By Hands and Feet across Greenland 2006 - exploring the limits of inclusive adventure

The first inclusive crossing of Greenland by a British woman

In Spring 2006, a team of six, in the spirit of Nansen’s first epic crossing of Greenland, 117 years ago, pushed  back the modern-day frontiers of knowledge, technology and exploration, by completing a 600km inclusive traverse of the vast empty Arctic desert of Greenland’s ice-cap.

One of the expedition team members - Karen Darke who lives in Grantown on Spey -  is paralysed from the chest down. 

Careers Scotland - Inverness and East Highland locality - is tapping-into this expedition's challenges as a vehicle for school pupils in four Strathspey schools to develop essential life and work-related skills. 

By using the challenges facing Karen in crossing Greenland by ski to capture the imagination of the schools' pupils, Careers Scotland staff will work with them to explore the challenges they face as they make educational transitions. This process will increase the school pupils' self-awareness, their ability to make realistic plans and reflect on their performance. These skills will enable them to become confident and career-resilient members of their community and workforce in the future.

Karen will work alongside Careers Scotland staff in the following four schools:

• Kingussie High
• Kingussie Primary
• Grantown Grammar, and
• Grantown Primary

In the primary schools the project will look at the transition to secondary school and, with the secondary two pupils, on the organisational and personal challenges posed by embarking on their standard grades.

While Karen was out on the ice-cap of Greenland, the school pupils communicated with her via website 'blogs' sent by satellite phone and email. This enabled the school pupils to learn how Karen actually dealt with the day-to-day challenges posed and will motivate the school pupils to continue exploring and dealing with their own challenges.

The expedition's web pages here also contain many valuable facts, figures, links and resources which teachers and pupils - indeed anyone - can access to their benefit.

This 'project-within-a-project' demonstrates how Careers Scotland can work with school pupils in an innovative manner to help develop the life skills they require to be career resilient and effective career planners. Furthermore, it demonstrates how information and communications technology can be harnessed in the Highlands and Islands to help make a project like this happen.

For more information please contact Careers Scotland's Jane Weir