About
Antony Jinman, 29 is a British Explorer from Plymouth who has taken part in no less than 10 expeditions to the Arctic, including projects to Baffin Island, Greenland and the Geographic North Pole. The Geographic North Pole expedition saw Antony and his two team mates ski and snow shoe (and sometimes swim) over 500 miles from Cape Discovery to the Geographic North Pole in just 51 days, collecting valuable scientific data for the University of Plymouth.
His aim is to inspire and educate children globally about world climate change. This is achieved through interactive expeditions and related school outreach work, partnered by the non-profit company Education Through Expeditions, which he founded. Antony ’s work and expeditions has participated in the International Polar Year and been endorsed by the Royal Geographic Society and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
Antony has been selected as the sole UK participant at the forthcoming International Polar Year Conference for teachers in June 2010. In January 2012 he will lead the International Scott Centenary Expedition to Antarctica.
This is my story:
As a teenager, I dedicated much of my free time to mountain sports including skiing and snowboarding, hiking and climbing. At college, I studied a HND in Public Services, placing myself in the ideal position from which to enter the armed forces. I successfully completed time in the Territorial Army and the Royal Navy before returning home to pursue a career in the great outdoors.
For a number of years I took up the role of a tour leader, accompanying groups on adventure holidays around the world. After saving enough money, I invested in a placement on the Plas-y-Brenin Fast Track Instructors Scheme, through which I qualified as an International Mountain Leader. I soon found myself leading various remote expeditions, including a number of trips to the Arctic.
Polar exploration is not a hobby of mine, it is a full time occupation partnered with my school outreach work and non profit company Education Through Expeditions. The Arctic is stunningly beautiful and untouched by Man until relatively recently, it is a place where maintaining the utmost respect for the environment is the key to survival at times. The indigenous peoples of the Arctic have all learnt to coexist with nature. Guided by their experiences, we can all learn valuable lessons for the future.
Projects to date
22nd Feb 10 North Pole from – Cape Discovery – Assisted (team member)Arctic
2nd Aug 09 Baffin Island (summer) Leader – Summer Arctic
26th April 09 Greenland Coast to Coast – Client – unassisted – Arctic
14th March 09 Auyuittuq National Park – Solo – unassisted – Arctic
1st March 09 Frobersher Bay – Team member – Arctic
21st Feb 09 North winds training – Client – Arctic Training
28th Nov 08 Yemen – Team member – Desert rock
Sept 08 Libya – Sahara – Leader – Desert
March 08 Auyuittuq National Park – Solo – unassisted – Arctic
February 08 Penny Ice Cap – Leader – unassisted – Arctic
25th Nov 07 Egypt – Great Depression – Leader – Desert rock
July 07 Disko Island – Expedition Leader – Arctic
March 07 Mitchemps Trust – Assistant Leader – Arctic
February 07 Viking Venture – Norway – Team member – Arctic
Dec 06 Oman Jebel Misht area – Leader – Desert rock
August 06 Peru – Andes – Expedition Leader – Mountaineering
Some of my expeditions to date include;
Successful Geographic North Pole 2010 from Cape Discovery (Canada) collecting scientific data for the University of Plymouth, co sponsor Microsoft Bing
Two solo expeditions through the Auyuittuq National Park 2008/09 – Participating International Polar Year projects, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship awarded and grant from the RGS.
Documentary Film on BBC Inside Out – Baffin Island solo expedition
Before heading off on winter/early spring expeditions on Baffin your told that there is no rescue team on call this time of year. Any rescue attempt would come from Halifax and could take days or even longer.
Coast to coast crossing of Greenland 2009
Attempted Penny Ice Cap Crossing and exploration of Okoa Bay – Baffin Island 2008
Mitchemp Trust’s Baffin Island expedition 2007
Disko Island Expedition 2006
Two summer Baffin Island projects comparing the arctic seasons for schools
Antony Jinman has been working on Baffin Island for the past three years, looking at how climate change is affecting the landscape in Auyuittuq National Park. Ironically, “auyuittuq” is Inuktituk for “the land that never melts”, and it is exactly this that Antony and his team witnessed occurring this summer.
Crossing a lead durring the 2010 North Pole Expedition with team mates Eric Larsen and Darcy St-laurent
Storm conditions on the way to the North Pole, photograph taken by Darcy St-laurent
My first solo expedition in the Auyuittuq National Park – Baffin Island
Exploring Okoa Bay and routes up to the Penny Ice Cap with team mate Vijay Shah
My first polar bear encounter on a summer expedition to Baffin Island
Dear Antony,
I have learnt through a colleague of your work on education and climate change through expeditions. May I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your innovative approach to education and to encourage you in your aime to inspire and educate children globally about climate change.
I wish you well. Warmly and with a smile,
Vernor Muñoz
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Human Rights Council
United Nations
