"I simply cannot understand how geographers, who are supposed to be interested in the world, can refrain from heading out there to see, smell, hear, taste and touch its infinite variety." - J Douglas Porteous

"The frontiers are not east or west, north or south, but wherever a man fronts a fact" - Henry David Thoreau

• Is there somewhere in the world you would like to go?
• Do you want to understand the world and other cultures a little better?
• Would you like to learn more about a subject that fascinates you?
• Are you keen to tackle a challenge that excites you?
• Would it be better to tackle that challenge with someone else?
• Is organising it yourself the only way it can be achieved?

Congratulations. Whether you are a group of university students wanting to learn more about changing land-use in Guatemala, a Guide group wishing to help a community in Ghana or a team collecting snail populations in the Pyrenees, you have just qualified to start an expedition.

It may seem a daunting task- use of the very term ‘expedition’ seems far too grand a thing to call yourself - but this booklet will help. It will be of benefit to those planning any kind of expedition because certain considerations are the same for any kind of venture, but it is particularly aimed at those planning a science based project. Dip into it at the sections that seem of most concern to you at the time. And if you don’t like the term ‘expedition’ because it can have imperialist connotations, call yourself a project.

A. Because a group of you are excited about discovering more about the world or want to embark on an exciting adventure. Expeditioning is travelling with a purpose, rather than skimming the surface of the world for pure pleasure.

A. Read on.

A. Anything from hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds, depending on how many are in the team, where you are going, for how long, and what you intend to do when you get there. A typical university expedition comprising four students may cost around £8,000.

A. About 70-100.

A. Some from your own pocket, but the majority from sponsorship, grants and your own fund-raising efforts. Nearly every expedition that throws themselves wholeheartedly into it raises the necessary money. Even in these times, raising the money is not the main problem. Trust me on this one.

A. Calling a venture an expedition may make it sound intrepid but it is a name only. What you decide to do on your expedition and how you tackle it decides how dangerous it will be, whether you call it a holiday, an expedition or Henry.

Note
I shall use the word ‘team’ to refer to any group which has come together to achieve an aim. Host country refers to the country in which the team intends to work. ‘Project’ and ‘Expedition’ are used interchangeably. ‘University expeditions’ refers to student-led expeditions.

An expedition is not an easy way to get others to pay for a holiday for you. It IS an unforgettable experience that you will cherish for the rest of your life.

There is no standard definition. How about ‘A group of people travelling with a purpose?’

Expeditioning is different from travelling. An expedition has responsibilities:

• to the host country which you will have collaborated with before setting off
• to sponsors
• to people who spent time advising you
• to institutions you liaised with
• and to yourselves.

Tourists do not have these responsibilities. You will spend time carefully researching the background to your project, whether that is poring over maps as you plan to climb in a remote mountain range, or conducting journal searches for information on the bat species you want to survey. You will liaise with local people in the host country to ensure you are welcome, are not duplicating what has already been learned, and do not cause offence. Expeditions can also have greater impacts on local peoples in the host country, for better or worse.

By calling yourselves an expedition, you have raised your profile. You will be perceived to be representing your country, your scientific discipline, the organisation you are members of (be that a university or a youth group), or all three. This means that if the expedition is organised and executed well (which is what this guide is all about) you will accrue credit and good PR to those you are seen to represent.

However, if it is:

• planned and executed poorly
• local people in the host country are patronised and not kept informed
• and responsibilities are not satisfied

then the reputations of organisations associated with your expedition will be damaged. This will make it more difficult for those organisations and succeeding expeditions to operate in those areas in the future.

Finally - although expeditioning may sound grander than travelling, even with this noble title you may still be perceived as tourists by local people.

If you don’t want any responsibilities and you don’t want to immerse yourself in a country and its issues, take a holiday instead.

"What alters else on sea and shore,
These are unchanging; man must still explore" - Sir John Squire (1884-1958)

There can be many reasons for forming an expedition. Some include:

Despite the preponderance of official research bodies such as universities, museums, world-wide monitoring organisations, etc. there are niches which a small team of committed people can fill. They can gather information which would be difficult for established organisations to produce. Work for dissertations can also be done effectively by a team working on related disciplines or field areas.

This might be raising awareness of a threatened species or way of life amongst peoples in the host country or back in the UK.

Many teams are concerned with particular issues, e.g. habitat destruction, and set off to survey a threatened area. Other teams help raise funds and install facilities like solar or water powered electricity generators for villages.

Particularly adopted by youth or special interest organisations, for example Guide & Scout groups, schools, the British Schools Exploring Society, and many others.

