Expedition participants have been chosen for their ability to communicate as well as their professional interests because the trip is about doing exactly what Blake did so powerfully all those years ago - connecting people to the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic and raising awareness of how important the region is to New Zealand.
The voyage is aboard a chartered Russian research vessel and Gareth Morgan hopes every school in New Zealand will join the ride through www.ourfarsouth.
Students and teachers will be able to follow and interact with the expedition "real time" connection and organisers are supplying curriculum-relevant material, scientific support and teaching ideas.
Classes will be able to ask crew members or Shackleton The Bear questions; read crew blogs and leave comments; follow the onboard seminar series; track the boat on a map; participate in a schools' competition; have a crew member or scientist visit.
The expedition will explore issues around climate change, biodiversity, territorial rights, fishing, tourism, and mineral resources. The group includes scientists, experts from the Department of Conservation, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Te Papa, the universities and fishing company Sanford; doctors, an education outreach specialist, a teacher and even television performer and proponent of sustainable living, Te Radar.
All participants had to commit to talking to schools and organisations before and after the expedition; take part in on-board debates and seminars, and present seminars. Bonetti's 6-year-old son Theo knows what he wants from the OFS expedition, a photo of Happy Feet (the penguin treated for sand ingestion and released last year with a tracking device, gaining world-wide attention).