Lewis Pugh is an endurance swimmer and UN Patron of the Oceans. Over 32 years, he has pioneered swims in some of the most vulnerable and hazardous ecosystems on Earth. And always wearing just speedos, goggles and a swim cap...!
In salt water temperatures of -1.7 degrees Celsius, for instance, Lewis became the first person to swim across the North Pole in 2007. In 2010, he swam across one of the highest glacial lakes in the world beneath the summit of Mount Everest. And, more recently, in 2018 he completed a swim traverse of the entire length of the English Channel.
But these shows of remarkable physical and mental fortitude are not just for the sake of adventure. He uses his swims to demonstrate the effects of climate change across the world, and the plight of our oceans.
Widely regarded as one of the world’s most inspiring speakers, Lewis will take to the stage at Perth Concert Hall on Thursday 12th September. And tickets are only £10 for RSGS Members, so please consider joining!
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On Friday 12th July, three members of our Young Geographer magazine team presented Greta Thunberg with our prestigious Geddes Environment Medal. In doing so, the 16-year-old climate campaigner became the youngest person in our 135-year history to receive an RSGS Medal.
The Geddes Environment Medal is one of the Society’s most important awards. It was offered for Greta's incredible example in demanding a safer future for her generation, which has inspired millions of school children around the world to do the same, and for her courageous calls for action on various international platforms.
Following Greta's example, our Young Geographers travelled to Stockholm without flying. And along the way, young film-maker Cameron Mackay made a lovely video travelogue about this once-in-a-lifetime experience 👇
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In July, our Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf has been busy writing about the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing, and the special bond between Neil Armstrong and the Society. This connection began in 1972 when Neil came to Edinburgh to accept the RSGS Livingstone Medal and talk to our Members.
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Down to Earth: The Return of Apollo 11
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"In the early hours of 21st July 1969, inside the small, cramped space of their landing capsule, Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were trying to get to sleep. The two American astronauts had just stepped into the history books..." Read On.
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When a Spaceman Came Travelling
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When Neil Armstrong visited Scotland and risked being ‘hanged’!
Jo Woolf looks back at Armstrong’s visit to Scotland in 1972. Article via The Courier.
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Clockwise from top left: Nick Baker, Colin Prior, Will Burrard-Lucas and Alice Thompson.
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We're getting ever closer to publishing our 2019-20 Inspiring People talks programme. And what a treat we have in store for you. To whet your appetite, here are four new names who will be travelling around the country for us in the next few months.
First up, there's naturalist Nick Baker, from television programmes such as The Really Wild Show and Springwatch, who will be discussing the idea of 'Self Rewilding' in Inverness, Perth and Stirling.
Behind the camera, there are two leading photographers also making their debut for the Society. Colin Prior, world-renowned for his landscape work in Scotland and beyond, will be speaking in Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh and Glasgow. And Will Burrard-Lucas, who recently won a Sony World Photography Award for his stunning, remote-controlled snaps of African wildlife will be in Ayr and Helensburgh.
And then, in Edinburgh, there's the brains behind Social Bite, as co-founder Alice Thompson discusses her high-profile mission to end homelessness in Scotland.
Please follow our social media for updates about speakers and tickets.
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On Tuesday 30th July, we enjoyed an informative, sell-out office talk by Dr Sandra Angers-Blondin who shared stories from her ecological and photographic work on Qikiqtaruk (Herschel Island) in the Canadian Arctic. To mark the event, one of our Collections Team members discovered the perfect map to put on display.
The map sheet named Herschel (below) was printed in 1946 as part of an official Canadian National Topographic Series (Aeronautical Edition). It was gifted to RSGS in the 1980s by the famous map and atlas producers John Bartholomew & Sons where it had been in use in Bartholomew’s Drawing Office in the mid-1950s for updating information on its own maps and atlases.
The map shows the topography and coastline of Herschel Island – now known by its Inuit name of Qikiqtaruk – and identifies the island as being over 8 miles in length from east to west. Of note, rising temperatures, earlier seasonal melting and the erosive effect of storms here are leading to rapid reduction of the protective permafrost cover of up to a metre a day along the island’s coastline.
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"Houston, did you remember to renew my RSGS Membership?"
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