We are pleased to announce that the following young explorers have received YET Awards for their expeditions in 2023!
Individual awards
Stephenson Expedition Award
Caitlin Parks is a member of the British Exploring Society’s expedition to Kyrgyzstan and will take part in science fieldwork, trekking in the mountains and working with the local community.
Mia Deschenes is also part of the BES Kyrgyzstan expedition and will be taking part in exploration and science and media projects.
Musa Saijad will be exploring the Yukon area of Canada with BES and will be engaged in a diverse programme of scientific study and research.
Finlay Griffiths will be joining Musa in the Yukon undertaking 3½ weeks of hiking, canoeing, and conducting research on biodiversity, climate and habitats.
DYEG Award
Brothers Tomas & Toby Richardson are part of a group of BES exploring the wilderness of the Canadian Yukon, facing challenges designed to develop courage, integrity, resilience, and motivation. These challenges will include trekking and camping in remote and mountainous terrain, bushcraft and campcraft activities, along with canoeing and scientific research.
David Hollier Award
Osian Griffiths, a keen scout, will be part of a scout expedition to Iceland undertaking a programme of adventurous activities: rafting with Icelandic Explorer Scouts, hiking to hot springs, glacier walks and wild camping.
Ben Manley-Lixenberg embarks on an expedition with three main goals: to improve the lives of elderly people suffering from poor eyesight in the Indian Himalayas; to improve hygiene of young children in the Ladakh region; and for the expedition members to open their eyes to different ways of life, different religions, standards of living, ways to communicate as well as challenge them physically and mentally.
Everest Awards
Joining Ben on this Hatters Scouts’ Indian Expedition are Chloe Salter, Adrian Roca and Hannah Burke. They have been collecting spare glasses in the UK to take to remote villages in Ladakh putting into practice the training they have received in the UK.
Peter Smith Awards
Three young explorers are receiving these awards. They are exploring very different environments.
Kayleigh Rees is going to Fiji as a volunteer for Projects Abroad’s Shark Conservation project. She will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities, including diving, shark surveys, mangrove reforestation, and beach clean-ups.
Joel Viner is an Avon scout representative at the International Jamboree in South Korea., where he will experience different programs including community, nature, adventure and environmental projects.
Yoni Segal is a registered Young Carer for his father and he is undertaking the challenge of the ascent of Kilimanjaro. He also suffers from hearing problems and would love to show people that health issues/ disabilities don’t need to hold you back.
Vivian Fuchs Awards
These are being given to three young members of different African expeditions.
Theo Marden-Leibowitz is taking part in a Camps International expedition to Tanzania in Africa this summer. The expedition involves visiting areas below the poverty line where there will be many opportunities to help within education and environmental issues such as deforestation, climate change and habitat protection, and to improve infrastructure of. a local village.
Freya Scobie is a member of the Hampshire Scouts Gambia Expedition 2023. attending The Gambia Expedition 2023. Kaira Konko. They will be spending 3 weeks out there working in the local area. digging ditches, painting the local school and they are are taking a carpenter to help with repairs.
Hannah Glover’s African venture is to Madagascar with the NW Guides. Who will be undertaking voluntary conservation work with SEED Madagascar (Sustainable Environment, Education & Development in Madagascar) including important, hands-on, conservation fieldwork with species including lemurs, bats, chameleons and amphibians, help with community initiatives, and environmental education.
The YET Award
The YET Award for 2023 was given to Ellie & Iwan for their Lesotho Expedition which took place in April. This grant was given by YET in memory of Mike Cross, Chairman of YET, who died in December 2022. Brother and sister both suffer from ASD but as their report indicates this did not hinder their membership and experience of this expedition. Read their joint report from this wonderful trip.
Peer group awards
2023 marks the first year of this extension to the yet Awards & Grants system. It is aimed at small groups of young explorers who have had a substantial input into the planning and development of their expedition.
Jim Bishop Award
This award has been given to Anna Duffy and three 17-year-old companions undertaking a turtle conservation project in Sri Lanka aimed to help protect sea turtles and their habitats from the threat of extinction and destruction and to contribute to sea turtle conservation by working with local communities to create an environment that is safe and where they can thrive.
John Hunt Awards
Two peer group expeditions have received awards.
Ellis White, James McIntyre, Maurisha Pilnick & Shaun Makin, four students from deprived areas of Liverpool, have independently planned a community project expedition. They wished to assist a project in a developing country, used their own initiative to research and plan before joining Projects Abroad in Cambodia.
Pedrina Roofe, Charlotte Baginski, Harry Young, Rohima Pooch and Suvider Bhakarare are undertaking the pilgrimage along the Santiago de Compostela trail in Northern Spain. All are part of the Young Stars Mentoring Charity and share a background as part of the care system in their teenage years.