AN EDUCATIONAL ADVENTURE

Adventurer and environmental scientist Tim Jarvis AM (Member of the Order of Australia) visited Shrewsbury on 10th May to speak to students from Year 6 to Year 10 about his extraordinary expedition in which he retraced Shackleton’s incredible survival journey in Antarctica.

In his first talk with Year 6, he discussed his experiences as an explorer; a fantastic opportunity for Year 6 to extend their curriculum learning from their "Explorers"  topic. Tim then presented to the Senior School, the second presentation in Shrewsbury's new "Darwin lecture series", where he shared more detailed information about the impact of climate change in polar regions, which he has seen first-hand through his work.  

During his visit Tim also enjoyed exploring the school with our Junior School Head and Deputy Head Girls who showed him some of the highlights of the Riverside Campus. “I find it fascinating how 10 and 11 year olds see the world around them", Tim said. "It's a great school with fantastic facilities which you don’t always see until you share it with other people.”

Talking about the opportunity to present to Shrewsbury's students, Tim commented;  “The wonderful thing about presenting to a young audience is that the youngest tend to ask the most important questions, and the students certainly didn’t let Shrewsbury down. They were articulate, thought provoking, and assertive when it came to discussing the wider issues around climate change.”

Director of Co-Curricular, Mr. D’Rozario said, “Tim has an incredible story which has profound messages for all. The environment message is a huge priority that needs action from the global community. We certain would like to see Tim return to Shrewsbury again!”

The following day, Tim was in action again, this time as headline speaker at the "OFFSEAS" outdoor education conference, hosted by Shrewsbury, and attended by nearly 300 educators and outdoor activities providers. Amongst other workshops and presentations, delegates also got to hear from key personnel from the "Thai Cave Rescue", and discuss the lessons learned for safe expedition planning.

It was a pleasure to welcome such a large number of professionals from throughout the region to our school, who like Shrewsbury, understand the importance of providing safe, engaging and high quality education experiences beyond the classroom. We look forward to collaborating with many of our guests in the future, to offer even better provision through our Duke Of Edinburgh International Award Scheme (for which Shrewsbury is a certified provider) and throughout our residential trip programme.

Tim’s talk to the Senior School was shared live on Facebook, you can catch up on our Facebook page.