NEWS RELEASE
25 July 2012


Crew named for expedition to the Kermadecs

The Sir Peter Blake Trust today announced the 26 crew members who will join the inaugural Young Blake Expedition to the Kermadec Islands.

The crew represents a cross-section of outstanding leaders in environment, government, business and science. They will join 30 student voyagers from across New Zealand on a 12-day expedition on HMNZS Canterbury to increase the understanding of marine reserves and the planet’s oceans.

Sir Peter Blake Trust Chief Executive Shelley Campbell says the Expedition fulfills Sir Peter’s vision of encouraging New Zealanders of all backgrounds to take action and inspire stewardship of our fragile environment.

“The expedition has captured New Zealand’s imagination as a collaboration of individuals and organisations with a diverse array of skillsets all aiming to contribute to knowledge-building about the Kermadecs and to bring these lessons back to communities across the country.”

Heading up the expedition is Chief Operating Officer Don Robertson, who sailed on the original Blakexpedition with Sir Peter Blake. He is supported by the chair of National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and successful businessman Chris Mace.

Crew members include recipients of the Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader Awards; science and snorkeling experts from Experiencing Marine Reserves and the Pew Environment Group; and correspondents from the popular online school field trip group LEARNZ.

On board the expedition will also be teams from the Department of Conservation and the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Christchurch Student Volunteer army founder and 2011 Blake Leader Sam Johnson is also joining the expedition. He says, “I am incredibly proud to be part of this Expedition, which exemplifies what can happen when organisations collaborate and work to support the young people in New Zealand achieving remarkable feats.”

The Governor-General, Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae and the Deputy Chief of Navy, Commodore Wayne Burroughs will farewell the HMNZS Canterbury at the Devonport Naval Base on 8 August at from 10:30am – 11:30am.

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Notes to editors about the crew

Crew/Experts selected by the Sir Peter Blake Trust
• Don Robertson - Chief Operating Officer
• Chris Mace - Expedition Team Leader
• Andrew Berry – Marine Operations Director
• Hannah Prior - Programme & Logistics Director
• Mark Weldon – Expedition Team Leader
• Sam Johnson – Expedition Team Leader
• Sheelagh James – Expedition Doctor
• Michael Moyes – Expedition Team Leader
• Paul Scott – Teacher/Educator & Expedition Team Leader
• Libby Liggins – Snorkeling Leader & former Antarctic Youth Ambassador

Experiencing Marine Reserves
• Samara Nicholas – Snorkeling Director & Blake Leader
• Stephen Hathaway – Underwater Cameraman

Experts selected by Pew Environment Group
• Helen Lyman – Marine Geologist
• Stephen Ullrich – Marine Biologist
• Rochelle Constantine – Marine Mammal Specialist
• Clinton Duffy – Shark Expert
• Bruce Foster – photographer & film maker
• Isaac Sutherland – Ngati Kuri representative

LEARNZ – virtual field trips
• Peter Sommerville – Virtual Field Trip leader & correspondent
• Andrew Penny - Virtual Field Trip leader& correspondent

Media
• Peter Cronshaw - TVNZ
• Charles Toogood - TVNZ
• David Pierce -TVNZ
• Rebecca Priestly - columnist for The Listener
• Virginia Larson - editor of North & South

Full biographies found at: www.youngblakeexpeditions.org

About The Young Blake Expedition

The Kermadec Islands are 800-1,000km north-east of New Zealand. The 13 volcanic islands are a nature reserve managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Four DOC staff and up to five volunteers are based on Raoul, the largest island. The 745,000ha of ocean surrounding the Kermadecs are protected as New Zealand’s largest marine reserve.

The first Young Blake Expedition was announced last December on the 10th anniversary of Sir Peter Blake’s death to continue his legacy of inspiring the next generation of leaders, adventurers and environmentalists.

The expedition crew will have the opportunity to snorkel and gain an understanding of the rich marine life of the Kermadecs. They will experience life on Raoul Island and gain an insight into the work of the DOC personnel, the Kermadecs' history, and the group’s wildlife and plants – many unique to the islands.

The Young Blake Expedition will be led by The Sir Peter Blake Trust in association with the Ministry for the Environment, the Royal New Zealand Navy, Department of Conservation, Air New Zealand, Pew Environment Group, Experiencing Marine Reserves and LEARNZ.

For more on the expedition, including subscribing to the expedition blog: Visit http://www.youngblakeexpeditions.org/

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