Kate Leeming explains her motivations, the importance of exploring and education as she prepares for her Breaking the Cycle South Pole expedition in Iceland; a promotional video by In the Dark Productions.
I think exploring is basic to humankind it’s really it’s what we do it’s how we are different to everybody else and it’s our curiosity that makes us who we are I just love this idea of bringing a line on a map to life exploring can’t really be done second hand it’s got to be done firsthand sort of learning by experience is really what my project’s all about and what i do as i explore the world by bike
I didn’t just wake up one day and say i want to cycle across antarctica it kind of evolved out of all my previous experiences i came to iceland because it is a great place to prepare myself for antarctica they’re similar in that they’re both cold deserts that is
I can dream these things up and i can imagine what they’re like but there’s no substitute for getting out there and actually facing it and facing all the problems that you might have so obviously i have a great passion for the importance of exploring but that’s not complete for me i have a
Real passion for the importance of education and and that’s the other half of what i do When i’m talking to kids i want to explain to them that i’m just a normal person that i’ve followed my dreams or my passions and i’ve taken them as far as i can go and i’m someone who uses all my skills and abilities to the best that i can
And i’m not going to stop As i do my expeditions i’ve been linking up with schools in different continents i’ve already been north america and i’ve spoken to kids in san diego and also in anaheim now in iceland i’m talking with the international school there and as we go around we’ve got a few other schools in mind
So we’d like to link them up but then for them to also promote the program and help pull others in so we can get a global network there are many challenges obviously there’s a physical one and the technical one but probably the biggest challenge of all is finding the funding and
Getting a really strong team around me and developing all the equipment i’m trying to do something that basically no one’s done before so i’m really looking for sponsors who are really well aligned with what i’m doing and especially with the education fronts i’ve already got a proven track record
All of my major expeditions have finished on time on budget achieved all the key missions so i’ve already done that you know three times with major expeditions so i have all that experience already so i think the good thing about joining this expedition or being a partner with this expedition you know
We can deliver great things antarctica is going to take a lot and sponsors have a great opportunity here to partner with me in this great project breaking the cycle which aims to prepare future leaders to make informed decisions to create a better world you