony at Millbay Docks in Plymouth, 16th September 2022

To mark the end of the REQUEST2021 project a tall ship sailing experience had been arranged. The original intention was to follow the route of the last few days of the Shackleton-Rowett ‘Quest’ expedition’s year-long voyage and sail from Plymouth to Portsmouth.

The FINAL VOYAGE team along with some of the permanent crew of the Johanna Lucretia

Unfortunately, as the Johanna Lucretia tall ship arrived in Plymouth, she suffered a catastrophic engine failure. In true Scouting spirit the FINAL VOYAGE team went ahead with the weekend anyway. We still slept aboard the tall ship and spent the Saturday sailing out from Plymouth on two other alterative vessels – the Olga, a beautiful original Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter and also had the thrill of sailing and navigating the replica of Blythe’s boat that was featured in the Channel 4 TV series, Mutiny.

On the Sunday morning the team got the opportunity to climb the rigging of the Johanna Lucretia.

On Sunday afternoon the team made their way by road to hold the very last Shackleton Scouts’ Own by the Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth.

The very last Shackleton Scouts’ Own by the Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth.
The very last Shackleton Scouts’ Own by the Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth.
ALAN’S FINAL SPEECH, PROJECT LEADER OF KENT SCOUTS REQUEST2021 ANTARCTICA PROJECT

ReQuest2021 Podcast Ep.43

REQUEST2021 PODCAST – EPISODE 43 – Scotland – Fordell Firs

Alan, Alex and Matt from the REQUEST2021 team plus Sam’s parents (Gwyneth and Alan Payne), Alex’s mum (Alison Maciver) along with Chief Commissioner of Scotland – Andrew Sharkie and a number of other Scottish Scouting representatives, friends and members representing the 1st Aberdeen Scout Group held our Shackleton Scouts’ Own and an award presentation at Fordell Firs, the Scottish Scout HQ on Sunday 11th September 2022. Our third and final commemorative plaque was unveiled by Norman Mooney’s son Alec. The proceedings included a one-minute silence for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and a short break to watch her funeral cortege pass under a bridge on the M90. Afterwhich the team members gave a short presentation about the REQUEST2021 project.

The full Scouts’ Own service and full team presentation have been included afterwards as bonus content.

0:00 Theme Music – “Antarctica”

00:45 Welcome Message

02:23 Alan on an early morning walk Sunday 11th September 2022 contemplating the day ahead

06:13 Fordell Firs – Shackleton Scouts’ Own, Award Ceremony and Plaque Unveiling

38:11 Cortege of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passing under a bridge on the M90

43:18 Short clips from Alan, Matt & Alex’s REQUEST2021 presentations including BBC Countryfile clip

49:43 END

BONUS CONTENT

49:43 Full Shackleton Scouts’ Own Ceremony

01:07:02 Full version of Alan, Matt & Alex’s REQUEST2021 presentations

01:52:27 FINISH