Every year National Geographic selects a handful of individuals known for their achievements in “exploration, conservation, humanitarianism and adventure sports.” They are the Adventurers of the Year. I always enjoy reading about these folks and their remarkable accomplishments. It’s from this list that I heard about Gregg Treinish, founder of Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, named Adventurer of the Year in 2008 for his trek of the entire Andes Mountain Range.
It’s not only big adventure seekers and folks living on the edge that are noted-they also are educators, community builders and people looking to contribute to the global society. Take for example my favorite Adventurers of the Year, Amy and Dave Freeman. This couple made an incredible expedition of almost 12,000 miles across North America, via canoe, dog-sled, kayak and hiking trail. They kept track of their journey and interacted with 85,ooo children via The Wilderness Classroom. Every Monday they would post their activity, sometimes designing lesson plans to interact with the students or polling on where they should go next and how they should get there. After all was said and done (it took three years to complete the journey), they had met over 25,000 students and covered 11,647 miles.
I’m in awe of this couple, not only for the achievement of their actual trip, but the fact that they worked so hard to constantly share with the students and incorporate learning into their journey. Who knows what kind of future adventurers (or conservationists) we will hear about that have been inspired by Amy and Dave.
This year there were thirteen people chosen for the award. Their feats are wide ranging, from big-wave surfing to long-distance swimming. they all deserve to be applauded for their achievements. If you have a chance you can peruse their list of past Adventurers of the Year. Do you know of anyone that should’ve been on this list? I’d be curious to hear.
Adventure On,
Joslin
Photo courtesy of National Geographic on Adventurers page.