Darcey Holmes, ReQuest 2021

Introduction
My name is Darcey and I am a 23-year-old Scout Network member and Beaver Leader from 1st St Lawrence Scout Group in Ramsgate, Kent. I’m currently a student studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Surrey.

The Expedition
From December 2021 to January 2022, my team of 10 Scouts joined the crew of the Bark Europa (a tall ship) to sail from Argentina to the Antarctic peninsula, across Drake’s Passage. The Kent Scouts ReQuest2021 expedition was to commemorate 100 years since Sir Ernest Shackleton invited two Scouts (Mooney and Marr) to join his 1921 Quest expedition to the Frozen South.

Patrons & Media
The team were supported by six high-profile patrons, including the Honourable Alexandra Shackleton, former manager of the South Pole station: Wayne White, and famous explorers: Ranulph Fiennes, Louis Rudd, James Ketchell, and Felicity Aston. The team were also able to do outreach to BBC Southeast News and BBC Radio Kent where I spoke on the Dominic King Show about Art and the paintings made during the expedition.

More than an Expedition
This project was so much bigger than the expedition itself. The ten aims of our project related to the themes of peace, environment, and heritage:

1. VOYAGE – Participate as members of the crew on the Bark Europa for a voyage to Antarctica.
2. PROJECTS – Undertake personal projects with each team member presenting their results.
3. CENTENARY – Hold centenary flag ceremonies in both the UK and Antarctica.
4. PLAQUES – Unveil commemorative plaques to Scouts Marr & Mooney in England & Scotland.
5. OUTREACH – Involve young people in a series of fun and educational outreach activities.
6. THAMES – Host a pre-expedition PR event at Tower Bridge on Friday 17th September 2021.
7. PLYMOUTH – Participate in the Devon and Cornwall Polar Society centenary event in Plymouth.
8. SHACKLETON – Celebrate and pay respects to the achievements of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
9. LINKS – Build strong links with Scouts in other countries on the original expedition route.
10. LEGACY – Leave a lasting Scouting polar research legacy inspired by Scout Marr’s work on Krill.

The ReQuest2021 project and expedition has given me the most unforgettable memories, like learning to sail on a tall ship. It is like no other experience especially on one of the stormiest oceans, but it was an opportunity to face my fears and push myself way beyond my comfort zone. We had multiple roles on board which we rotated between, including steering the ship, taking lookout position, and sail handling in a watch system, running day and night on the crossing to the Antarctic Peninsula. It was hard work but worth it for what faced us when we arrived.

Favourite day
During my time in Antarctica, my favourite day of them all has to be visiting Orna Harbour. That day was just phenomenal and one of the best days of my life. Viewing up close a shipwreck frozen in time in the ocean. On the bow net watching whales and penguins swim just below the clear water’s surface and then a Polar Plunge and hiking up through a penguin colony before getting to slide down the mountain. It was just a magical day.

Key Sites Visited
Whilst every single day of the trip was outstanding, some of the locations we visited were more well known than others including Port Lockroy. This famous British Antarctic base was originally established by one of the Scouts (James Marr) from the original Quest expedition in 1921. It is now maintained by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust as a museum for visitors. We were also fortunate to visit Deception Island, a sunken volcano and Whalers’ Bay found inside the ocean filled crater where an abandoned whaling station still stands with several crumbling buildings and huge rusting oil drums.

Science
As our key project objectives suggest we wanted ReQuest2021 to be more than just an expedition. Some of our work therefore included a contribution to Antarctic science and data collection. As a result, during the voyage our team planned and carried out the deployment of two Argo floats. These devices float in ocean currents and collect a variety of data, including temperature and salinity. Information is then relayed back to scientists at the European Argo Network for analysis. Also, following the 1921 expedition where Marr produced “the natural history and geography of the Antarctic krill (1962)”, we continued this important conservation work. Partnered with the British Antarctic Survey, a traditional Nansen net was used to collect krill samples and was fundamental in published research on Krill by BAS since.

Personal Project
In addition to our predominant group project, we also undertook individual projects covering a wide range of subjects including climate change education, iceberg fluid dynamics, producing a children’s book, a soundscape, looking at environmental impact to metabolism and a seasickness study to name just a few.

My personal project objective began and evolved from trying to educate young people in a different way. As an advocate of STEAM and incorporating the Arts into Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, I believe that young people can be creative, innovative, and thereby see a new perspective of our world. This is especially important to people, like myself, who need more visual aids to understand what is going on around us instead of just facts and figures on a page.

