Two new books for the Rabbit Island library via the Royal Geographical Society.

Being based in London I had the opportunity to attend the RGS for the 2012 Explore Conference this past weekend. It was a very inspiring few days with many more than these few highlights—

+ Donating one of the Rabbit Island Quadrangle map prints to be preserved in the Royal Geographical Society library and archive.

+ Meeting artist/explorer Luce Choules and Simon Beckmann, co-founder of the Joya: art + ecología residency. Plans were set in motion to work together and share experiences/research in the near future.

+ Learning lots more about GIS and GPS in the field mapping workshop. Can’t wait to put the techniques to use out on the island.

+ The passionate introduction and closing comments from affable adventurer Paul Rose.

+ Hearing stories of survival and survey from such brilliant speakers as Sarah Outen, Ed Stafford, Mark Kalch and many others.

While Rabbit Island may be a small island and not as remote as some of the examples seen this past weekend, I know some amazing “micro-expeditions” will happen there over the next few years. The conference highlighted the importance of pursuing good research – both scientific and cultural – no matter the relative size or proximity to home.

Get outside, go explore.

—Andrew