Why trek to the North Pole?
Why?
It is believed that more people have been to the summit of Everest than have stood at the North Pole. It is also believed that we are amid the 6th mass extinction, annihilating an estimated 50% of individual species since the mid-19th century.
How are these startling facts related? Well, simply they are the driving factors behind my ambition to trek to the North Pole for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
This ambition was born in my mind when I was 9 years old after hearing a talk by Tom Avery, a British Polar explorer who had recently returned from his record-breaking expedition to the South Pole. Since that day I have had the burning desire to face the frozen expanses of the Arctic Circle, armed with a set of skis and a sled to trek across this landscape and stand at the northern most point of this planet of ours. To stand in a position where in any direction I point to is South.
My Challenge
To do this I have to train both my mind and my body to prepare for the stresses of Polar Exploration. Tyre pulling, yoga, strength and conditioning, nutrition and mindset training are now a permanent feature of my weekly life.
The motivation to be able to complete these preparatory exercises is not only an intrinsic desire to reach the North Pole. It comes mainly from the external influences I see through organisations such as the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
The tireless work carried out by the Foundation both in-situ and ex-situ is of crucial importance to the survival of our natural world. Consequently, any physical or mental discomfort I feel while training and the inevitable hardships I will face along the trek are irrelevant. I am committed to play a small part in the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's vital work.
How Can you help?
In order to actualise these ambitions, I need more than just a positive attitude and a pair of skis. Polar exploration is an expensive venture to pursue. Conversely, it provides a rare and often unique opportunity for brands, businesses and individuals to explore the benefits of polar exploration sponsorship.
Brand awareness, marketing content and charitable donation tax reductions are a few examples of these benefits. By sponsoring my efforts directly, you will be actively maximising the extent to which we will be able to fundraise for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
Funds raised in aid of the Foundation will be going to conservation initiatives protecting, saving and restoring populations of the most endangered mammals in the world; projects supporting flagship species such as Rhino, Tiger, Elephant, Painted Dogs and Chimpanzees as well as anti-poaching operations where heroic men and women risk their lives on the front line of the conservation war. Your support, in either my personal venture or your pledge to the Foundation will make you and your organisation active and invaluable conservationists.
You will be saving these species from extinction.
I write, positively, about wildlife and environmental conservation with an emphasis on the need for action and how we can save the planet. Building on my North Pole expedition I will write about adventure and exploration with a view to how it can benefit you, your business and achieving your own goals.