As a female Engineer, I also think it is important to try and encourage young people from all backgrounds (girls especially) into opportunities and careers that they might not think are open to them. Showing them that the arts and being creative play a big part in what we do in STEM jobs. There is so much that people from underrepresented groups can contribute to these opportunities (like Request2021) and careers. New perspectives in historically male dominated disciplines and industries.

STEAM is incorporated in all aspects of my individual project and its sub-projects, some of which are detailed below. They look at Antarctica, its changing landscape caused by climate change and our continuous human impact. By visiting Schools and Scout groups, doing presentations and related activities, my project has allowed young people to engage, discuss and learn about Antarctica, our wider project and its objectives. They see what scientists are trying to convey, presented from a different angle, from an artist in STEM.

I have described some of the sub-projects I have been able to work on for the duration of my involvement with this project and how the support of individuals/organisations in my journey has benefitted not just myself to get on the expedition but also the giving back to the local community and the education of young people nationally and internationally.

Expedition Watercolours
The following works are a sample of the collection painted during the expedition, using watercolour and pen fine liner for details. It was a new technique I hadn't tried before and ended up working really well, making a great record of not just MY memories, but of the other voyage crew’s Antarctic experiences.

Subsequently, with the help of my mentor Alison, cards have been produced along with posters to follow of a selection of designs from the watercolour collection. And so, I have been able to continue fundraising for the ReQuest Legacy Fund for future Scouts to carry out Polar Research, along with the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. I have painted other pieces, which are still not completed but, like the whole project and especially the quilt, is constantly growing and evolving, giving back to the next generation.

Craft & Educational Videos
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the whole world stopped and, for a time, so did the project's fundraising or any hope of continuing my plans for outreach in the community. With no indication of when school visits, presentations or Scout evenings would start again, I turned to other forms of communicating our message about Antarctica to Young People. Over the lockdown period, I produced and uploaded 24 craft videos onto the Kent Scouts ReQuest2021 YouTube Channel under ‘Home Crafts’ for families to learn through arts/crafts.

Going forward, this will continue to be an accessible learning platform for young people to try new things, whilst finding out facts about Antarctica and its wildlife and links to where to find more information if they are interested.

“Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all” - Sir Ernest Shackleton

Collaborative Antarctica Quilt (so far…)
Since returning from the expedition in January 2022, I have produced a collaborative Antarctica shaped quilt, conveying the changing perspectives of the fragile environment of Antarctica in the last 100 years since Shackleton's last voyage. As a community, we compiled questions and ideas that contributed to the continuously growing quilt with the aim of exhibiting it locally, to share what we have been able to learn and achieved so far as a result of the ReQuest2021 project.

What do you think about when we say, Antarctica? Is it cold out there? What are you looking forward to? What happens if you die? Will you see whales, what type? Is it dangerous? Are there Polar Bears? Where are you going? How long will it take you to get there? Are you scared?

I have amassed over 150 squares from Pilgrims Way Primary School, 1st St Lawrence Scout Group and other individuals and organisations that have supported the ReQuest2021 project and assembled with the help of one of my team to create this growing quilt.

Where to next?
And the legacy and adventure lives on! Even when the ReQuest2021 project ends, there are so many more places to explore and stories to uncover whilst learning about the wider world and beyond. With help of the Request2021 team, I have been able to document our journey so far through social media and I will continue this in future wherever Bear (@bear.ontour) and I go next. I will continue to try to encourage the next generation of young people to reach for the sky, take opportunities, and hopefully inspire a new wave of STEAM ambassadors too.

“The world is a huge place. How will you know where you fit in unless you explore beyond your comfort zone?” - Sir Ernest Shackleton

For me personally, this project has been a major part of my life; has allowed me to grow as a person, in confidence and understanding of the world. This journey: both physically, sailing across Drake’s Passage and mentally, fundraising for the past 4 years has been a huge achievement for me and by far the best experience I’ve had to push myself out of my comfort zone. I have met so many inspiring individuals and role models, and overall, this experience has encouraged me to go out and try new things, and do something both meaningful and fun going forward both as a career and in life. It’s a different way of giving back even in the future, alongside continuing as a Trustee of the newly established ReQuest Legacy Fund.

It has been the likes of the Pawprint Trust that these sorts of expeditions are made possible, and a dream becomes reality, so thank you so much for your support.