Health and self-help initiatives are popular ones here.

A popular way to raise funds or public awareness for an organisation which the team members support, often as a result of personal involvement. An example might be a sponsored cycle ride along the Alaska Highway to benefit a medical charity that a family member has been supported by.

This typically refers to adventurous projects, be they ascending a mountain, descending a river or cave system, or crossing a tract of land or sea.

‘Because it’s there’ and you’re not......yet!

Bear in mind that a major factor in dictating what you can achieve is the length of time you can spend in the field. Certain projects need a minimum amount of time to produce valid results. You may also need several days at the start and finish of your expedition just to get into your field area or buy essential equipment.

A tightly constrained project with easy logistics may be achievable in only a few weeks, particularly if little study has been made of that area and any data you bring back is new. For most science based projects however a minimum of six weeks is usually an average field time. Specific types of project may demand even longer to ensure success. It may sound like a lot when you are sat in the UK, but time seems to run faster when you are abroad! Couple this with the fact that it is unusual to accomplish even relatively simple tasks as quickly in a foreign country as at home - nearly everything takes longer.

Be realistic, prepare well, put the effort in and you will achieve worthwhile goals

"The known is finite, the unknown infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land." - T.H. Huxley, 1887

There will always be niches that cannot be filled by large organisations, for many reasons. Field work costs money and funding to universities is declining. It can be very expensive, both in time and money, to send a group of well paid scientists into the field. Sometimes it can be difficult for such scientists to live with, and be accepted by, the community and thus share knowledge with local people. But a young, flexible, group of non-authority figures can often easily do this.

Satellites monitor the whole earth but they cannot monitor the world. They can’t map what is happening underneath a forest canopy. They can’t monitor what is going on in people’s minds (and many issues affecting the world are people related). They cannot build links with local people and preserve indigenous information which might disappear as lifestyles change. Scientists do not have the resources to look at all the earth’s systems and report back. Even ground truthing of satellite imagery requires people on the ground. Past expedition data have been used in modern climate models e.g. past surveys of a glacier compared with today.

It is estimated only 3% of the world’s species have been identified and the Earth is losing about 50 species a day. Rainforest the size of England is disappearing every year - and with it the loss of a great gene pool. There is exciting work to be done in rainforest canopies. Oceans are a rich field for exploration: more people have stood on the moon than have travelled below 3,000m in our oceans. Ground truthing of satellite data is required. There is much physical exploration still to be done as well as many an "Environmental Everest" to be tackled. With 1 million extra mouths a day to feed and putting the Earth’s ecosystems under pressure there is plenty to do and it needs to be done now.

Many university expeditions are successful and are followed up by students in subsequent years. Some projects particularly lend themselves to follow up work on a regular basis e.g. monitoring a species population, or the success of an education project in protecting a habitat.

A team that lives and works with local people in the host country, will not only learn far more than a team that imposes themselves on the area, but will also allow local people to learn from them.

A small but well researched expedition, with good host country collaboration, can collect solid, useful, scientific data or make well selected and recorded observations.

"When you go shopping for wisdom, visit every tent in the bazaar." - Old Arab Proverb

So, you are keen to travel with a purpose and pull together a team of friends or fellow students to go off and learn a little more about the world. But you’re not quite sure yet exactly what you want to, or can, do. Where do you find that spark that will fire you up? I believe the hardest part of an expedition is coming up with that first idea, that first dream. Once you have that to motivate and focus you, then everything else will fall into place. Here are some ideas for inspiration:

What do you find interesting? Is it volcanoes? Tropical forests? Bats? The human impact of a particular development on local communities? The spread of disease? Soil development? Expanding the known range of a species?

Planning an expedition will require effort and time. But there are few higher motivations to keep you inspired than being fired up by pursuing something you are passionately interested in.

Ever found a lecturer who has had the time and opportunity to study everything they wanted to? If their enthusiasms gels with what you find interesting then you will have found a great source not just of ideas but of contacts, assistance and support.

Reading reports of past expeditions is a great way to get ideas for a project. You may know which country you would like to work in but are not sure about what you could do there. Read past reports from teams who have been there. They may have been working in a different discipline to your intended one but in passing they may have noted an information gap which they didn’t have time to fill but your team could. Alternatively you may find a team has used methods and approaches from a different country which are transferable to your chosen country. The Royal Scottish Geographical Society has a selection of reports to consult.

Most countries produce their own scientific and general interest journals which are accessible through inter library loan. Some countries have conducted surveys of what research is needed but don’t have the resources to tackle them all. Academics and organisations in the host country (‘The World of Learning’ in most libraries and the Internet will help you track them down) will help ensure you are not planning to tackle an issue which has already been covered but has not made the western press. They will be able to advise you as to what the priorities are rather than what you may think they are.

The Expedition Advisory Centre based at the Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers) produces Yearbooks. These list all expeditions which have taken place each year and enables you to get an overview of a large number of projects, how much they cost and what opportunities exist for follow-up work. The Yearbooks provide contact details of the leaders so you can pick their brains direct.

Many disciplines have produced key papers which synthesise the current state of knowledge and point out gaps. They also direct you to the most appropriate people you should contact for advice. Use science citation indexes to ferret out other contacts.

Most organisations produce newsletters or in-house information sheets which can be a great source of information as to what the current areas of concern are in their field.

Newspapers, scientific journals, Sunday supplements, magazines, coffee table books - they have all been the source of a spark which has set someone thinking, and from there led to an expedition being planned.

Yes, there is a lot out there and it can be hard to track down, but don’t underestimate its information gathering potential. Also a good medium for contacting, and keeping in touch with institutions and academics you may be liaising with in the host country.

Talk to anyone and everyone who you think can help. Do not reinvent the wheel.

"He who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence" - William Blake

Once you have an idea of the kind of project you want to do, you need to sit down as a team and define the Aim, or purpose, of the project. This might only be a sentence, for example:

"To survey some of the effects of deforestation on offshore coral reefs."

There will be a single, clear Aim, but there may be many supporting objectives. Taking the above example these might be:

• To make a comparative study of impacted and pristine coral reef to isolate affecting factors.
• To run an educational programme to ensure local people understand the value of the reef and help preserve it.
• To train local people in dive surveying so they can continue to monitor the reef and contribute to follow-up studies.
• To conduct a survey of changing land use inland.

The Aim and supporting objectives should be clear and agreed by the whole team. Nothing erodes an expedition more than disagreement and misunderstanding about what the purpose of the expedition is. This clarity of purpose will also be easily expressed in the promotional material you send out as part of your fund-raising. It will also make you appear focused and inspire confidence as you approach academics, organisations, and host country institutions with clear, easily expressed goals.

If you are not clear about what you are doing, how can you expect others to be?

"Contemporary science, with its system and methods, can put blockheads to good use" - Jose Ortega Y Gasset

The team should be united by a common commitment, as a result of a well understood Aim and ethos. Make sure you have the right mix of skills the expedition will need. Commitment is especially needed after the expedition, when the main worth of the expedition comes to light.

How many should be in the team? This should be decided objectively, not by how many of your friends want to come along. A typical size is 4 to 6 for a university science based expedition. But there may be several considerations to take into account:

Reasons for a larger team………

• you may want to undertake a basic survey over a large area in a limited time.
• a project with limits to individual participation, e.g. diving, where you are limited to how long each person can stay underwater in a day.
• fixed costs (i.e. costs that are independent of the number of people, for example car or house rental) are high and the more people in your team, the more you can reduce the cost per person of the expedition and make it more cost effective.

Reasons for a smaller team….

• you intend to stay with local peoples and there is a limit to how much spare food exists in the community to feed you.
• the logistics are much easier for a small team, e.g. transport in remote areas.
• you want to minimise the cultural and economic impact of the expedition.

Many countries of the world are not ‘Politically Correct’. In certain communities men will not talk to female outsiders and so you will need some males on your team if you intend to tackle people oriented projects. On the other hand, male researchers may not be allowed to talk to the womenfolk. It is worth trying to ascertain the social mores of the country you intend to work in.

Unless there are overwhelming reasons why not, you should have host country counterparts in your team. There are many reasons for this:

• They will have a greater understanding of the country (it is theirs after all!). This will also help ensure you don’t reinvent the wheel.
• Reduces language difficulties.
• Some expedition supporting organisations will expect you to have host country counterparts as part of their acceptance requirements.
• Reduce the suspicion of peoples in your field area.
• Obtaining permission from the host country can become easier.
• You now have team members based in the country who can chase up paperwork and make a multitude of arrangements that would be difficult if not impossible to do from the UK.
• Your host country counterparts will be able to ensure follow-up work etc. is continued after the expedition has officially ended.
• You will have more fun!

They may be students on a similar course to yours at the university you are liaising with. They might be foresters or wardens of areas you intend to work in. They may be local researchers operating in your proposed field area. Whoever they are, ensure both sides are clear on the nature of the relationship and that they are treated as members and not add-ons. Many of the considerations to be raised in the following sections e.g. insurance cover, therefore apply to ALL members of the team.

Clarity of purpose = commitment = motivation = success.